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So I just ordered my intake. I know others have asked this. Should I use it as a Cold Air Intake or Short Ram Intake? Keep in mind I live in soggy Louisiana and it rains weekly if not sometimes daily.
I just ordered my Injen intake. Should I go SRI or CAI?
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1,625 Posts
are you looking for low end power or high end?
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288 Posts
CAI or SRI
Check this out:
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44831
The big issue on the SRI appears to be the check engine light. Apparently the CAI doesn't really have the issue. I have an '08 TRP-E with the Injen CAI and have never had issues with the engine light.
Check this out:
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44831
The big issue on the SRI appears to be the check engine light. Apparently the CAI doesn't really have the issue. I have an '08 TRP-E with the Injen CAI and have never had issues with the engine light.
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225 Posts
I know I have seen some pics of short rams. Does it hurt the vehicle if the CEL is on or is it just one of those annoying lights on the dash. Is there a way to reset the light without taking it into the dealership?
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1,859 Posts
autozone, discount autoparts, o'rileys, etc. they can reset the light but if whatever caused it to come on hasnt been address it will just come back on.
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512 Posts
I have the CAI and at first I tried it as short ram and I got a check engine light after a day of driving it. :twisted: I put the other half on for the complete CAI and disconnect the negative battery post and it cleared the ECU and I haven't had the light come on since. I also installed the SES catback and love the whole setup.
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Cai
So I started with the Short ram, It sounded fantastic, but after about 40 mile the CEL came on...as expected. So I disconnected the neg battery cable to reset the light and put the full CAI in. So far no CEL. I did notice that the vehicle had a little more giddy up with the short ram vs. the CAI. but maybe its just me. oh, and heres some pics.
So I started with the Short ram, It sounded fantastic, but after about 40 mile the CEL came on...as expected. So I disconnected the neg battery cable to reset the light and put the full CAI in. So far no CEL. I did notice that the vehicle had a little more giddy up with the short ram vs. the CAI. but maybe its just me. oh, and heres some pics.
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I have thought about intakes and looked into cold air or short ram but neither of them really wasn't what I was looking for (a boost in power and a serious boost in mpg) so I did some thinking and decided... I will build an intake for myself and it will be a cold air / ram air intake. I literally built an intake that is cold air and runs through the drivers side fog light of the bumper (I didn't have fog lights so it didn't matter to cut it out for my intake). Now I am seeing, already, damn near 30 mpg combined, and the low end is a little better but once off the line, holy crap, look out. Other elements can't keep up. I have also changed the plugs to Bosch platinum 2P's and this helps with the increase in mileage but I really believe it was the ram air effect, pressuring the intake factory air cleaner box and I also notice I coast a whole lot better. On the highway, I only have to push the pedal about an eighth to a quarter inch to maintain seventy. Talking with mechanic friends, they all agreed this wouldn't hurt the engine since it was not a forced induction system like supercharger or turbo. It is simply wind blowing in the front and being dumped into the engine when the piston moves down on the intake stroke. I also believe this extra pressure actually helps the pistons move better since they don't need to create as much of a vacuum or negative pressure to draw air, which robs power. The total cost of building my intake system? Less than fifty bucks and about an hour of my time. The next step for me to further increase my mileage will be to install the injen cat back exhaust system. So now that my E has better lungs, I now wish to get rid of the constipation. My wife used to average 275 miles per tank on this E and now I can get around 400. I would call this fifty bucks or less and nice investment.
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wow! I dont think I could build my own intake. But Im good at following directions, so the injen intake was the way to go for me. I will post mileage on the next tank(this tank, I've been playing way to much). I have notice some pep to it though and my custom cat back sounds a little deeper, which is nice.
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That is incredible!
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No offence,but unless you're traveling at about 100mph,there's not a Ram Air effect even happening on your Element.You're probably just reaping the benefits of introducing a colder air charge temperature into the plenum.:?
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yeah, as they say "pics or it didnt happen"
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I don't agree with having to do a 100 mph to get any effect. Just stick your head or hand out the window and see how hard it blows back. I think seventy above is pretty effective and using the fog light chamber as the initial scoop and a three pipe as the lead pipe to the factory box makes a difference. Not only is it cold air but the opening is the fog light, facing forward, catching all the wind directly as does the radiator to cool the water. No offense taken but if it isn't effective then I would think other things relying on the principal of being up front to catch wind would also be ineffective such as the radiator. I have seen an a difference in performance and in mileage and speaking with mechanics I should expect a difference. To further increase the performance later in time I will be installing the injen cat back exhaust to go with it.
What I got: 2004 E EXP with 85k miles, running Bosch 2P platinum plugs and my intake which is now a three inch pipe running from the driver's side fog light to the factory intake. I did not wish to remove anything from the factory box to the the intake manifold as I did not wish to disrupt any wiring or sensors. Also, I have been warned by several mechanics that those neato cold air intake kits all have one thing in common, oil in the air filter itself. I have had a K&N system in a truck once and to recharge it was to wash it with the K&N cleaner and then apply K&N oil. No big deal accept the warning from their experiences of having to fix the problem was that the oil tends to break free from air filter and attach to the MAP sensor, causing false sensing and leading to bad fuel air mixtures. I was told to stay with the paper, which I do using only Fram products, and the three inch scoop, more or less will deliver the cold air and increase pressure in the factory air box, making more air available for the piston on the downstroke with fuel mixture entry.
Anybody can believe what they want to believe but I will believe in the results I am getting from this. It was very easy to build, anyone who can use glue can do this and the only part I had to remove was the plastic tire well cover and have the tires turned all the way to the left for access. I never removed any bumper parts, or front end parts. This was accomplished using 3" ABS pipe found at any Home Depot, a three inch pipe grommet to lock the pipe into the fog light housing which became the hole for the pipe, a 3" 45 degree ABS fitting, a 3" 90 degree ABS fitting with a 1 1/4 outlet, facing down as a dirt and rain release and also as an intake bypass should something block the three inch opening, a regular 3" 90 degree fitting, a couple feet of 3" ABS pipe, and a can of ABS glue. In the future I will add a 3" 22.5 degree fitting to keep the 3" pipe turned away from the battery, and this runs from the filter, through the hole where the resonator was, straight down, and out the front. I used the original hose that was attached to air filter container and it was a perfect fit slipping into the 3" ABS pipe, using glue to keep it together and sealed, and a hose clamp to ensure it stayed attached to the air filter canister.
Went to the pump last to refill after four days of straight city driving and drove 259.9 miles and put in 10.045 gallons which yield 25.87 mpg. Not as good as the highway with speed limits at 65 in city limits but way better than when I was getting 21 mpg during the same conditions. Must be working or I wouldn't be bragging about it. Photos will soon follow when I add the 22.5 degree fitting.
What I got: 2004 E EXP with 85k miles, running Bosch 2P platinum plugs and my intake which is now a three inch pipe running from the driver's side fog light to the factory intake. I did not wish to remove anything from the factory box to the the intake manifold as I did not wish to disrupt any wiring or sensors. Also, I have been warned by several mechanics that those neato cold air intake kits all have one thing in common, oil in the air filter itself. I have had a K&N system in a truck once and to recharge it was to wash it with the K&N cleaner and then apply K&N oil. No big deal accept the warning from their experiences of having to fix the problem was that the oil tends to break free from air filter and attach to the MAP sensor, causing false sensing and leading to bad fuel air mixtures. I was told to stay with the paper, which I do using only Fram products, and the three inch scoop, more or less will deliver the cold air and increase pressure in the factory air box, making more air available for the piston on the downstroke with fuel mixture entry.
Anybody can believe what they want to believe but I will believe in the results I am getting from this. It was very easy to build, anyone who can use glue can do this and the only part I had to remove was the plastic tire well cover and have the tires turned all the way to the left for access. I never removed any bumper parts, or front end parts. This was accomplished using 3" ABS pipe found at any Home Depot, a three inch pipe grommet to lock the pipe into the fog light housing which became the hole for the pipe, a 3" 45 degree ABS fitting, a 3" 90 degree ABS fitting with a 1 1/4 outlet, facing down as a dirt and rain release and also as an intake bypass should something block the three inch opening, a regular 3" 90 degree fitting, a couple feet of 3" ABS pipe, and a can of ABS glue. In the future I will add a 3" 22.5 degree fitting to keep the 3" pipe turned away from the battery, and this runs from the filter, through the hole where the resonator was, straight down, and out the front. I used the original hose that was attached to air filter container and it was a perfect fit slipping into the 3" ABS pipe, using glue to keep it together and sealed, and a hose clamp to ensure it stayed attached to the air filter canister.
Went to the pump last to refill after four days of straight city driving and drove 259.9 miles and put in 10.045 gallons which yield 25.87 mpg. Not as good as the highway with speed limits at 65 in city limits but way better than when I was getting 21 mpg during the same conditions. Must be working or I wouldn't be bragging about it. Photos will soon follow when I add the 22.5 degree fitting.
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No offence,but there's quite a difference between sticking your hand out the window and being able to grab enough air to actually force it up various bends of piping to pressurize your airbox.From what I've read and noticed over the years is that for Ram Air to work,you really need to be traveling at high speeds (most say triple digit speeds) to even cause a Ram Air effect.I'm not taking away from your mod at all,but you're probably just noticing a difference because of the introduction of a much colder air charge,not from air actually being rammed/forced into your airbox.:? I'm glad you're happy with your mod and it seems to being working for you.How about some pics.? 8)
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23 Posts
Well, if it absolutely had no impact was so ever then you wouldn't see such items on sports cars like new camaros, mustangs, chargers, the challenger, and even old cars from the seventies used scoops to help catch extra air. Their may not be a whole bunch of air being rammed in but you have to agree that I am catching more air than with the standard intake and from a cold air intake just blindly sitting inside a wheel well and the opening is three inches which is large than the factory two in so more volume is introduced in the system. With this in mind, air is much readily available than a typical cold air system and I am getting better results than those with regular cold air systems so something must be happening. I am more than confident that I can achieve at least 30 mpg right now if I stayed on the highway outside of rush hour. Not trying to argue but I do feel their is some validity of what I built which is not a new idea for many sports cars over the years. Also, the mechanics I questioned would have said such to me, but didn't. Instead, they told me it would make a better difference than just a standard cold air system buried inside the wheel well. I'm sure every element is different but I am seeing some pretty fantastic results. A tank used to get me about 275 miles and now with these two changes I can get around 400 miles to a tank if I drive all highway. I calculated this at 29 mpg (remember this was a combined rating, not all city or all highway) X 14 gallons (which I have put in before) = 406
I'm sure everyone is curious as to how it looks so I will take pictures when I have some free time during light hours and post them.
I'm sure everyone is curious as to how it looks so I will take pictures when I have some free time during light hours and post them.
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