CAI or short ram?

[MSPizzle]

2003 MSP better with Short Ram or Cold air?

I think the short ram would be better cause the 'COLD AIR" coming from outside gets heated excessively in the turbo then put into the engine. With a short ram you intake a few degrees warmer air but still gets heated from the turbo, just seems like the air would draw faster from the SR than the CAI cause there is less piping to go through. A friend of mine brought this up and im trying to clear up the issue. (poke)

 

[MSP032879]

Does anyone know cuz i sure don't

 

[Rawyzf]

I have had both now....

When the car is hot, the CAI seemed to perform better.

If it's hot out and the car is cool, the SRI was better.

When the car is cool, or the temp outside is cool, the SRI seems better.


Hope that makes sense.

 

[Alejo_NIN]

i could understand a short ram for a n/a ebing bad...but since turbo comes with intercooler either smic or fmin, i don't see the need of cooling the air before it gets to the "above outside temperature" turbo, which will add a few degrees, msot likely more than you took offby using a CAI...ram air would be the shortest path to the turbo...try to get it with a shield...that might help it a little.

but in the end, the stock box is better than both

 

[Maxx Mazda]

This is thread # 123456

 

[mazdaspeedson]

i have had both and the ram air actually caused me problems because the car is equipped with 2 cooling fans over the radiator and stock inter cooler with the ram air the fans would kick on and reflect right back into my intake causing the car to think it is sucking in 214 degree air leaning it way out known as heat soak so i put the air box back on later i ordered a injen cold air it does great and it was a noticeable difference but if you dont have the stock plastics underneath i would not recomend it because if it rains your filter will get wet and vapor lock is the last thing you want but if you have the plastics i went through puddles and a huge monsoon and i had no problems

 

[1moreMPH]

either one works, there's really not much of a difference.

Ive had both, and in my experience i liked the short-ram better; especially if you have an upgraded intercooler. my reasoning is concurrent with yours in that the turbo adds so much heat that the intake temp is negligible, and the SRI spools faster.

Though to be fair, technically a cai should net more power, and i have talked to some serious car guru's who swear that the extra 40degrees cooler intake temp or whatever can make a noticeable difference. It's up to you.

 

[WRCprotege]

CAI works better, every 10deg in temp is about 1.8% hp gain for turbo cars its about 2.1% hp gain.. ok now for the short vs long tube, the pipe lenth and size pays a roll in how the car makes power. longers runners makes for low mid power, where as short runners make upper end power.. the longer the intake track, it tends to move the power band down, where as a short track will move it up.. this is why some cars have varable lenth runner intake mani's.. i whiched back and forth between both on mine to see the differance. the only time the short ram was a little better was at 6k and above, and like on the highway where your in those high rpms for a period of time, the rest of the rpm band wasnt as strong and off the line and normal driving was SLUGGISH, with the CAI the TQ was back and power was much stronger through out, more punch.. now the short ram might make more hp, but mabey only buy 2-3 hp or so and only at like 6k plus rpms, but the rest of the power curve suffers for it, so if your racing against VTECs on the highway, this is the set up for you, other than that the CAI gains power from about 2.5k and up, i have alot more power in the upper end than stock, with loseing the low and mid TQ..
just my 2 cents

 

[1moreMPH]

keep in mind, no matter where you are in the rpm range, the difference can't be more that like 1hp/1tq. the main difference i fealt was that the turbo spooled faster with the SRI... which in my mind would boost low-end torque considerably, and make the car quicker. note: "quicker" not "faster". top end i really can't see a difference between the two. The air is flowing so fast at that point that spool time really won't matter, and neither will the distance of flow. In fact at that point should think that temperature MIGHT make a difference so i would favor the cai, but again it's minuscule.

 

[1moreMPH]

CAI works better, every 10deg in temp is about 1.8% hp gain for turbo cars its about 2.1% hp gain.. ok now for the short vs long tube, the pipe lenth and size pays a roll in how the car makes power. longers runners makes for low mid power, where as short runners make upper end power.. the longer the intake track, it tends to move the power band down, where as a short track will move it up.. this is why some cars have varable lenth runner intake mani's.. i whiched back and forth between both on mine to see the differance. the only time the short ram was a little better was at 6k and above, and like on the highway where your in those high rpms for a period of time, the rest of the rpm band wasnt as strong and off the line and normal driving was SLUGGISH, with the CAI the TQ was back and power was much stronger through out, more punch.. now the short ram might make more hp, but mabey only buy 2-3 hp or so and only at like 6k plus rpms, but the rest of the power curve suffers for it, so if your racing against VTECs on the highway, this is the set up for you, other than that the CAI gains power from about 2.5k and up, i have alot more power in the upper end than stock, with loseing the low and mid TQ..
just my 2 cents

you don't even have a turbo...

 

[WRCprotege]

i have no turbo, correct.. this is just how these thing work, with/with turbo. and yes you just confirmed my point, tq=quik, hp=fast however the CAI flows so well all over and lose in tq,making it quik, and really just as fast at the top end.like you said top power will very only a little,because on FS engines, peek power isnt found at peek RPM, VTECs show more differance between the two, the short ram more for this reason, and the CAI because VTECS dont have much TQ..All the VTEC engines have dual intake runner design, one short and one long, this makes the car responsive and have some tq for daily driving, but when VTEC kicks in, the engine swiches to the short runners to favor the high RPM power.. lots of companys use this design, its been around for ever, and it does play effect to how the car makes power.. i belive the FS-ZE (j-spec) has dual runners design, where are motors do not..

 

[1moreMPH]

all correct, i agree. unfortunately we do not have vtec, variable cams/intake mani's, or JDM engines... just the crap-tacular FS-DE.

 

[WRCprotege]

lol, yep.. hell im on may 4th motor..