Just a little background, I had a COBB SRI installed for about 1,000 miles.
Sold it, was put on the (indefinite) wait list for a SU red COBB SRI, then this CP-E CAI (powdercoated red by RPM) caught my eye, plus it was actually in stock. Got it in the mail yesterday, threw it on today after work in the parking garage.
Took it out for a spin on some local twisties to relearn the ECU. Here are my impressions so far:
First off, obviously installing the COBB SRI was much easier. CP-E recommends jacking the car up and taking off the driver's side wheel to access the fender well. Obviously I didn't because I took off the front bumper since I got my hands on a undrilled "mustache" that requires the bumper off to install. I recommend following CP-E's directions, would've been faster.
Performance-wise, I've heard people say the throttle response with an SRI is faster than a CAI. If that's the case between these two intakes, my butt dyno can't feel it. I don't have any dyno numbers, but the power feels similar. I've only put 60 miles on the CAI, so perhaps the ECU still needs some more miles to adjust.
Both make that nice (to most) whoosh vacuum sound, obviously the CAI's coming more from the left and lower than the SRI. Surprisingly, the CAI seems to be louder than the SRI (I had an AEM CAI and SRI on my last car and the SRI was noticeably louder on that application). The CAI also has this tinny undertone following the vacuum whoosh that the SRI didn't.
In any case, you can't go wrong with either intake. They both have air straighteners and are of impeccable quality.

Sold it, was put on the (indefinite) wait list for a SU red COBB SRI, then this CP-E CAI (powdercoated red by RPM) caught my eye, plus it was actually in stock. Got it in the mail yesterday, threw it on today after work in the parking garage.




Took it out for a spin on some local twisties to relearn the ECU. Here are my impressions so far:
First off, obviously installing the COBB SRI was much easier. CP-E recommends jacking the car up and taking off the driver's side wheel to access the fender well. Obviously I didn't because I took off the front bumper since I got my hands on a undrilled "mustache" that requires the bumper off to install. I recommend following CP-E's directions, would've been faster.
Performance-wise, I've heard people say the throttle response with an SRI is faster than a CAI. If that's the case between these two intakes, my butt dyno can't feel it. I don't have any dyno numbers, but the power feels similar. I've only put 60 miles on the CAI, so perhaps the ECU still needs some more miles to adjust.
Both make that nice (to most) whoosh vacuum sound, obviously the CAI's coming more from the left and lower than the SRI. Surprisingly, the CAI seems to be louder than the SRI (I had an AEM CAI and SRI on my last car and the SRI was noticeably louder on that application). The CAI also has this tinny undertone following the vacuum whoosh that the SRI didn't.
In any case, you can't go wrong with either intake. They both have air straighteners and are of impeccable quality.
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