2.0L Should I go with an intake kit or drop in filter?

[jred721]

So i'm looking to buy an intake or a drop in filter for my 2018 EX. I've seen all over the forum that people have mixed responses on the AEM CAI and a lot of people say that it is overpriced. I also found a K&N air intake kit online (https://www.autoanything.com/air-intakes/kn-63-series-aircharger-high-flow-intake-kit) and I haven't seen any threads about it on the forum.

So my question is will a K&N drop in filter satisfy my needs for better sound and performance or is the AEM/K&N kit worth the money?

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[gtman]

A CAI will give the best gains. Don't bother with an SRI unless you only want sound. They heat soak like crazy. I actually am using a combo of a PRL silicone intake hose and an AEM Dryflow filter in the stock box. It definitely improves throttle response and I'm seeing slighly higher MPG's. I'm only getting a very slight increase in sound though

 

[jred721]

A CAI will give the best gains. Don't bother with an SRI unless you only want sound. They heat soak like crazy. I actually am using a combo of a PRL silicone intake hose and an AEM Dryflow filter in the stock box. It definitely improves throttle response and I'm seeing slighly higher MPG's. I'm only getting a very slight increase in sound though

Good to know. But would just a k&n drop in filter (considerably cheaper) do anything for the car? Or is it useless and should I just spring for the CAI?

 

[gtman]

IMO don't get a K&N. The oil has the potential to gunk up the MAF. Get an aFe dry or AEM dry. A drop in will give slight gains but nothing like a cold air intake. And if you're looking for sound, a drop in won't cut it.

 

[360glitch]

For N/A, I would say a drop-in is probably fine.

 

[17siturb0]

For the 2.0 N/A motor, I would stay stock. Not much to be had with that platform. You would need a tune anyways for it to work properly and get any gains. If you wanted to mod and get something from it, should have got the 1.5T. Or wait for a turbo/supercharger kit.

 

[jred721]

For the 2.0 N/A motor, I would stay stock. Not much to be had with that platform. You would need a tune anyways for it to work properly and get any gains. If you wanted to mod and get something from it, should have got the 1.5T. Or wait for a turbo/supercharger kit.

The 2.0 N/A actually has a tune from KTuner that offers a decent boost over stock (over 22whp tested by them), which is pretty good for an N/A engine. Ktuner themselves pretty much said Honda detuned the engine because it would have got into 1.5T territory. Along with a downpipe, you can still get some power gains on this platform and I suspect you could get a lot more if people actually supported it. And it is not necessary to get a tune for the intake to be effective, which is why my main question was whether a drop in or CAI was the way to go. Not really missing the 1.5T or desperate to make this car fast because I have another car which I focus my real attention on, just wanted a little more punch from the engine just for fun.

 

[17siturb0]

The 2.0 N/A actually has a tune from KTuner that offers a decent boost over stock (over 22whp tested by them), which is pretty good for an N/A engine. Ktuner themselves pretty much said Honda detuned the engine because it would have got into 1.5T territory. Along with a downpipe, you can still get some power gains on this platform and I suspect you could get a lot more if people actually supported it. And it is not necessary to get a tune for the intake to be effective, which is why my main question was whether a drop in or CAI was the way to go. Not really missing the 1.5T or desperate to make this car fast because I have another car which I focus my real attention on, just wanted a little more punch from the engine just for fun.

You do need a tune for it actually. Your air and fuel ratios will not be spot on, therefore meaning the car is not running optimal as it could be. That leads to knock. If you add a downpipe and intake, you’ll definitely need a tune. If you didn’t then they wouldn’t make tunes. Don’t kid yourself bro. That’s the whole point of performance mods. Don’t be one of those kids that rides around with a intake and no tune claiming you got these awesome power gains , and that it sounds good and feels good, so the car must be running great right? Wrong. The only way you can get away without running a part with out a tune is, just doing it, which makes you look like a idiot. Or two it’s identical to the OEM part. If you change airflow on the intake or exhaust side the air and fuel ratios change automatically and the ECU can only compensate so much. A very knowledgeable person that used to be the top dog on here would even tell you the same thing, he does tuning for a living and he knows his shit, that’s why I’m echoing it. I know it’s hard to be told this as I was in this same boat years ago. Just spend the extra money and get the tune and do it right the first time. You will end up wasting money! You can’t beat prior experience.

 

[jred721]

You do need a tune for it actually. Your air and fuel ratios will not be spot on, therefore meaning the car is not running optimal as it could be. That leads to knock. If you add a downpipe and intake, you’ll definitely need a tune. If you didn’t then they wouldn’t make tunes. Don’t kid yourself bro. That’s the whole point of performance mods. Don’t be one of those kids that rides around with a intake and no tune claiming you got these awesome power gains , and that it sounds good and feels good, so the car must be running great right? Wrong. The only way you can get away without running a part with out a tune is, just doing it, which makes you look like a idiot. Or two it’s identical to the OEM part. If you change airflow on the intake or exhaust side the air and fuel ratios change automatically and the ECU can only compensate so much. A very knowledgeable person that used to be the top dog on here would even tell you the same thing, he does tuning for a living and he knows his shit, that’s why I’m echoing it. I know it’s hard to be told this as I was in this same boat years ago. Just spend the extra money and get the tune and do it right the first time. You will end up wasting money! You can’t beat prior experience.

I was mistaken on the tune so thanks for the heads up, but good thing is that I wasnt going to buy the intake without a tune anyway because I am not THAT dumb where I would run a catless downpipe on a stock ecu. And i'm not the type of person to ride around with an intake expecting big power gains lol I'll be lucky to get a couple horsepower out of it. I just assumed the tune didn't do much for the intake, but the air/fuel ratio thing makes sense. You learn something new everyday.

 

[DarkLight]

I’d say stick with the stock airbox. After getting a tune/downpipe/manifold porting, the AEM intake system I had made me lose low end torque and throttle response. It gives only a small hp bump in the midrange with no top end gains.

It actually works best on an untuned car. That was the way AEM designed it. The stock box delivers more power with mods though.

 

[jred721]

I’d say stick with the stock airbox. After getting a tune/downpipe/manifold porting, the AEM intake system I had made me lose low end torque and throttle response. It gives only a small hp bump in the midrange with no top end gains.

It actually works best on an untuned car. That was the way AEM designed it. The stock box delivers more power with mods though.

Yeah I agree, I looked at a all my options but the Intakes basically give negligible amount of power and IMO isn't worth $250+ for a gain of like 3-5 HP at best. So i'm sticking with the stock box, but I'm probably getting a dry flow filter just to see how it works out and I won't be too broken up if it doesn't because its considerably cheaper than an intake. Just waiting on my KTuner now.

 

[10GenPearlSi]

Yeah I agree, I looked at a all my options but the Intakes basically give negligible amount of power and IMO isn't worth $250+ for a gain of like 3-5 HP at best. So i'm sticking with the stock box, but I'm probably getting a dry flow filter just to see how it works out and I won't be too broken up if it doesn't because its considerably cheaper than an intake. Just waiting on my KTuner now.

I would suggest to get a CAI intake. A PRL Cobra intake would add almost 15 hp not 5. It would also not run out of power at 5000 rpm like the stock does with a drop in air filter. Also, it would not heat soak like the stock system does when you have the A/C on.

 

[jred721]

I would suggest to get a CAI intake. A PRL Cobra intake would add almost 15 hp not 5. It would also not run out of power at 5000 rpm like the stock does with a drop in air filter. Also it would not heat soak like the stock system does when you have the A/C on.

PRL doesn't manufacture intakes for the 2.0L engines, otherwise I definitely would have looked into it. The current AEM and K&N intakes made for the 2.0L basically have a manufacturer stated estimated gain ranging from 3-5 HP.

 

[10GenPearlSi]

Oops! My bad!

 

[jred721]

Oops! My bad!

All good.

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