CAI vs. short ram
#4
Originally Posted by aznsap
i think the short ram is the best at least in cool weather and when you're cruising.
#8
Before i start preaching about reading the stickies...i'll spoon-feed you. Just this once.
1) Short ram intakes suck. It was proven w/ dyno runs that there was a torque loss compared to a stock setup.
2) The only benefitial CAI is a Place Racing style CAI that goes into the driver side fender. The Injen style CAIs are worthless.
1) Short ram intakes suck. It was proven w/ dyno runs that there was a torque loss compared to a stock setup.
2) The only benefitial CAI is a Place Racing style CAI that goes into the driver side fender. The Injen style CAIs are worthless.
#9
Originally Posted by HallKemar
forgive me if im wrong but once you change your intake to stock, i think...you gain torque but lose rpm or something?
#10
read the stickies dog, its all there, i had the same question 3 months ago, and i just read the stickies and made my choice.
i havea weapon r dragon intake, it sounds sick and mean i love it, but it probably doesnt help performance at all. i think it does in the high end though.
i havea weapon r dragon intake, it sounds sick and mean i love it, but it probably doesnt help performance at all. i think it does in the high end though.
#11
well in my experience the short ram intakes are suckingi n hot air not doing u much good at all if not doing bad. the cold air intakes are better than short ram but the only way ur going to get a really good difference is by buying the CAI that goes into your fender well which sucks when it rains and it also collects dirt far more easily.
#12
Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
Read the stickies, there is a lot of info in there. No intake will help you off the line, they usually help you lose power.
#15
Originally Posted by tedo007
to my experience with CAI and SHORT RAM. i feel my car response better with short ram intake. but CAI sounds better.. more aggressive
![+1](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/+1.gif)
#16
Yeah, short ram the way to go, I had no money so I did a PMCAI (poor mans' cai) K&N w/ Air-box delete. Instead of poking holes in the lower air box just remove it. Sounds nice @ 3 5 & 6 grand
and better mileage. Plus I removed the MAF screen
![chuckle](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/chuckle.gif)
#17
Why did you remove the MAF screen....not a good idea! Plus now your intake is sucking in plenty of heat from the engine.............another bad idea!
Originally Posted by Buck96
Yeah, short ram the way to go, I had no money so I did a PMCAI (poor mans' cai) K&N w/ Air-box delete. Instead of poking holes in the lower air box just remove it. Sounds nice @ 3 5 & 6 grand
and better mileage. Plus I removed the MAF screen
![chuckle](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/chuckle.gif)
#18
Originally Posted by DR-Max
Why did you remove the MAF screen....not a good idea! Plus now your intake is sucking in plenty of heat from the engine.............another bad idea!
![Tard smash](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/smashfreak.gif)
#19
I always find it interesting that people love to say "short ram intakes suck" and yet every single one of the fastest NA cars on this board are using short ram intakes... kindof makes you think doesn't it? I'm not saying one type of intake is better than another but they can't suck that bad and loose that much power if all the fastest guys use them, eh?
#20
True....but not all HAI users run the track.
On the track its a different story, daily driving is another especially if you live in a big city and you see bumper to bumper traffic everyday. Sit at a light for 2 min when its 90-100 degress out there and accelerate from dead stop. I bet you will be as slow as a slug. I know it is, I lived in vegas and every summer my engine suffers because of the heat and the HAI set-up.
![idea](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/idea.gif)
Originally Posted by Nealoc187
I always find it interesting that people love to say "short ram intakes suck" and yet every single one of the fastest NA cars on this board are using short ram intakes... kindof makes you think doesn't it? I'm not saying one type of intake is better than another but they can't suck that bad and loose that much power if all the fastest guys use them, eh?
#21
Originally Posted by DR-Max
True....but not all HAI users run the track.
On the track its a different story, daily driving is another especially if you live in a big city and you see bumper to bumper traffic everyday. Sit at a light for 2 min when its 90-100 degress out there and accelerate from dead stop. I bet you will be as slow as a slug. I know it is, I lived in vegas and every summer my engine suffers because of the heat and the HAI set-up.
![idea](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/idea.gif)
#22
Originally Posted by Nealoc187
I always find it interesting that people love to say "short ram intakes suck" and yet every single one of the fastest NA cars on this board are using short ram intakes... kindof makes you think doesn't it? I'm not saying one type of intake is better than another but they can't suck that bad and loose that much power if all the fastest guys use them, eh?
#23
Originally Posted by Apparition
Neal you and Ceasar are the dudes on this sort of thing but I believe your right even if some setups do yield a gain its a small one. But then again I would love to see one of the track guys (you or whoever) run the true CAI and see if anything changed, obviously with an open mind.. If it were me I just wouldn't invest in a CAI if I would've taken the short ram setup, like you said not enough of a reason to pay over a hundred dollars. Perhaps someday you'll get one and set things straight.
I did however definately go faster down the track with my short ram intake than with the stock intake back when I had my 96 black max. My best time with the stock airbox was 14.46 @ 96.47, that was in very very ideal weather conditions. I went 14.41 @ 97.2 with the JWT intake, this was in much less ideal conditions however, so the difference was even more significant than that, though masked somewhat because of the different weather conditions.
Personally I am in agreement with you that it's hard to justify the difference in price between a cheapo short ram and a $200 (i think they are about that expensive) CAI when indeed the fastest guys are all running the cheap shoort ones (not just me and ceaser, but all of the guys who have run really impressive times NA).
While I can appreciate that some people feel that a CAI or stock airbox does better in traffic while heat soaked, etc, I personally modify my car with wide open throttle performance in mind - not marginally increased performance at 1/4 throttle in 1st gear for half a second before I rearend the soccer mom in the minivan in front of me at the stoplight. Even IF there is some loss in low end associated with part throttle, in traffic and heat soaked operation, I really don't care. I don't need any extra power in that situation. That's just my opinion though - different strokes for different folks.
#24
I have an "in fender" CAI as it was called above, and the only real change I noticed was the sound of course(It's 10 times louder than I thought it would be) and I gained a little bit of gas milage on the freeway. How much is debateable. Once a week I drive to Detroit from Columbus, OH and back. With the stock intake I could fill up and have slightly less than half a tank. With the CAI I average a little over half a tank. Less than scientific I know, but I failed to actually calculate milage before I had installed it
![bonk](https://maxima.org/forums/images/smilies/bonk.gif)
#25
Originally Posted by Nealoc187
Yeah I honestly don't know if there is a difference in performance between short ram and CAI, I'm just playing devil's advocate to those that like to preach about the superiority of every other intake (stock or CAI) over the cheapo short ram ones.
I did however definately go faster down the track with my short ram intake than with the stock intake back when I had my 96 black max. My best time with the stock airbox was 14.46 @ 96.47, that was in very very ideal weather conditions. I went 14.41 @ 97.2 with the JWT intake, this was in much less ideal conditions however, so the difference was even more significant than that, though masked somewhat because of the different weather conditions.
Personally I am in agreement with you that it's hard to justify the difference in price between a cheapo short ram and a $200 (i think they are about that expensive) CAI when indeed the fastest guys are all running the cheap shoort ones (not just me and ceaser, but all of the guys who have run really impressive times NA).
While I can appreciate that some people feel that a CAI or stock airbox does better in traffic while heat soaked, etc, I personally modify my car with wide open throttle performance in mind - not marginally increased performance at 1/4 throttle in 1st gear for half a second before I rearend the soccer mom in the minivan in front of me at the stoplight. Even IF there is some loss in low end associated with part throttle, in traffic and heat soaked operation, I really don't care. I don't need any extra power in that situation. That's just my opinion though - different strokes for different folks.
I did however definately go faster down the track with my short ram intake than with the stock intake back when I had my 96 black max. My best time with the stock airbox was 14.46 @ 96.47, that was in very very ideal weather conditions. I went 14.41 @ 97.2 with the JWT intake, this was in much less ideal conditions however, so the difference was even more significant than that, though masked somewhat because of the different weather conditions.
Personally I am in agreement with you that it's hard to justify the difference in price between a cheapo short ram and a $200 (i think they are about that expensive) CAI when indeed the fastest guys are all running the cheap shoort ones (not just me and ceaser, but all of the guys who have run really impressive times NA).
While I can appreciate that some people feel that a CAI or stock airbox does better in traffic while heat soaked, etc, I personally modify my car with wide open throttle performance in mind - not marginally increased performance at 1/4 throttle in 1st gear for half a second before I rearend the soccer mom in the minivan in front of me at the stoplight. Even IF there is some loss in low end associated with part throttle, in traffic and heat soaked operation, I really don't care. I don't need any extra power in that situation. That's just my opinion though - different strokes for different folks.
#26
Im not trying to put down anything. My recommendations are based on what I had experienced in the past and so does others. I have been running an HAI setup (maf adapter + K&N cone filter w/o velocity stack) for 2 yrs. The car ran well when its cool outside but once the weather gets warm, the engine is bogged down and performance suffers. 9 months ago, I switched back to all-stock intake. Then I ported the airbox and ran a heater hose from behind the fender into the airbox. My car ran extremely well with it, all the way thru summer and did not notice the same issues I was noticing when my car had HAI. And the car accelerated alot quicker when its not injesting hot air from the engine compartment. Now, since I want to pretty-up my engine compartment, I will be having an exhaust shop bend me a SS pipe to serve as a CAI charge pipe and will go with the CAI route. I will be keeping the stock intake resonator. I'm not doing this for performance gains, I'm doing this for looks.
BTW, the airfilter will sit behind the front bumper like the PR CAI. And I'll have a bypass valve just incase we get flash rains and what not.
BTW, the airfilter will sit behind the front bumper like the PR CAI. And I'll have a bypass valve just incase we get flash rains and what not.
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jmlee44
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
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10-02-2022 02:13 PM