Cold Air Intake Advice.

[DarkThinker]

I am planning on getting a cold air intake for my 96 Accord.

I have some classical inquires:

a- I don't think those name brand ones are worth it. But what do I have to watch out for when picking up a non-name brand one online or something like that.

b- I believe I will have no trouble installing it on my own, if I have instructions do I need to watch out for anything typical that instructions usually omit? (Hoping someone here has done this before to a similar Accord)

c- Recommend me a value cold air intake that does the job well.

Thanks

 

[ethebubbeth]

My mechanic says "don't bother."

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: ethebubbeth
My mechanic says "don't bother."

I agree.

There are 2 reasons for installing a CAI.

1. You like the slight whooshing induction sound on acceleration.
2. You like how it looks.

With a CAI you will get a fraction of a bit more air coming in, but with today's cars, you'd be looking at minimal power gains at best, something in the range of a dyno's error.

 

[Bignate603]

Unless you're desperate for small gains in power your money is better spent elsewhere.

If you do get one stick with a reputable name. Cheap 'performance' parts tend to hurt your car more than help it. Good companies stand by their products and with autoparts you may need to pay a little more for that.

 

[thescreensavers]

I hear home depot has a few CAI's on the cheap, some assembly required

 

[swtethan]

get a turbo

 

[Greenman]

Waste of time and money.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: swtethan
get a turbo

Not a good idea. Unless you want to upgrade your brakes, and prepare for engine issues.


How about this: Get a job, sell your Accord, buy a Subaru manual.


Or a Honda SI, or something.

 

[child of wonder]

Save your money and buy a better car.

 

[halik]

It won't do anything on your accord, waste of money.

 

[DarkThinker]

Well, I am planning on getting a much better car this year. But I decided I would really like to keep this Accord, it's fun. I don't hate it at all, I had it throughout school and I have nice memories in this thing, I want to keep it as long as it can still drive.

I don't want to rice this thing out or anything, I just want to do a mod here and a mod there for cheaps and get myself some extra HP for fun.

Additionally, I want to get my hands dirty and start replacing/upgrading parts on my own to get some personal experience. I might be a major electronics and computer geek, but I am near clueless when it comes to car repairs and upgrades and I want to do something about it.

I was under the impression that a cold air intake typically adds about 4 HP on average to a car, am I wrong?

If a cold air intake will not do the trick, what about a small Turbo?

Really, if I could get 20HP more with upgrades i install for a low cost I would be happy about that.

 

[TehMac]

Yeah, but 4 hp in the long run is near makes no difference.

My mustang has a CAI, but this provides air to the engine which cools it down and forces a bit more air into the combustion chambers. That said, the guy who did the modding also electronically mapped the output to around 250bhp, I need to dyno it, but 250 is my guess.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Well, I am planning on getting a much better car this year. But I decided I would really like to keep this Accord, it's fun. I don't hate it at all, I had it throughout school and I have nice memories in this thing, I want to keep it as long as it can still drive.

Which is it? Keeping it or getting a new car in the next 7.5 months?

Seriously, you're not going to get much performance out of the car without spending thousands of dollars. Hang on to that money and get yourself a nicer car.

There are probably a couple small mods you can do for very little money (sub $100 total) but you'll be lucky if they'll add 5 HP.

 

[DivideBYZero]

You mod induction for noise, rarely for power.

 

[Greenman]

4 hp on a car is nothing, you will never be able to feel the difference. If you really want to perk it up, you might be able to get a super chip for it, understand that you will have to run 91 octane fuel in it though. Beyond that, you're getting into mods that cost several thousand dollars, and may very well kill an older engine. Also, lets remember that we're talking about a Honda, it ain't never going to be a muscle car.

If you really want waste some money on cheap mods just for the fun of it (and it can be fun), then do the cold air intake, toss in a K&N filter (worthless IMHO), and maybe change the exhaust. There is also a place that sells oil filters for two hundred bucks, they claim a 5 hp gain (absolute bullshit). But understand that when you're all finished, you're still going to have a thirteen year old Honda that's not very fast and doesn't handle all that well.

Edit: If you do all that, then decide to sell it, remember to put one of those huge wings on the back. Kids love those things, and will apparently pay a great deal of money for a car that has one.

 

[RichUK]

Invest in some ?go faster stripes?. That?ll net you 10hp, easy.

In all seriousness, it?s pointless you spending money on modding that car. If you really have the urge, just buy an aftermarket air filter.

 

[zerocool84]

Sell it to ZaneJohnson

 

[Ronstang]

You will not likely get a 4 HP increase on a little Honda with a CAI since it doesn't have a lot of HP to start and even if it did the only difference you are going to notice is the noise. You need to be careful with CAIs on small engines to begin with, especially if they don't have a bunch of other mods. You would be surprised at the amount of low end torque you could loose....all to get a few HP in the upper RPM range. A quick and cheap mod that was touted as "free HP" on the early Taurus SHOs was to remove the baffle in the air inlet under the fender. It looked rather restrictive so I removed the one on mine one day. I noticed two changes. More noise and less low end torque. The car did not drive as well as it had under the conditions it was driven 99% of the time. I put it back in. At least it didn't cost me anything.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Well, I am planning on getting a much better car this year. But I decided I would really like to keep this Accord, it's fun. I don't hate it at all, I had it throughout school and I have nice memories in this thing, I want to keep it as long as it can still drive.

I don't want to rice this thing out or anything, I just want to do a mod here and a mod there for cheaps and get myself some extra HP for fun.

Additionally, I want to get my hands dirty and start replacing/upgrading parts on my own to get some personal experience. I might be a major electronics and computer geek, but I am near clueless when it comes to car repairs and upgrades and I want to do something about it.

I was under the impression that a cold air intake typically adds about 4 HP on average to a car, am I wrong?

If a cold air intake will not do the trick, what about a small Turbo?

Really, if I could get 20HP more with upgrades i install for a low cost I would be happy about that.

You typically need at least a 10% increase in power before you can notice it. So, if your engine makes only 40 hp to begin with, then that 4 hp gain will be worth something. If it's making 150 hp, you'll never notice that extra 4 hp (and it still won't be available except for a tiny lump at WOT).

The other thing about mods is that horsepower gains aren't simple addition. If a new intake adds 4 hp and new cams can add 10, installing both may only add 11 hp instead of 14 hp.

As far as a turbo, to do it properly, even a small one, would be cost-prohibitive. You'd need a complete custom engine management setup to do it right, and that's not counting the custom fabrication necessary to physically mount the turbo.

ZV

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Well, I am planning on getting a much better car this year. But I decided I would really like to keep this Accord, it's fun. I don't hate it at all, I had it throughout school and I have nice memories in this thing, I want to keep it as long as it can still drive.

I don't want to rice this thing out or anything, I just want to do a mod here and a mod there for cheaps and get myself some extra HP for fun.

Additionally, I want to get my hands dirty and start replacing/upgrading parts on my own to get some personal experience. I might be a major electronics and computer geek, but I am near clueless when it comes to car repairs and upgrades and I want to do something about it.

I was under the impression that a cold air intake typically adds about 4 HP on average to a car, am I wrong?

If a cold air intake will not do the trick, what about a small Turbo?

Really, if I could get 20HP more with upgrades i install for a low cost I would be happy about that.

You typically need at least a 10% increase in power before you can notice it. So, if your engine makes only 40 hp to begin with, then that 4 hp gain will be worth something. If it's making 150 hp, you'll never notice that extra 4 hp (and it still won't be available except for a tiny lump at WOT).

The other thing about mods is that horsepower gains aren't simple addition. If a new intake adds 4 hp and new cams can add 10, installing both may only add 11 hp instead of 14 hp.

As far as a turbo, to do it properly, even a small one, would be cost-prohibitive. You'd need a complete custom engine management setup to do it right, and that's not counting the custom fabrication necessary to physically mount the turbo.

ZV

though, it would be fun to do if you had money to blow. I've always wanted to trubo a 95 camry =) I'm sure it can take it, heh.

you want experience working on your car? change the cv boots. drop the pan and and reseal it. do your brakes. swap in some new rotors. stick in some stainless steel brake lines. change your oil. change other fluids. you'll get far more use out of all this than a CAI. I did it for the sound early on, but that lost it's novelty in a month, heh.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
You mod induction for noise, rarely for power.

From what I've heard, intakes are helpful if you want to electronically increase output in that they feed more air to the engine. From a mechanical standpoint, no they don't do much.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: TehMac

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
You mod induction for noise, rarely for power.

From what I've heard, intakes are helpful if you want to electronically increase output in that they feed more air to the engine. From a mechanical standpoint, no they don't do much.

Well yea but that's more complicated than just adding a CAI to a car. I have a SRI on my car just cus I wanted the turbo more audible.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Well yea but that's more complicated than just adding a CAI to a car. I have a SRI on my car just cus I wanted the turbo more audible.

Yeah, I'm not sure, but I think my dual exhaust are cherry bombers as well, but I'm not sure.

 

[thomsbrain]

This likely to make less difference than turning the A/C off, and even then only at full throttle near redline. In return, you get the possibility of hydro-lock, reduced resale value, and the possibility of reduced power lower in the rev range.

The gf drove a 95 Accord EX for a few years before getting her 350Z. I know the appeal of the car, as they are rewarding cars for family sedans, but I just don't see this being woth your trouble. Put the money towards a car payment on a vastly superior new car. Keep the old car if you want, to beat around town in or something, but no need to mess it up.

 

[DarkThinker]

Well, after all the input, after what I am hearing, it might be better to leave this thing stock since I am getting a more powerful car anyways.
I would certainly like to dick around with my fun old car, but I certainly do not want to waste time and effort on something that would not be noticeable by me and could have a negative effect too. I want to have a working backup around not otherwise.

OK then, screw the mods, I will just have to wait till New Year's I guess when I get me a nice fun car... I have a boner for a Manual CTS, that ought to have enough power to shut me up for a while eh?

Thanks for the advice all