let me see some engine bay shots of you guys that have the AEM cai installed please

 

These are old pics when I used to have an AEM intake.

 

can somebody say "heat sink"?

 

stay away from aem cai.......heard you loose power

 

is this true? if so what cold air is better?

honestly whats the major difference between cold air and short ram

 

Search, GrassHopper!

 

Please explain.

 

The long and the short of it

Long tube intakes (CAI) will cause you to get the most top end power at the sacrifice of bottom end power.

The shorter units, like the Stillen unit, will give you top end power and not rob you of bottom end power, and likely give a boost in the bottom end as well.

For AT cars - your best off with the short ram styles, as it's really hard to bypass the bottom end without a torque converter.

For MT cars - the best bet is the long tube, like the Injen, as it is far easier to 'slip' past the troublesome bottom end power issue.

The other issue with long tube units, are the possibility of getting water logged, by their placement. The Stillen and PopCharger are the best for overall performance and safety...

Rick

 

I must beg the question because your statement above goes against the physics intake runner design. Short runners make higher end power at the expense of lowend torque. Long runner make strong lowend torque at the expense of high rpm power. Long runners draw in large columns of air that stack as it's drawn in creating laminar air flow; however, as the rpms rise, the stacked air creates a turbulance problem and acts as a restriction.

 

You are completely right, as far as an intake manifold design is concerned...an air intake, CAI or short ram intake, works differently and can't really be compared. The flow and pressure of the air is less for long tube CAI's at the lower RPMS..thus a drop in performance.

Rick

 

I'll try and dyno a long CAI I made vs the factory intake. EVERY SINGLE TIME I've ever put a longer intake on a car, it's gained a decent shot of torque down low, but there is always the exception.