Intakes... ugh, help!
#1
06-11-2006, 02:38 AM
Intakes... ugh, help!
im sorry to ask a bone headed n00bish question but i dont have alot of time to research all this, i havto drive halfway across the country and report to my duty station by the 20th, (im active army) and i still have a ton of stuff i havto take care of before i leave, please have mercy!
so heres the deal if your still with me, i bought a 2001 neon R/T and naturally i want to make it faster and healthier.
first, i want a air intake, but theres so many out there im totaly befuddled. i can get a K&N typhoon for $199.99 but uh.. what other ones should i be looking at? cheaper will be better as long as durability/performance are not sacrificed (they dont pay the new privates very much). oh yeah and im kinda worried getting water in my engine, ive heard some **** about their cold air intakes sucking water and destroying the engine.. i really dont want that to happen to my car.
someone had told me short ram is better because the location of the filter will keep water out? true?
oh yeah, if you have any suggestions for headers and exausts as well, i`d much appreciate any knowledge sent my way, im looking for these too.
so i guess what im asking is what kind of intake should i get that will boost performance, and isnt placed in an area vulnerable to water.
once again im sorry to ask dumb questions but i only have less than a week before i havto leave, and no computer at home, i really appreciate anyone who is willing to help me out!
so heres the deal if your still with me, i bought a 2001 neon R/T and naturally i want to make it faster and healthier.
first, i want a air intake, but theres so many out there im totaly befuddled. i can get a K&N typhoon for $199.99 but uh.. what other ones should i be looking at? cheaper will be better as long as durability/performance are not sacrificed (they dont pay the new privates very much). oh yeah and im kinda worried getting water in my engine, ive heard some **** about their cold air intakes sucking water and destroying the engine.. i really dont want that to happen to my car.
someone had told me short ram is better because the location of the filter will keep water out? true?
oh yeah, if you have any suggestions for headers and exausts as well, i`d much appreciate any knowledge sent my way, im looking for these too.
so i guess what im asking is what kind of intake should i get that will boost performance, and isnt placed in an area vulnerable to water.
once again im sorry to ask dumb questions but i only have less than a week before i havto leave, and no computer at home, i really appreciate anyone who is willing to help me out!
#2
06-11-2006, 03:13 AM
RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
Well since i only have experiance with intakes since i have one, i could only tell you about the intake's. Really, like most other things, you get what you pay for, meaning the higher the price, the better the quality. But what i have was much cheaper and i could say close to the same. First of all, short rams wont do much, your gona get all that hot air from the engine bay (not good). Hence, cold air intakes! I know all new neons (2000+) are fenderwell cold air intakes, meaning the tip of the intake, where the air filter will hang at will be next to the fender, scooping cold air from the bottom, so its best to go with a cold air intake. Second, most big brand intakes (K&N, AEM, and Injen) are good quality intakes, but as you could see, there pretty pricy. What i did to avoid spending so much money is bought a cold air intake from ebay, there a lot cheaper but they come with a crappy air filter, so what i did is just buy a good air filter, which was a K&N air filter and just used that with my ebay intake piping. I spent about $80 for all that. What i see is that as someone mentined on this forum before, a bent peace of pipe is a bent peace of pipe, so its pretty much the same aside from what i mentioned about the air filter beeing crap. Third, about the whole water into your engine thing, its called hydrolocking. Its when your intake sucks up water into your system and makes your engine stall. The only way that could happen is if you really live in a place where literally puddles are made and your neon is dropped enough that your air filter hits that water. What AEM made was an Air Bypass Valve, i currently have one for sale cause i was too lazy to install it and well, i use to have puddle everywhere around my town, but then the city ended up fixing it, and now, no puddles! The bad thing, i purchased this dam bypass valve and didnt have to install it after all. But it rarely happens, but if you know your car is that dropped and/or you live in a place where your air filter will hit that puddle of water, then you should put it, but notice there might be a very very small decrese of horse power (realy some say there is, and some there isnt). Since i never got around to installing it, i dont really know and tell you. Remember, when you do buy your intake, make sure it is for an R/T, there will be many that say "blah blah..20l sohc neon air intake EXCEPT ACR AND R/T" So make sure you get one that says it is for an R/T. Hope this helps and sorry for the essay and life story on intakes! luck.
#3
06-11-2006, 03:18 AM
RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
By the way, dont feel bad for asking "dumb" or "noob" questions. Just make sure to see if there is a posting previously posted on what your looking for and if not, well post! Its always better to ask here and find out you had the wrong idea rather than trying it first and going wrong before asking. Mess up here and not on your car! Peace out.
#4
06-11-2006, 03:57 AM
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RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
The truth about CAI's is that they are pretty much all engineered the same. Some are made with better quality materials... but what your mainly paying for is the quality. You pay for the K&N, you are getting one of the best air filters on the market. You buy a cheap CAI off of ebay, your getting a cheap filter. And to solve your worries about a CAI, the only way you will start getting water in the engine is when you sit in a pool of water with your intake submerged. To also save your worries, K&N filters come with a small device that goes over the filter itself to keep large things like rocks and gunk, plus its water proof to a reasonable degree as to not let water in normal driving conditions (driving in the rain). The AEM bypass valve is a peice of crap. you're better off with your stock intake system than with the bypass valve. It essentially just takes the powergain away from owning a CAI. Very restrictive.
A short ram intake keeps the filter inside the engine bay. True you will see gains with a short ram, but i lean more towards a full blown CAI as it will give you the best air flow (cold air flow) and that is always healthier. The reason i steer clear of short rams is, as i said, they stay in the engine bay. It doesnt give you much of a power increase becuase your still getting all that hot air created from your engine... back into your engine. It keeps water out, true... but it wasnt like water was getting in in the first place.
Headers and exhuast are completely up to you. You can purchase one of several things. To simply start off with, most people on here love a dual exhaust set-up, myself included. So, i would recommend a borla full exhaust set-up for the best gains. That would include 2.25 inch tubing and a dual exhuast outlet. It allows for maximum air flow without the problem of not creating back pressure ( low - no back pressure is BAD!!!!!!!!!!). Borla headers are some of the best as well. Mind you, when you purchase this stuff your purchasing quality. Borla is top of the line. I trust their products. However, if you cant live with doing a full exhuast system, you can easily purchase a dual exhuast muffler. It allows for a power increase and will allow better airflow, but not to the same extent a 2.25 inch piping would do. You will see pacesetter headers and such on market at a lot of places. They are cheap, but i would recommend getting them portmatched and heat treated (if not already). I have heard bad things about them as they do not seat right and are, in the cases i have heard, no better than stock without good port matching. Thats just me.
A short ram intake keeps the filter inside the engine bay. True you will see gains with a short ram, but i lean more towards a full blown CAI as it will give you the best air flow (cold air flow) and that is always healthier. The reason i steer clear of short rams is, as i said, they stay in the engine bay. It doesnt give you much of a power increase becuase your still getting all that hot air created from your engine... back into your engine. It keeps water out, true... but it wasnt like water was getting in in the first place.
Headers and exhuast are completely up to you. You can purchase one of several things. To simply start off with, most people on here love a dual exhaust set-up, myself included. So, i would recommend a borla full exhaust set-up for the best gains. That would include 2.25 inch tubing and a dual exhuast outlet. It allows for maximum air flow without the problem of not creating back pressure ( low - no back pressure is BAD!!!!!!!!!!). Borla headers are some of the best as well. Mind you, when you purchase this stuff your purchasing quality. Borla is top of the line. I trust their products. However, if you cant live with doing a full exhuast system, you can easily purchase a dual exhuast muffler. It allows for a power increase and will allow better airflow, but not to the same extent a 2.25 inch piping would do. You will see pacesetter headers and such on market at a lot of places. They are cheap, but i would recommend getting them portmatched and heat treated (if not already). I have heard bad things about them as they do not seat right and are, in the cases i have heard, no better than stock without good port matching. Thats just me.
#5
06-11-2006, 05:10 AM
RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
thanks alot you guys are being really helpfull.
so from what i gather, all the name brand intakes are about the same, (although from the pictures in this jcw magazine, the injen intakes look like they have the smoothest bends) and the only way i need to worry about my engine getting wet is if i like, try to turn my car into a submersable.
with exaust i was thinking 2.5 inch pipes, or is that too much flow and not enough back pressure? im even more cautious about exaust because i dont want it sound like all the ****ty fart cans you see around here, thats like my worst nightmare. i want it to growl, not fart. oh yeah and the stock R/T exaust is a catback so thats probably what ill get again.
thanks again, ill be checking back soon!
so from what i gather, all the name brand intakes are about the same, (although from the pictures in this jcw magazine, the injen intakes look like they have the smoothest bends) and the only way i need to worry about my engine getting wet is if i like, try to turn my car into a submersable.
with exaust i was thinking 2.5 inch pipes, or is that too much flow and not enough back pressure? im even more cautious about exaust because i dont want it sound like all the ****ty fart cans you see around here, thats like my worst nightmare. i want it to growl, not fart. oh yeah and the stock R/T exaust is a catback so thats probably what ill get again.
thanks again, ill be checking back soon!
#6
06-11-2006, 05:26 AM
RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
ORIGINAL: Freerider
The truth about CAI's is that they are pretty much all engineered the same. Some are made with better quality materials... but what your mainly paying for is the quality. You pay for the K&N, you are getting one of the best air filters on the market. You buy a cheap CAI off of ebay, your getting a cheap filter. And to solve your worries about a CAI, the only way you will start getting water in the engine is when you sit in a pool of water with your intake submerged. To also save your worries, K&N filters come with a small device that goes over the filter itself to keep large things like rocks and gunk, plus its water proof to a reasonable degree as to not let water in normal driving conditions (driving in the rain). The AEM bypass valve is a peice of crap. you're better off with your stock intake system than with the bypass valve. It essentially just takes the powergain away from owning a CAI. Very restrictive.
A short ram intake keeps the filter inside the engine bay. True you will see gains with a short ram, but i lean more towards a full blown CAI as it will give you the best air flow (cold air flow) and that is always healthier. The reason i steer clear of short rams is, as i said, they stay in the engine bay. It doesnt give you much of a power increase becuase your still getting all that hot air created from your engine... back into your engine. It keeps water out, true... but it wasnt like water was getting in in the first place.
Headers and exhuast are completely up to you. You can purchase one of several things. To simply start off with, most people on here love a dual exhaust set-up, myself included. So, i would recommend a borla full exhaust set-up for the best gains. That would include 2.25 inch tubing and a dual exhuast outlet. It allows for maximum air flow without the problem of not creating back pressure ( low - no back pressure is BAD!!!!!!!!!!). Borla headers are some of the best as well. Mind you, when you purchase this stuff your purchasing quality. Borla is top of the line. I trust their products. However, if you cant live with doing a full exhuast system, you can easily purchase a dual exhuast muffler. It allows for a power increase and will allow better airflow, but not to the same extent a 2.25 inch piping would do. You will see pacesetter headers and such on market at a lot of places. They are cheap, but i would recommend getting them portmatched and heat treated (if not already). I have heard bad things about them as they do not seat right and are, in the cases i have heard, no better than stock without good port matching. Thats just me.
The truth about CAI's is that they are pretty much all engineered the same. Some are made with better quality materials... but what your mainly paying for is the quality. You pay for the K&N, you are getting one of the best air filters on the market. You buy a cheap CAI off of ebay, your getting a cheap filter. And to solve your worries about a CAI, the only way you will start getting water in the engine is when you sit in a pool of water with your intake submerged. To also save your worries, K&N filters come with a small device that goes over the filter itself to keep large things like rocks and gunk, plus its water proof to a reasonable degree as to not let water in normal driving conditions (driving in the rain). The AEM bypass valve is a peice of crap. you're better off with your stock intake system than with the bypass valve. It essentially just takes the powergain away from owning a CAI. Very restrictive.
A short ram intake keeps the filter inside the engine bay. True you will see gains with a short ram, but i lean more towards a full blown CAI as it will give you the best air flow (cold air flow) and that is always healthier. The reason i steer clear of short rams is, as i said, they stay in the engine bay. It doesnt give you much of a power increase becuase your still getting all that hot air created from your engine... back into your engine. It keeps water out, true... but it wasnt like water was getting in in the first place.
Headers and exhuast are completely up to you. You can purchase one of several things. To simply start off with, most people on here love a dual exhaust set-up, myself included. So, i would recommend a borla full exhaust set-up for the best gains. That would include 2.25 inch tubing and a dual exhuast outlet. It allows for maximum air flow without the problem of not creating back pressure ( low - no back pressure is BAD!!!!!!!!!!). Borla headers are some of the best as well. Mind you, when you purchase this stuff your purchasing quality. Borla is top of the line. I trust their products. However, if you cant live with doing a full exhuast system, you can easily purchase a dual exhuast muffler. It allows for a power increase and will allow better airflow, but not to the same extent a 2.25 inch piping would do. You will see pacesetter headers and such on market at a lot of places. They are cheap, but i would recommend getting them portmatched and heat treated (if not already). I have heard bad things about them as they do not seat right and are, in the cases i have heard, no better than stock without good port matching. Thats just me.
The man hit it dead on. K&N is the best air filter on the market, and I have a K&N Fuel Injection Performance Kit on my car....long tube. You'll see em labeled FIPK and it works great. Nice lil growl to it, and I've had zero issues with standing water, not to mention my car is lowered. The only issue about water is idiots who decide to drive thru 2 ft of water....and well...that can screw up any car....period.
New headers and an exhaust will help with HP/fuel economy gains...but it can be expensive/time consuming. Just depends on if your a do-it-yourself person or a let a shop do it person.
I would stick with the 2.25 pipe size....and stay away from the fart cans....
Good luck on your trip...and one thing to do....keep your cruise control on......set your car to cruise rather then worryin about usin ya pedal....that'll give you better fuel economy..
#7
06-11-2006, 10:17 AM
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#8
06-12-2006, 03:11 AM
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RE: Intakes... ugh, help!
Welp, if you want to know what the borla and vibrant exhuasts sounds like, go ahead and look at my cardomain page. The link is in my signature. I have 2 clips both with an intkake and exhuast. The one on page 7 was just several nuetral revs. The one on the first page is how it sounds driving down the street.