What's up guys and girls just wanted to post my opinion on this debate. I have a 2000 Protege 1.6 with only 43000 miles on it. Its in perfect running condition. I bought the CAI a few months ago on Ebay and so the problems began. The intake caused harsh stuttering and missing and to tell you the turth it robbed me of the power i had. I tried the seal trick which helped not even a little. My check engine light came on all the time i reset the ECU after every change i made to the intake and still no help. So the other day i finally said screw it and changed my CAI to a SRI and praise allah!~ it worked! No stuttering No jumping. All my power back and more! Runs like a new car again. So my conclusion even though i know lots of you will call me crazy! The 1.6's are not designed to run a CAI. It puts the MAF to far away from the cone and by the time the air gets to the sensor it is swirling and causes the hesitation. The ebay intake comes in two pieces unlike the the injen's single tube and i am sure the area where the MAF seals is made to where it seals better. Plus it says injen on it so that adds 5 HP's automatically HAHA but anyway like i said i dont think the 1.6's with no engine mods can handle the CAI and truly perform as it is intended to. So if i have any advice what so ever buy the SRI and dont waste your time, money, or horsepower on a CAI that doesn't cut the Butter!

 

i bet 99% of the problem with your intake was the installation. This is a common problem with people that are running the 1.6L intakes from ebay. They vaccuum leak real bad.

 

yeah, the apexi filters are expensive, but not THAT expensive! they go for about $80 shipped. but like i said, it's a dry filter, so you never have to buy a filter recharge kit. they are guaranteed for a lifetime as well. and since you don't oil the filter, you never run the risk of over oiling and getting oil on the MAF or TB or any other silliness. let me link y'alls to the site where they independently tested some air filters:

Air Flow Test of Filters

 

*heavy sigh*

Matty, when will you ever learn that you can't be cool unless you have "inJen" or "AEM" all over everything and carbon-fiber to boot!

Personally, I'm so uncool that I've been using my $35 Ebay short-ram intake for almost 2 & 1/2 years now with no problems.

Oh well. When I get a couple o' extra bucks I'm gonna finally get rid of the blue couplers in favor of something that matches better

 

nice info on the filters.....still $80 is almost double what I spent on the whole intake!! I may pick one up for my car though..just to see how much nicer it is than the monsterflow.

 

i live in an emmissions state, they dont give a rats *** if its carb or not, if you sniff and ECU check fine they're happy. ( in referance to page 1)
I have an ebay SRI and love it, why spend more,anyone can bend some tube and provide a filter, some clamps and vac line, but the cost is simply attached to who bent it...

 

...and you can always pick up a sticker at your local ricer shop anyway....slap it on there and no one will know the difference!

 

yup yup....where are all of the "name brand lovers" whenever a noob asks about intakes??? i want to hear the debates about how the injen is better.

 

Well that's part of the problem. I wouldn't ever get into a flame war with someone who spent the money on an Injen or AEM, but again, someone show me in writing or on a dyno how they are better (and by better I mean 100-150$ better)and I'll shut up.
I still won't buy one, but I'll shut up!

 

I'm not looking to get into a flamewar with anyone....I'm looking for the reasoning behind why people seem to bag on the Ebay intakes. Sure there is a lot of Ebay junk but can anyone see anything different between the two?

 

the problem with ebay intakes is that unless the end user knows what to exactly look for, some don't fit. i know there was a whole series of ebay CAI's that didn't come with the proper number of joints. there are also issues with rubbing on the brake master cylinder. buying name brand stuff ensures that this headache will not occur. but if you can find an ebay intake that is properly fitting, it doesn't matter. aluminum pipes are all the same. the injen just comes with dyno testing, although it wasn't dyno tuned. major difference in design, minimal difference in performance.

wrong ebay CAI design:





right ebay CAI design:





and from the looks of it, the ebay CAI comes with rubber joints instead of silicone. the pricing is all about $60. it doesn't really matter what type of intake you buy and from where, especially on our cars. the difference in whp between intake types and brands is negligible.

 

Where did you get your Apexi from? And do you have the ebay CAI?

 

the a'pexi prices have actually gone down some. here's a link to options auto:

http://www.optauto.com/index.htm?sto...r=APX-500-A022

i have an injen cause that was all that was available when i got mine 2+ years ago. i was in a GB for $195 shipped, so it wasn't too bad. i want to get that apexi filter, too, but since i spent so much on the injen, i want to wear it all the way out first before i get another filter.

 

the XOXO parts intake is the one I had on my car and the one pictured in the first post. ....just fyi

 

Did you even read the post before you decided to tell me it was my installation Roddimus? I tried all the stupid tricks nothin helped. I changed the CAI into SRI (which means i used the first part of the intake only) i didnt change the seal i had made or touch the MAF changing to a SRI totally cleared up my problems. So like i said IMO the MAF is to far away from the cone for the design of our MAF. READ BEFORE YOU REPLY AND WASTE SPACE!