im looking to get an intake and i found an Injen short for really cheap. I found an AEM longer with all sorts of bends for A LOT more! anyone want to help me with this on which i should go for. is it worth the money to get the AEM long?

 

The AEM is worth the extra cheddar. Short RAM intakes only suck in the air that is around the engine, which is to say, they suck in HOT air. Not so good for power. The AEM long sucks in air from the bottom of the front fender, which is to say, much colder air. In addition, it has the HydroLok system on it, which prevents it from sucking up water and killing your engine. It's the only intake out there that has that, and that is worth it to me.

I would go with the AEM, and enjoy your Scion.

LATER

 

Go LONG

 

Ahhhggg. You tryin to start a war?? So much debate about it.

They dyno'd these things a while back and posted the results. The difference was about 1 or 2 HP. Nearly nothing. What it boiled down to was people got what they thought was the best or what they could afford.

For example me: I went with the AEM cuz I found it cheap and new from a private party and I could probably get away with it viewed as a dealer option with no warranty issues even if I left it on.

Others spent less, loved the sound of the Injen vs. the AEM, and kept their old air-boxes to replace if they had any warranty engine work to be done in the future.

Either one is a great choice.

 

Let's clear a few things up first.

I have the Injen short ram. Why? Its because the filter is inside the fender well, and not in the engine compartment. IT DOES NOT SUCK HOT ENGINE COMPARTMENT AIR. The air is drawn from underneath, and I will soon have ducting for it.

Second, with intakes, with every bend, turbulence is created. You do not want turbulence. This defeats the intake. The fewer the bends the better. Also, the AEM filter sits lower in the fender well than the Injen short ram, and depending on weather conditions, it may get wet. I didn't say it was going to suck water, I said its going to get wet.

Also, if you do alot of freeway driving, you may want to consider the Injen short ram. I mounted a catch can because at 4k rpm in 5th gear doing 80 mph, the engine was sucking some oil and I had to clean out my intake. The can is mounted where the AEM tubing would go.

Dealers will push the product they sell. That's why alot of peeps push the AEM intake.

Listen to those who have done the R&D and not a dealer trying to sell you products.

I'm not a dealer, nor do I own any sort of parts store.

 

i went with the AEM intake. i think it is worth the money. just don't get it from the dealership, too much $. you can save by going on the internet. i have a hard time selling these here, but some people are too lazy to go out and do it themselves, so they buy it. but do what you think is best for you. get what you like.

 

well said squirrel.

 

Thanks Randy.

I figure someone needs to speak up and get things straight. Just because a dealer sells a certain product, its doesn't mean that its the best. Take for instance the factory lighting kits, I would rather buy your kit than the dealer one.

How's it going in AZ? I hope the move went smooth and you and Krystal are settled in.

 

I feel ya. Its like the Hotchkis strut bar. Its just for looks. People are better off getting a more solid bar.

AZ is hot as a *****.

 

so i shouldn't buy the AEM intake squirrel? Oh, man and I thought the intake that looked like a plumbers dream was the way to go! Boy am I glad I did a search and found you guys! :D

 

gabe, you can buy what you want. I'm just clearing up a few statements about intakes in general. I'm not forcing anyone to buy anything.

That's why I bought a Tanabe Hypermedallion axleback! :twisted:

 

Injen makes both a short ram and a CAI. I personally think the bypass valve on the AEM is worthless, unless you plan to drive through a lot of deep puddles. You can only suck in water if you completely submerge the filter. K&N also makes a very good intake. We have a good deal on both injens, and the K&N. If anyone is interested PM me with which one you want and what model you have.

 

Ok, I'm going to correct some people. Not go off on them and be a jerk an say their dumb, just correct them in an informative manner. Don't yell...

First of all, short ram intakes are, 90% of the time, designed to give low and mid range torque gains and are better if you plan on getting a turbo (usually). The fact that CAIs are always longer and have more bends doesn't mean anything at all. Defeating the intake? No, I'm sorry, its not. Short rams DO NOT give high end gains like CAIs do. If you've ever looked at an AEM CAI it has machined grooves inside its piping that are placed in aerodynamic locations to aid an speed the airflow...the aftermarket CAI piping is longer and more twisty than the stock airbox but your still sucking in more air and colder air at that. And for the matter of twists in the pipeing, tubing, whatever, the stock airbox air-flow channel isn't straight either-its got machined grooves in the sidewalls to steady and smooth the airflow too. I've seen Injen short rams that are inside the engine bay, I've never seen one outside of it, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt squirrel but I haven't ever seen one with my eyes.

Also, Cameron, the 1-2 hp between the two is probably right (I know it is with celicas), tho I don't know where you saw whatever dynos you referring to. BUT, peak hp and torque doesn't mean much. The hp and torque curves mean a lot more, as does where those peaks occur on those curves ( the curves are just the HP an TRQ lines on Dyno-graphs, which happen to look like curves usually, albeit really jagged ones sumtimes). FOR INSTANCE, on the celica, and i think i said this somehwere else on this site too, Injen's CAI made 1hp or so more than AEMs CAI, but Injen's intake was notorious for losing just a pathetic amount of power in the low end, like 10hp to the wheels, stayed steadier with the stock power #s in the mid range an bested AEM by 1 or 2 on top. But oh, wait, AEMs CAI, while bested by Injen's peak #s by 1hp, actually had low end gains, not losses, and mid range gains as well (though nothing drastic in the mid range).

And while I don't know about K&N's intakes for any Scions, they've never made an Intake I've heard of for an import car that had the best gains. K&N DOES NOT do enough R&D on imports, or not as much or as good as the typical import brands like Greddy, AEM, Injen, Blitz, etc. K&N only dominates the domestic field...you'll NEVER see a mustang with an AEM intake, unless the guy is a dork.

Theres my rant/.02

 

i used to have aem cai before i got injen short ram...

i think i got quicker response with shortram than cai....
technically cai is more for high end power....shortram is more for stop n go

 

Take a look at a Scion xB w/ the Injen short ram. The filter sits right behind the foglight. No part of the filter is inside the engine compartment. The air is gathered from the middle and lower grilles, not to mention the opening inside that cavity/fender well, that is drawn from underneath.

Have you seen an xB w/ the Injen short ram installed? You stated you haven't, so how do you know? Not all short rams are the same.

Sure there are short rams that sit inside the engine compartment, but the Injen short ram for the Scion xB does not.

I don't have a dyno and my opinion is based on my experiences w/ my Matrix Xr Injen RD CAI and my Scion xB Injen short ram.

Scionic did a test w/ his own vehicle, w/ a dyno, w/ the intakes that were currently available.

 

I'm not favoring one company over another, or suggesting one either way.

It all comes down to what you want to w/ your money.

I do alot of freeway driving and have not had any problems running the short ram. I have enuff hp for passing what I need to pass at 80 mph.

 

:?

 

I've ran both AEM and short ram intakes...and have friends in both companies...it's true that dealerships have to push the products they have and I can't blame them.,but the price that I paid for the AEM, it's not worth it, if I had known what I know now i would've held out fo sho.

I most definetely prefer and recommend the short ram intake for the performance and the cost. go for Injen. good luck.

 

i didnt mean injen shortram has anything wrong on the freeway....it definitely helps...i just wanna address out shortram is better on stop n go traffic than cai...

cuz i love my injen short ram!!!! it rocks!!!