[QUOTE]Originally posted by slcook54

 

Thank you for bringing this up, that is why I love this board, I was really close to buying the PRM, how much did you spend on Comptech?

 

If you want information on the PRM, type in my name and PRM in the search engine and be prepared to read for a very long time. I was the first guy in the US to own the S2000 PRM intake and spent more than a year tinkering with the design. With everything in life, there is a yin and yang. I have installed four different intakes on my car and believe I have finally found the one I am most agreeable to owning but even THAT is not without the need for a tinker or two.
The PRM works well at speed but bogs down low because of the very nature of its design. Not enough air getting to the filter because of the casing which is there to prevent heat soak. The filter IS cooler because of the casing but strangles for air from a slow roll or stop because the intake is getting air from one direction only, not 360-degrees like an open filter.
The BEST intake system (my .02 and this comes from nearly two years of accelerometer testing) is one where the filter is encased in a box that allows circulation of air completely around the filter, IOW, much like the Comptech. It helps to shield away the engine bay temps but still gives the filter plenty of "breathing" room. Intakes that have shields that wrap around the filter like a condom are NOT the answer here. Now, it's not enough just to put a filter in the box. If that was the case, the OEM system would be the best. The OEM system, and this is where I depart from HI SPEEDR, was designed for the average auto enthusiast and not people like you or I. The baffles are there to cut down on the intake honk that would annoy many owners. It is NOT the most efficient way to bring air to the engine. ANY short ram, and this includes the OEM, the Comptech, my Weapon R, etc. NEEDS to have air flow directed into the filter area to maximize its design. If you're not prepared to maximize your intake, why put a new one in anyway? You maximize your short ram by routing a path for air to flow from the FRONT of the car up into the area of the filter. I will enclose (once again, just for the search engine I guess) an example of what I am talking about. Not only have I cut out my passenger side brake duct (and LEFT it open, IOW, no grille. It makes no sense to dremel out the area and place a restrictive grille over it) but I cut out the front grille (protecting the radiator and a/c unit) just enough to support the Weapon R Ram Air Kit (another $60 on top of the intake). Bear in mind, one could probably spend less going to Home Depot but in my case, the Weapon R has a cover that screws on and covers up the ducting so rain won't enter during those crazy downpours.
I drilled a hole through the plastic shield near the wheel well and routed the ducting through that area. I drilled away the small metal connecting piece that intersects the wheel well (didn't find its existence necessary and besides, it splits the wheel well and would have crimped any ducting had I kept it) and routed the ducting up through there and straight into my intake. The pictures show the Weapon R with the see-through condom heat shield but after bogging in this south Florida heat, I removed it and the intake performed MUCH better, even without a box (that's my final tinker with this intake....after I install a box, it'll be just the way I want it). This is what I'm talking about...If you install a heat shield to help keep the block temps off the intake, you can get away with an open filter because with the ducting, as soon as you get up to speed, there is a significant amount of air flowing right up into the filter. Without that ducting, the only air getting to the open filter would be residual air finding its way through the normal nooks and crannies of the S2000 front end. That is simply not enough and certainly not direct enough.
Short rams have higher flow (CFM) numbers than long-tubed systems but that is offset by where the longs place their filter (much lower in the engine bay, away from the block and rad heat). If the brake duct is cut out, these filters get a significant amount of air at speed and off a slow roll or stop, they aren't prone to sucking in all that engine heat stifiling away atop the bay. However, don't count out the short rams just yet. The way to maximize them again, is to get that air from the front and move it right up into the filter. You don't have to worry about the filter getting water ingested like the down low boys and you're getting the benefits of cooler air flowing into your filter of choice. For me, I prefer foam filters because in most cases, if they are well designed (not some NOPI, Pep Boys piece of crap), they flow much better than paper filters. I don't clean 'em, I buy a new one every 4-5 months.
If I had a Comptech, I'd route some ducting to it and be done with it. It's a great intake. The MG Racing (I still call it that) looks to be a great design as well. There are plenty of folks with the long tubers who love 'em. Most buy these intakes and love the sound...to really know if it's making any difference, you'll either have to do some accelerometer runs using a Tazzo (not a Gtech) or similar device OR put it on a dyno but bear in mind, a fan in front of your engine bay is NOT going to duplicate the car plowing through a 50-degree ambient wind at 70mph. One more thing, if you look at the last pic, you'll see my heat shield (Ztec...check Rick's Accessories). Any short ram NOT using a heat shield is an intake less effective than it could be. Also, wrapping your CAI tube might look rally-esque but does little to improve performance. The air doesn't stay in the tube long enough to get heated by the temps outside of it. The same principal as waving your finger across a candle flame....if you hold it there, you'll get burned but a quick pass and you'll feel little if anything.
Hope some of this helps.