could i borrow a few moments (and expertise) of your time please?

[fiveliterbeater]

........being that i am an M45 owner, this is not my usual spot for posting; but being that i have a situation on my hands that i would like to get some confirmation on, i would appreciate imput on this situation:i have an ongoing argument with a fellow member that states: "Thinking that any brand of CAI or oiled K&N dropin or cone filter can increase the air flow into engine by more than 1/2>1%** over oem design proves you don't understand the engine physics. 99% of the aftermarket CAI and Filters brands use out and out marketing lies* to fool the gullable into buying their products."

I myself have never heard something so ridiculous after years of modifying cars, but......maybe i'm wrong. maybe CAI's don't really do anything at all and i'm just a slave to trends. maybe all my dynosheets are just nonsense. can all of you who have modified your cars please chime in and help me "educate" a fellow member? do CAI's help or is it all a big sham?thank you for your time

[93240cooool]

i noticed an improvement with my gas mileage after installing an aem cai, and it sounded alot better too, i replaced my fuel filter at the same time as doing that and after that it felt like my engine was brand new, ive never done a dyno though so i really couldnt tell you.

[ztunelover]

most cars gain power with cai. but there are certain cars, the only one coming to mind right now is the e46 m3, where 90% of the cais available actually gives less power, but under most circumstances for most cars the cai gains power.

[mattblancarte]

I can't comment on airflow ratios or percentage comparisons, but you'll only see a few HP gain in most instances. You get what you pay for.

[Crazyirish]

Did you really need to post this thread 6 different times?

[xX RB Xx]

i think it all depends on the car and motor..

like in my ae its good to match the cai with an exhaust for the best results.

[Fahaka]

To clear the air here and actually address the question...no they don't do much.

In some cases they take power away down low and give more up high, or vice versa. In na applications there are some intakes that may actually give 2-4% hp gain with custom oversized plumbing and less restriction but intakes that give 20 hp claims only do so in large displacement applications or turbocharged motors.

I think the best results for a na ka powered 240sx were something like 4 hp...

Oh big displacement engines like the VK/VH adding a set of custom headers, a higher flowing exhaust and intake and adding plenum spacers...etc can add up to alot more power than we would see in our 2.4 liter engines...

[fiveliterbeater]

Did you really need to post this thread 6 different times?

.....this guy really ticked me off so before i go posting, i wanted some backup from people who have noticed i a differnce in power. i've owned 11 cars (nothing to be proud of), but i've modified every single one of them and the intake was always the first mod that always made a differnce in power (and in sound)

[S13Joe]

CAI is a waste of money IMO. Thats some ricer bulls*** when people say "omfg yo ima geta intake son thats like 50hp!!". It really doesn't do much at all and it also looks ridiculous.

[mrgreeneyes]

hhahhaha, cai's are the biggest $/hp waste on an N/A car, next to a header and catback.

its not faster, its just louder. lol @ n/a mods.

just boost.

intakes make a cool whoosh sound, but thats really it. if you change your regular filter out for a new one, youll get nearly the same hp result.

[S14toRPS13]

Many newer cars like the M45 have a very sensitive ECM, that doesn't respond well to aftermarket parts like aftermarket intakes. Without proper tuning for these newer cars, an intake will harm hp rather than increase hp. Obviously any x-brand air filter isn't going to outperform oem. Although I don't use K&N, I do believe they put a lot of R&D into their product to outperform oem air filters.

[hilux30]

Most cars these days that are without a turbo or supercharger will see very little to none in HP gains, mostly because intakes are designed pretty efficiently from the factory. Now with force-fed engines, that require a hell more airflow, and fuel with it, need this extra air-flow and one would see a good increase. On my SR I gained 7 HP at the wheels going from a small HKS filter to a BIG K&N. BUT my 2000 crown vic PI with a 6.8 V10 conversion lost 1 to 2 % on the high end with a K&N... so basically with your M45 don't waste your time with CAI. Now with CAI most makers piss me off and the people that buy them even more: how is it a CAI where the filter is in the engine bay, next to that hot engine with hot air going in, that is why most N/A cars' power drops.. hope this helps