AEM SRI intake installation findings

[vankuen]

Hey guys, I'm actually kinda ticked off at the attention to detail that AEM took with their intake setup--or perhaps it's just the packaging guys that are to blame.

When I received my SRI--it was missing two clamps, and I got one long hose instead of two shorter ones (each hose was supposed to have had a different ID)

So I tried to make due with what I had. While doing the install I realized that I didn't want to go underneath and mess with all the bull of taking off the splashguards, and removing the resonator and all that jazz. So I didn't. You have enough room for the install simply taking out the airbox and intake tube.

Something else I noticed about this kit, was that the hose used to reroute the coolant was actually too big of an ID...and so after all was said and done it leaked coolant. I cranked down the c-clamps as much as I could without cutting into the rubber but it still leaked. So what I did to rig it is to use the original hosing with the metal bridge, and just took off the extra tubing that went to the head. I secured it all with tie straps for the time being until I can locate a shop with a hose that is 9/32 ID and 1/2 OD (or 8mm ID and 13mm OD).

Aside from that the install was pretty ok. I don't like the way AEM secured the intake using a rubber mount that actually gives a bit, allowing the filter to come veeery close to the edges on the side.

But when it was all done...it worked. The intake gives the car a better throttle response...sound is a bit throatier. SO far that's about all I've noticed. I'll come back again with pics and a step by step.

[Leonardo629]

speaking from experience:

You'll soon get so sick and tired of the heat soak during this season, you'll want to sell it and get a CAI.....

[vankuen]

I've not noticed any bogging from heat soak as of yet...and yesterday it was about 95 deg outside here in Texas. Pretty sure if it was going to bog down it would have that day when I was driving around town. But then again, I suspect this will be a problem as well on occasion. We'll have to wait and see.

I went to autozone and bought 14" of bulk rubber hosing with an ID of 8mm and an OD of about 12mm, which more closely matches the original hosing dimensions, and bought some pinch clamps to hold it in place. This seemed to work and nothing leaks. The hose that AEM gave me was about 3mm too big for it's ID and never retained the coolant. Took off the sticker on the piping since it was coming off anyway...and that has officially finished the install.

As far as the "performance" aspect goes with this SRI...there isn't much which is to be expected from an SRI. There is indeed a drop in HP and torque in the 3k range just as the CAI has. There is a slight increase in hp and torque in the mid-high range. One thing I noticed straight away is that when travelling at 70mph in 6th gear the car provided less acceleration compared to that of the stock setup (I typically drive in 6th my whole 20 mile trip home from work on the highway...and still can accelerate easily in 6th with the original setup). I now have to downshift and get the rpms up to pass people on the highway. That's a downer for me when I'm trying to conserve gas on the highway. Hell--any loss in hp and torque in any part of the rpm range is a negative. But alas we have to give up something for those 2 extra horses.

Sound wise, the car doesn't sound any different at idle. Accelerating from a standstill the car gives off a kind of high pitch wheezing sound around 3k, then a whistling sound around 4-5k, then of course when you hit 6k vtec kicks in and there is a monsterous roaring sound which is probably what all the ricers like to hear.

I'm hoping that in conjuction with the custom exhaust setup/apex worldsport muffler that the car will run a bit better in terms of getting back some of that low end.