This is what I read from the spoon website...

"Spoon recommends that due to the design of the VTEC engine, the stock intake box be retained to maximize throttle response. However, the flow of the intake air can be improved by switching to a lower resistance air filter. The Spoon filter provides improved air flow as well as improved filtering of foreign particles."

So is an intake that gets ride of the stock air box bad for the engine? What about hte intakes that kind of have there own box (like the mugen for example). Do they harm the "design of the VTEC engine"? Is the Mugen a good idea? Any chance of water getting sucked in? Also does the Mugen intake make the VTEC any louder like the AEM and Injen ones? Thanks

 

Spoon always liked to improve upon Honda's intakes rather than replacing them.

I do find that the throttle response isn't that great from the tube-type open-filter intakes though. The Mugen airbox, however, has it's own tuned air-chamber, with hours of testing in the wind-tunnel and on the engine dyno. And it isn't much louder than stock either, which I like. The chance of sucking in water is minimal with the version II snorkel design. The CF construction also prevents heat soak in traffic.

Of course, the differences we're talking about here are quite subtle, so buy whichever intake you like that fits your budget.

 

Don't listen to marketing jackasses.

Both AEM and PRM make excellent intakes.

 

Anyone els want to post their comments?

 

im thinking of going with the comptech. i like not having to cut anything off of my s2000. the price isnt great, but its better than the mugen.

 

J's intake. Similar sounding to stock and increased throttle response. Really works at freeway speeds. Negatives is price and have to cut stock hood.

 

i've had experience with short ram and cold air intakes. no doubt they will gain you a couple hp, BUT throttle response is drastically reduced. especially with the cold air intake, as the piping is very long, will cause throttle response to suffer. why do you think ITB's offer excellent throttlle response? because they use short velocity stacks. i prefer throttle reponse than an extra 2 hp.

i personally am going to stick with the oem unit, i would focus on the header and exhaust...these need improvement(especially since they're heavy). just my .02 cents.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RazorV3
i've had experience with short ram and cold air intakes.

 

Whoa! Nice Intake i like it! How ($$$) Much?

 

I've written novels (no joke) on intakes for two years now. If you do a search
with my screenname and the word intake, you'll be quite busy for a few hours.
Some general considerations:

Short rams provide better throttle response and higher CFM #'s (which of course,
is what contributes to throttle response). Going one step further are those who
use "chambers of enlarged diameter" namely Comptech and J's Racing, which
provide a reservoir of air that also contributes to sharper throttle response at
speed.
Long tubes position the filter in a more advantageous position to receive cooler
air. They also (when designed properly) can better manipulate resonances (which
most underrate for their contribution to intake productivity and sound).
Short rams that do NOT protect the filter in some fashion (box, canister) will suffer from
heat soak to a significant degree, much more than others which either place
the filter below the engine heat (AEM, INJEN, K&N TYPHOON) however
ALL intakes will receive heat soak...ALL of them. Anyone who tells you their
intake doesn't bog off the line (to some degree) and you believe them should be selling snowcones
to Satan if they are that good with the BS.
The only air which the intake receives from a standing start (or slow roll) is
engine bay heat or immediate ambient heat, if you will. You're not getting any
benefits of a ram air system at 12 mph. I don't care if the intake is high/low positioned,
in a box, in a canister or recently, housed in a Rubbermaid trash bin. It will suck
in hot air when leaving a red light.
So, what parameters should you consider when buying one? How about
1. WOT at speed effectiveness.
2. Sound
3. Noise (not the same as sound which you can think of as tone and noise
as simple db's).
4. Quality
5. Logical use (don't put an open filter under a vented carbon fiber hood).
6. Price
The LEAST (for practical purposes) important reason for choosing an intake
is horsepower since at high speeds, they all will fall within 1-3hp of each other.
Seriously guys, how many ways can a tube lead air into the MAP?
The Mugen, J's Racing, MG Racing Intake (old name), OEM w/ snorkle, etc. These
intakes use cooler air from outside to draw up a flow path which leads directly
into the filter. They work very well at speed because in most cases, the snorkle
is directly in front of the car. They tend to be quieter than the tubers which usually
have a much more aggressive sound and a significantly DEEPER tone.
Long tubers (sounds like surfing lingo) place the filter nearly directly in the path of
onrushing air which makes for a great intake at speed. The downside to that placement
is the possibility of hydrolock if you drive the car through standing water
and completely submerge the filter. The other downside is during very hot
days. When idling, heat from the road surface rises and since the intake isn't
too far from the road surface, the first rush of air it will receive when pulling
away from a stop will be that heat. Many think they are removing heat soak
by going with long tubers but that is NOT the case. Down here in Miami, last
week, we saw mid 90's and my car was bogging like I knew it would. The
next time you watch a race on TV, look at the difference between ambient temps and TRACK
temps. When you can see heat rising from the road 30-feet in front of you, it
stands to reason that heat is rising under your car as well.
Aside from a very few intake offerings, I believe each have their pros and cons.
Only a small number have little reason for existence (any intake that puts the
filter atop the engine bay without some sort of protection).
If your main reason for buying an intake is sound, consider the canister style
intakes or the Comptech. They tend to be very aggressive at WOT because
the resonances inside the chambers are bouncing off the surface and that is
what others are hearing when they write enthusiastically about their VTEC
sound with these intakes.
The stock airbox could also sound like that if didn't have the baffles. Those
are there to CONTROL those very resonances the die-hards love. Don't you
just love Honda for watering down intake honk?