UnlickyDude

Hey everyone,

So basically i'm doing some work on my car (changing fender liners and other plastics in the front), and when i bought it, it had an AEM V2 intake. I was thinking of going back to stock airbox with the "cut plastics mod" in order to keep my fender liner uncut. Anyone tried both? If i'm going to loose power I'm not going to like it in the end and i'll probably have to take everything apart again. Oh yeah, and the noise of the AEM is very good especialy in the vtec engagement, but i'm thinking that its not getting enough air in there... Please, any information that you may have is much appreciated.

Thank you, have a great day

hoobastnk90

I would keep the V2 just my preference but the airbox mod is a waste of time. So if you convert back dont bother cutting up the airbox. Either way your not going to get much gains no matter what type of intake you get.

twohoos

Is the stock airbox mod supposed to make more power than the AEM?? Seems doubtful.

Regardless, I've been using my AEM (V1!) forever, and every time I think of going back to stock I look at that big, wide-open engine bay that's SO EASY to work in, and I leave it alone.

Car Analogy

Either intake os going to have similar power. Its not worth spending money on intake for performance reasons. Since you have both, make your decision based on preferences for:

Sound
Looks
Convenience (easy to work on, etc)
Safety (hydrolock)
Resale (stock worth more)

You could mod the stock box, and have looks near stock, which probably won't hurt resale much, and will add some intake sound (which is really all mods to stock intake will yield).

Or, keep airbox intake, so you can swap back to stock for resale, yet enjoy the merits of the aftermarket intake (if indeed, these are merits for you).

jyeung528

i think it's better to have superior air filtration via the oem filter.

UnlickyDude

First of all, thank you for replying ,
My main concern is that i have to chop up my new, out of the box, fender liners in order to re-install the AEM V2. I have no problem with hydro locking because the car never rolls on water, I have seen the video from MCM, where the AEM made 5kw extra at the wheels, which for an N/A car is pretty significant. I guess i dont want to loose power, or sound, so... chop chop chop?

RolanTHUNDER

I've seen that vid too. Keep the AEM on. If you were running the stock box then maybe mod it mainly for sound but you could also just block of the resonator with a solid piece of plastic to help get a little more intake sound out of it without cutting the middle wall out. I'd say leave the stock box as is if you go back to stock. Block the resonator hole and run a snorkel if funds allow. Otherwise leave the AEM in and cut the fender liner. You won't see it from outside anyway.

twohoos

The OE filter may fit on the AEM tube. I've always used the K&N OE-replacement cone filter on my AEM. It's a little tighter fit in the bumper area (and weighs a little more), but it's otherwise been fine for ~15 years. The only issue with the OE filter is the plastic isn't as pliable as the K&N, so if it doesn't *quite* fit over the tube, it might be a no-go. I've never actually tried, but if filtration is a concern, it would be worth a test-fit before deciding which one to install.

jyeung528

^
i've fit an oem filter on a k&n pipe using an adapter.

however, low end torque was lost.

twohoos

^ You mean in the K&N fipk setup? That would make sense, since that kit comes with a pretty huge filter (looks substantially bigger than OE). The AEM filter is smaller than the OE filter though, so if the OE fits, it might offer better filtration without much sacrifice in overall flow.

Curious, did you dyno the two filters back to back?