I will also say that a CAI will sound better. I started by taking the lid off. Then by modifying the stock airbox to remove the baffles. Then I just went ahead and bought an intake. Moved onto the exhaust... cut off the stock resonator and moved onto an exhaust.

...now I am looking for a stronger clutch/pp and a kraftwerks kit.

It all started by taking the airbox lid off.

 

it sounds nice........sometimes. but other times you wish you had exhaust instead

 

 

I took it off once to see what the big deal is. It was fun for five minutes, but generally makes you look like an idiot. It's not like the S moves fast like a Ferrari or Porsche... it just looks stupid when it's making all that noise for nothing (my opinion). Kinda like a riced up civic with a fart can...

 

Stock air box is heavy too.

 

I HIGHLY disagree with this statement.

A) There's not many mods @ $250 that will provide a nice 3-8hp like a K&N FiPK or comptech.

B) There's a noticeable difference in airflow

C) Going from lidless to the FiPK the sound is absolutely gorgeous. There's nothing ricey about it, and as far as attention goes you might get a couple of glances but, I've never got a second look from cops even when passing one sitting radar'ing.

D) Low RPM bog was 95% eliminated. If you're in a area where you've got inner city or highway traffic on a consistent basis, going to a different intake will make your commute 10x more acceptable.

Cliff notes; there's a night and day difference in throttle response, bog, sound when going to from the stock box to a aftermarket.

 

I sort of agree with this. It's almost similar even with my exhaust and K&N FIPK intake. I mean the car sounds nice, but it's not exactly as fast as it sounds. At least it's faster than a Civic with a fart can.

 

 

If anything, for me living in the San Francisco bay area, D) Bog issue, was a selling point to me. Loving the sound and feeling a slight increase in power was an added bonus.

 

I ran with mine off for the last couple of months and just put it back on the other day (cool days for both off and on).

I didn't notice the power loss when I took it off, but I DID notice the power "gain" with it back ON. I think when I took it off I was so excited by the sound that I didn't notice the loss in power. But putting it back on, there was no question that the car was pulling noticeably stronger at low to mid RPMs, and VTEC hit stronger, too.

As for intake temps, I have a Scangauge that polls in the intake temp once a second. At cruising speed, taking the lid off increases the intake temp by roughly 30-40 degrees compared to having it on. That's a huge difference. In 40 degree weather, it's the difference between 60 degrees intake and 100 degrees intake. Keep in mind that this is after sustained high-speed driving. So the argument that the engine bay is getting cooled by rushing air is bogus. That air is rushing in through the radiator, and it is NOT cool.

In addition, when the lid is OFF, intake temp behavior is reversed. The HARDER you run the car, the HOTTER the intake temp gets, because it is sucking air that has all passed through the radiator, and the radiator is throwing off more heat as you run harder. With the lid ON, the HARDER you run the car, the COOLER the intake temp gets, because it is sucking cooler air from in front of the radiator, and the hot intake tubing (which is exposed on the outside to post-radiator air) is being cooled from the inside by your intake air.

At stoplights with the lid on, you're not taking in enough air to cool the intake and temps will quickly rise to lid-off temps. But the moment you step on the gas, the engine starts gulping air, and with the lid on the temps will drop very quickly. With the lid off, the temps never drop because you're always getting post-radiator air. So basically your engine is in a perpetual state of heat bog, and you never notice because the engine never stops bogging, so you just get used to it.

The short answer is, if you want it to sound good, you can take it off and its hardly the end of the world. But don't fool yourself into thinking it doesn't harm the performance.