I bet if the K&N was stock, and what we now know as the OEM air box was available as an aftermarket accessory, a lot of folks would be buying the oem box to replace the K&N.

 

Unfortunately manufacturers have to anticipate stupid people exist out there, and some may drive through 3 feet of water. So they have to compromise all cars to protect the few that are too dumb to know better. You will never see a main stream production car with anything that resembles a cold air intake.

When I drove my S2000 with a J's racing snorkel for 2 hours in torrential rains at 70 mph I was positive that I would find some water in the oem box, much to my surprise there wasn't a drop in the box when I got home to inspect it. As long as you don't drive through standing deep water you are safe. Otherwise the oem setup should be used.

 

Sure we would if they advertise it as,
1. Guaranteed to increase horsepower
2. Estimated Horsepower Gain 9.56 HP @ 6400 RPM
Just like K&N does theirs. Because you know all we want is the best/highest hp from just bolting on a part or two.

Rod

 

Ain't that the truth! It's always the dumbos out there who create compromises for us mechanically well versed enthusiasts.

You'd think that a person would know not to drive through standing water.

So you had a J's snorkel?

 

I had the J's snorkel that was designed for the OEM hood fitment, so there were no modifications needed to the hood, there were two different snorkels offered.

 

I'm aware of the two types. I'd go for the OEM fitment as I have the stock hood and probably won't change it down the line but who knows...
In terms of fitment did you just remove the left side of that radiator cooling shroud to make room for the snorkel or did the whole shroud have to come out?

 

Meh, probably not. The K&N actually does make power over the stock intake after tuning, it just looks ugly. There are a number of people on here that have also made effective short ram intakes, similar to the K&N setup, that saw improvements as well.

 

Is it the k&n intake, which is similar in length and diameter to stock, but capable of ingesting more hot air than stock, that makes more power? Or is it the K&N filter, which is capable of ingesting more engine damaging silicates than stock which is responsible for its dyno performance?

Or is it that this system is just better when being dyno'ed with hood open and a huge fan blowing on it?

 

Personally, I could not care less if my S gains a tiny bit of horsepower.

 

The bottom line is - lower Intake Air Temperature (IAT) is proven to free up additional power. On my last s2000, I compared IATs using the stock intake to an AEM CAI. The stock intake IATs would sometimes reach nearly 30-40 degrees above ambient air temperature! The AEM NEVER got more than ~5 degrees above ambient. I'd bet money that AEM, or any other long tube intake which takes in air outside of the engine bay would perform better than a stock intake in an apples to apples dyno comparison. There is a huge thread on here which cover this... some people have created custom 3.5" long tube intakes and had pretty notable gains (>10whp when tuned). Anyone who thinks the stock intake is superior is either lying to themselves, or is delusional.

At the end of the day, it's YOUR car. Do what YOU want to do with it regardless of what anyone says. Modding the air isn't going to notably lower the value if that's what anyone is worried about.