I want to install an air intake system for my 2002 S2000. Does anyone have recommendation on which one I should install? Does it seem to make a significant improvement in the car's horsepower? THanks

 

K&N filter in stock box.

 

The aem v2 is good but you have to cut some of your fender liner (not a big deal).

 

This is one of those questions which appear to be difficult to answer accurately. The factory intake is good so there is not the %hp to be gained like there is in a ten-year-old Civic. Independent dyno sheets I've seen don't show much more than 5 hp at some part of the rpm range, if they show an increase at all. This is within the error margin for many dynos, so the question is - is the 5 hp on the dyno really a difference? With so many variables it's hard to tell.

Some owners report better part-throttle response, and I've seen this claim in many different auto forums for aftermarket intakes. But to me - where is the engineering reason to back this up? A stock intake has very little restriction at low to mid-rpm, so why would a differnt intake make a noticeable difference in output? I can see it at high rpm where any restriction would be at it's highest.... My own theory is that the increase in noise with an aftermarket intake makes the driver believe the engine is more responsive. I know that I have experienced this feeling myself after instaliling an intake in other vehicles, and it is possible this is the real explanation.

Others have their opinions with sketchy hard data, if anything other than a butt dyno. Bottom line, an aftermarket intake probably won't hurt power and it will sound more powerful. To many this is the most important thing; cars are emotional extensions of ourselves, and making noise/getting noticed is vital to some people's egos.

 

From an engineering standpoint, any filter in the stock box will not produce much of anything, other than more dirt in the oil.

I finally got around to modifying my airbox to take advantage of additonal hi perf filter flow, something i did not think was needed, until I did some restriction measurements recently. I found that the 3 hi-perf filters I had did not do anything in the stock box. I then gutted the first baffle, Dremeling it and smoothly radiusing the material I left for strength. I also made a template and cut a "blocking" cover for the resonance chamber "behind and next to the filter", using the plastic off an old floppy disk, and attaching it with 3M 77 spray adhesive. I use the Spoon snorkel, and did not do anything to the cover of the airbox. After all the smoothing, I used 100/200/350 sanders to smooth the pastic so it looked very professionally modified, then sprayed the whole interior of the airbox flat black to cover the "white" spots left from all the hacking.

This mod resulted in a reduction in obstruction of about 30% (engineers measure resistance to flow by the amount of pressure needed in Hg compared to the stock baseline). As I said earlier, with the fancy air filters in the stock box, I saw no differences I could attribute to anything other than measurement tolerances.

Although i do not liek K&N's that much (I prefer AFE filters www.afefilters.com) I could not find an AFE that was sized right, so I bought an E-2435 K&N, and wil keep an eye on my silicon readings in my UOA's.

I estimate that the car will pick up perhaps 5-7 peak HP (uncorrected). I have not driven it yet so I cannot comment on the sound, but throttle response should be a bit sharper as well.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Road Rage

 

Yea RR, post pics please. I would like to have an extra project to do this weekend.

 

Really, would just removing the baffles be good? I'd like to do that

 

I have a K&N in stock air box. Very satisfied.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s3las
I have a K&N in stock air box.