Which is better?
I was thinking about getting a CAI untill I started talking to some of my friends and they said i should get a short ram because it added more hp.
So I was wondering are they right? What exactly is the difference between a CAI and a short-ram?
Thanks for the help

 

They don't know what they are talking about. A cold air intake sucks in cold air which ='s more power; a short ram will still suck in hot air which isn't as effective. Cold Air Intakes cost more for a reason[&:].

 

A lot of people think that the phrase "Ram Air" has something to do with which direction the intake tube is pointing. The thought is that it will act as some sort of scoop forcing more air into the engine. This is simply not the case on so many levels. The simple fact is that air cannot be used to compress itself. A vacuum is created at the inlet tube because the pistons are travelling down while the intake valves are open and there just isn't enough to meet the demand. The vacuum obtained is directly proportional to the speed (feet per second) of the air in the tube. Yes, traveling faster will eventually cause the air speed due to the forward motion of the car to match the speed of the air in the tube, and ambient pressure will be achieved. To acheive ambient pressure at the air inlet, your Neon would have to be doing in excess of 100 mph... and that's in an ideal setup. It is not possible to force a higher pressure doing this (excess air will just flow around the tube inlet instead of through it...). "Ram Air" actually refers to intake runner length and how it pertains to harmonics within the runners to help force more air in. Nothing to do with the intake tube... Jaguar achieved the equivalent of 5 psi boost on a few cars with insanely long (20+ inches) intake runners over a small rpm band. Harmonics are awesome...

A true cold air intake will draw air from the coolest location possible - typically outside the engine bay, most frequently near the front of the car as low as possible. Some cars are able to draw air from the fender well, which is often quite cool. Intake tubes made of metal will transfer heat from the engine bay to the air inside much faster than hard plastics. Intake tube length can have some effect on how much and/or where power is being made, but it is far overshadowed by other factors like plenum volume, intake runner sizing, valve events, etc.

Cold air is more dense, which means it contains more oxygen molecules per volume. So more oxygen is available with each stroke. Your PCM can guess the density based on intake air temperature and manifold pressure compared to RPM. It then adds the correct amount of fuel (as far as it's concerned) to make up for the extra oxygen to maintain its desired air-to-fuel ratio. More fuel at the correct a/f ratio equals more power.

Best of luck!

 

thanks for the advice. one more question though. does AEM make good cold air intakes or am i better off going with an iceman or some other brand?

 

Guys I have a question. I can still drive in the rain with my AEM CAI right? I just can't get the filter submerged, correct?

 

I recently learned that it is actually really hard to submerge your filter. It actually has to be low enough to "set" in water. So unless it's flooding outside you're okay with the AEM CAI.

 

The AEM for the 2nd gens is pretty nice. The one they are selling for the 1st gens now is crap.

 

I love my AEM I got on my car. Id highly recommend it. and yeah I dont even have the little foam breather piece youre supposed to have if you drive in the rain, and mine drives like a mean machine no matter what the weather.