Cold air intake? Short ram intake?

Hey, I'm new to the car game, just got my si last monday. I'm thinking about putting a 27won CAI into my car. Seems easy and people say they love it but I want your opinion.

Everywhere on youtube is trying to dispute that they have any gain, and that they can cause check engine lights, and that you need a tune for them to work.

Is there any validity there? I want to make my car perform better.

Does it make any different sound? More of a wooshing sound right?

Also, what's the difference between the CAI and SRI (short ram intake) and what do you prefer, and works best for our 1.5T cars.

Thank you so much. If you do have a CAI or SRI, please tell me which you have, your review on the product, and any recommendations feel free to leave them!

Thanks!

I have the PRL SRI. Their website says it does not require a tune (which I'm also pretty sure the CAI doesn't require one either). I only have noticed improvement on the low end, but it may be a placebo thing going on into my head lol. The main difference between CAI and SRI is where the air is getting pulled from. CAI pulls closer to the bottom of the engine bay where as the SRI takes air from basically the stock airbox location except now it's an open filter. I don't have a preference cause I only own a SRI, but I love the turbo noises that it's associated with it!!!

So they’re glorified sounds haha. The 27won cai looks so dope!

Braiton said:

So they’re glorified sounds haha. The 27won cai looks so dope!

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Yeah basically glorified I have had no issues so far in the last month, and cross my fingers that I will have no problems.... I have heard nothing but good things about 27Won's CAI, I was also cross shopping that one as well. There is also a thread about the Burger Motorsports intake with a ton of data VS Prl SRI so give that a look too! Good luck on your choice!!!

A proper intake system should not throw a code. People on the forum have all sorts of brands of SRI/CAI intakes and I haven't heard many issues. There is one system that seems to come up more than others and that is the ones from AEM. Some people seem to have no issues others have had issues. PRL has a good reputation but costs more. As far a short ram vs cold air vs drop in it's like this:
SRI-more turbo noise, more heat soak,stock or possibly less hp, possible water intrusion. (PRL has stated they only created the SRI for people because they asked for one and it will heat soak)
CAI-more turbo noise, most hp gain, cooler iat's, possible hydrolock (that can be mitigated somewhat with a cover on the filter) generally the most expesive option
Drop-in-stock turbo noise levels (maybe a tiny bit louder), stock or slightly better iat's, small hp gain, uses stock airbox so water intrusion should be almost impossible.

Personally I went with the PRL drop in kit and am very happy with it. I live in an area where the weather can change drastically and heavy water puddles can be an issue along with snow, etc. I use my car as a daily but wanted something that could let the stock system breath a little better but still keep the OEM look for the most part with the least possibility of issues.

jbuttke1179 said:

Personally I went with the PRL drop in kit and am very happy with it. I live in an area where the weather can change drastically and heavy water puddles can be an issue along with snow, etc. I use my car as a daily but wanted something that could let the stock system breath a little better but still keep the OEM look for the most part with the least possibility of issues.

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Is this the drop in you got?

https://twostepperformance.com/prl-motorsports-2016-1-5t-honda-civic-stage-1-intake-system-black/

If you get one of those drop in kits, is there any point in upgrading to a different intake?

schrisi said:

Is this the drop in you got?

https://twostepperformance.com/prl-motorsports-2016-1-5t-honda-civic-stage-1-intake-system-black/

If you get one of those drop in kits, is there any point in upgrading to a different intake?

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I got mine from PRL off amazon, same kit minus the breather tube. Only reason I could see to upgrade would be for more noise or with the CAI slight more power also. Drop in has been tested by PRL to show 5hp gains. The oem airbox flows air very well so unless you are going for all out power potential I would say this is the best bang for the buck.

I will tell you the same thing I recently told someone in another thread.

If you are buying an intake just for power it is not worth it at all IMO.

KTuner 1.2 runs about $450, 27 Won looks to be around $400. KTuner would be a wayyyyyyyyyyy better purchase if you are looking for power gains. You will get +30 hp and +50 ft lbs of torque. An intake would maybe give you 5hp at high rpm. If you dont want to tune your car with KTuner or Hondata to each their own, but I 100% would recommend it, makes it a completely different car.

I went with a SRI over Cold air because:
1- Cheaper
2- Easier to install
3- Louder whoosh than cold air because intake cone isn’t buried down in the fender.

I bought the PRL Short Ram intake after KTuner mostly for the woosh sound and maybe some better throttle response or something like that. I can say that I am very happy with my purchase, especially when accelerating hard the whoosh sound and blow off sound is amazing! My unscientific general guess based on videos/ my own SRI intake for the amount of sound/whoosing noise on a scale of 1-10 is SRI-10, cold air-7, stock-2.

My intake temps are about the same as the stock intake. If I am sitting at a light for a while yes it does get hot, maybe 60 degrees over ambient, but once I get moving even 20mph it goes back down to about 30 degrees over ambient. With a cold air intake/27 WON you will probably get intake temps just a couple degrees over ambient based on what others on the forum have said. This might net you maybe a couple hp at high revs, but an aftermarket intercooler would bring down the temp of the air going to your engine thus giving you more power than a cold air intake would. So if you truly want colder air going to the engine get a better intercooler. If you want more whooshing sound and maybe some better throttle response from the filter being less restrictive get a short ram intake or a cold air intake.

Did I gain a few hp with a short ram intake? Maybe. Did I lose a few hp due to heat soak when I am sitting at a stoplight not moving? Maybe. Did I gain any meaningful hp? I can't tell a difference at all with the butt dyno, my guess is that I maybe gained 3-4hp because it is less restrictive at high rpm. However the whoosh noises make me feel like I gained 300hp, so I have a huge smile whenever I am hard on the throttle and that is what counts

TLDR: More power? Don't think so. Short ram and cold air give you way better sound, would recommend.

I just recently went through this same dilemma and this is the route I went.....

Installed the PRL SRI and the noise was amazing but my performance suffered due to the heat soak and the fact that I live in the south. I called PRL and they agreed that if you live in a state with high heat and humidity than the SRI is not a wise choice. I expressed my concern with hydro lock and he said to his knowledge it has not happened with a PRL and you would really have to try to suck up water if you really wanted to. Went with the CAI conversion and could not be happier. The turbo noise is definitely noticeable but not as loud as the SRI. I can def tell a difference between the two intakes, and not to mention with both my orders they threw in free accessories! Hope this helps.

mdmayberry09 said:

I had Injens CAI. Fuel trim levels were God awful. Long term was reaching -15 or more. Short term was even worse. Pulled it out and switched to PRL and I am having much better trim levels. Short usually goes between -5 to 5, and then long term stays right about -3.

Now, what these numbers mean? IDK. I just know what people said I should stay around and PRL does a much much better job of that. And after searching, people said to avoid Injen for that reason.

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This post is making me second guess my decision on buying the Injen CAI.. I haven't received it yet but it is on the way. I didn't know there products change the fuel trim levels so much, it must be the design on them. May have to buy something else, before I bother installing it for nothing. 27WON any good?

OrchidFc3 said:

This post is making me second guess my decision on buying the Injen CAI.. I haven't received it yet but it is on the way. I didn't know there products change the fuel trim levels so much, it must be the design on them. May have to buy something else, before I bother installing it for nothing. 27WON any good?

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It's true, maybe too large diameter at the MAF. I'd second the BMS for the money. Numbers look good. I run prl Sri and it is nice.https://www.civicx.com/threads/bms-intake.38171/

What would you recommend if I live in New York. Where summers are very short, not too hot, and then not that much rain, and we get some snow in the winter, but not even that bad.

bbeem said:

It's true, maybe too large diameter at the MAF. I'd second the BMS for the money. Numbers look good. I run prl Sri and it is nice.https://www.civicx.com/threads/bms-intake.38171/

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Looks like I will put mine up for sale then. Thanks

Braiton said:

What would you recommend if I live in New York. Where summers are very short, not too hot, and then not that much rain, and we get some snow in the winter, but not even that bad.

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Check that BMS intake link, a member took some good numbers testing that. I was impressed and its one of the less expensive options. Very similar to my PRL SRI at a big price difference. Other then that the PRL CAI and 27won are attractive but I went SRI myself. Id lean toward those 3, probably the BMS.