Air Intake Comparison Test - 8th Gen Civic Si - K20Z3 

It don’t matter how old this Si, it’s a beautiful masterpiece

Love 8th gen z3 contents....keep them coming!!! Comparison between aftermarket (3)pulley to oem be nice.

Excellent video! i can't wait for the tb comparison. Thank you Nick.

Thanks for taking the time to test!

Picking one up tomorrow. First time back into the Honda game in a long while. Can't wait

Finally some good 8th Gen content! Great comparison video Nick. Looking forward to the throttle body comparison

Great video. Thx for showing intake temp and difference in pipe size...

Yes !! Continue this series !!!

loving the 8th gen vids! keep em up

Most excellent video, very helpful for me shopping for whatever the best CAI is these days

Subbed for the 8th gen dyno stuff!!!

Another great video Nick! You've answered questions that I've been trying to find the answers to for years. I found it interesting that when you paired your car with the ktuned 3.5 short ram it made the exact same power as mine considering we have the exact same bolt ons except my car has the fullrace exhaust, invidia header, rick specd intensity 3.5 short ram, and running your tune. Let me know if you want me to bring the hybrid racing cold air intake to compare with the ktuned cold air. I know a lot of Honda guys wanted to know if there is actually a difference.

Awesome, in-depth video showing some real test results and not just talk. Just wish you had tested the K&N one

used to have this exact car, no one can tell me its not one of the best sounding cars ever, even with the standard exhaust

So what you’re saying is.... I should turn my short-ram back into a CAI when I see you for a fresh time this spring... Got it! 👍 Great video, Nick!

Really well explained which one is which not many dynos do that in details ! Good job

I traded in my 2004 Mazda RX8 for an 06 Si. I’ve owned a Lexus ISF, a 08 EVO MR, and a 17 BMW 340i mperformance, not to mention my first car a 98 integra GSR and a 2000 Prelude that I put a Jackson Racing supercharger on. The Civic Si was my favourite of them all. I’m now returning to my roots and I’m looking into a new Civic Type R.

I’m glad you’re rocking with the fg2 instead of the 4 door.

Thanks Nick 10/10 👍🏻👍🏻

Funny how I did the same testing years ago on my 8th gen and the results were pretty much the exact same. Did the same when I swapped it to k24 and was almost identical results except it lost about 10hp with the 3 inch. Overall the best combination that I found was 4 inch cold air with a transition to 3.5 about 6 from the throttle body, with that setup it gained 13hp over just the straight 3.5 inch Cai. That was with the 2.4 though on a 2 liter the gains were marginal. I'm sure with cams and a bigger throttle body that intake would have worked better. Also on the throttle body side I found that the j35 made the same hp as the zdx throttle body with stock cams made 220, once I swapped in some drag cartel 2.2 that's when the zdx had the advantage made 242. On the 2.4 however the zdx along with the port matched rbc was the ideal setup for max power totally stock it made 230 with 188tq with drag cartel elite pro cams stock block it made 257 on pump, 267 on e85 and 303 on m5.

science based information. good stuff!

Love those comparision!

Awesome vid man!

Could of made a cheap "ebay intake" with the spare piping as a comparison, good videos man keep it up! 💯

Cool experiment. Great to know 👍

Love the content 👍

Very interesting, new subscriber !

Interesting to see how the length of the runner affects the mid range

Nick, thank you for this informative video! I would like to ask you couple questions. 1. Does the valve cover breather filter works well with a boosted 8th gen? 2. What size is that black cap you used on the K-Tuned intake pipe and where did you get it? Thank you

Please make experiments with heat shielding coats for intake. Shield as many elements as you can to achieve the longest possible "cold channel" for air. Results are great!

not gonna lie the intake sticking outside the engine bay don't look that bad 🤣 Nice comparison video Nick

I'm looking forward for the throttle body one. I want to up mine to a 72 or 74mm.

This is a really informative videos and base on your testing result, we should all ditch our short ram intake for a cold air intake. However, i find that installing a catless header will make more noticeable difference at mid range power when you driving the car. The power increase from going short ram to cold air intake is not justifying for the price difference for a Naturally aspirated engine like the k20z3. Regardless, for daily driving, i would rarely accelerate to 5k rpm and if you want to really accelerate fast with this car you have to go pass 6k rpm for the second stage vtec to kick in order to feel something. With the k20 engine, you either go all out or you just coast with the traffic. Installing a cold air intake instead of short ram while give you a noticeable gain from 4km rpm to 5k rpm will not matter if you are up against a turbo car in the same class like GTI or WRX.

Love to finally see REAL results on this. I lost my K20Z1 in approx 2 mins of a Florida rainstorm out of nowhere to Hydrolock with a Injen Threw Bumper CAI(with a AEM Dryflow filter cover...)on my DC5. Now I run a Short ram for basically safety and my IAT's are now +50° delta whereas with the true cold air intake id be somewhere in the +10° to +20° ambient range and it is surprisingly noticeable

That last test was wild haha

Was the length of the long 3in intake similar to the k-tuned 3.5in? If they are no the same, then it would be interesting to see what effect that would make to have the 3.5in be longer. I would love to see a 80mm throttle from Maxbore in you next video comparison if you could get your hands on one. Thanks for the video comparisons!

Great job, thank you! 👍👍👍💪💪💪🙂🙂🙂

Nice video. I have the stock airbox with a drop kn and the Mishimoto Intake hose.

I wouldn't completely throw aside the K&N intake. Each Si owner chooses an intake according to his or her setup. The K&N is convenient and good enough for a reflash "tune" if you don't track or street race or want to custom tune beyond a 2.5in. intake.

U shuda did the knn instead of the aem for sure the knn is good for short ram has velocity stack. Good vid

I would be interested to see if when you open up the intake plenum opening more if this messes with the resonance. Would you be willing to repeat the Ktuned 3.5 cold air and SRI test at this time?

Wonder would putting a velocity stack change anything?

Saw that velocity stack style filter. Would have loved to see that vs the filter.

This was great info thanks I jus got a AEM intake for free and now I jus wanna throw it away 🤣🤣🤣 I knew it was bad but I didn’t think it was that bad

So basically, stock airbox is best, other than a dedicated CAI..

I would like to see if water-meth would make a difference,on a stock engine with intake

I think you should have ran the AEM with a clean filter, that looks filthy. Also the K&N has the heat shield and the air duct to blow some cooler air.

Stock airbox with K&N drop in filter as a 'baseline' would have been interesting to see, if only in comparison..

How does the stock box compare with a drop in intake

Vstack vs filter next please!

Why didn’t you test the K&N?

Damn, I used to run an AEM SRI on my old fg2 :(

yes I agree

which intake is better for a k24z7 with muffler skunk2 3 inch donwpipe skun2 hondata rbc and thother zdx

Do you know if i can use the hydrid racing cold air intake without hondata tune? Basically i want to know if i can use that hybrid racing CAI with the stock tune on a 8th gen civic si

Nice comparison but disappointed that you couldn't do the 3.5 inch straight cai versus the 3inch to 3.5 cai. Would have like to see the comparison since ktuned sell both intakes in that configuration.

What I would like to see is how much difference it makes on a turbo car,that's running a upgraded intercooler

You didn't test the hybrid cold air intake

They say the less bend on the intake piping the better 🤔

I wish I could have you tune my car. I’ve taken advantage of in the past. I have the hybrid intake for two years . Still in the box . Afraid to install it with out tune.

Looks like I'm now in the market for a 3.5 CAI for my car!

Did you leave it on stock tune when testing ?

Love my FA5

How did the k&n typhoon intake do?

I'm using a K&N SRI in my FA5 SI...now I'm just wondering if the stock air box with K&N filter would perform better. Do you think the Stock one with K&N filter would perform like CAI?

Did you ever consider to swap the k24 in that car, that would be awesome to see, but I know the header clearance is the issue.

civic 8 gens air intake dyno tuned tuneup i-vtec

Wasn't the K&N intake suppose to be used in conjunction with the stock snorkel? Would think that's better than the aem one.

Go test the K&N. It has a heat shield and uses the stock snorkel. I bet it outperforms the ktuned 3.5in short ram

Wasnt the test car tuned using the K-tuned 3.5" cold air set-up? Wouldnt that automatically give that intake the advantage in this comparison? In order for the test to be accurate, wouldnt the car have to be retuned after each intake change? I really dont know; Im just asking. Im not saying that I think that the other intakes would outperform the 3.5" cold air setup, but if the car was tuned using a short ram intake, then you switched to the 3.5" cold air setup without retuning, would the gains be as great?

Je comprends jamais pourquoi il y a 2 courbes ensuite 4 courbes etc. On ne sait pas quelle courbe correspond à l'admission installée

How much power would I be making with exhaust, intake and flash pro? My car is a civic si 2007 with k24a2 engine.

Could you tell me is the j35 throttle body worth it for only bolt ons?

Cold air intake is a way to go but it will fuck that motor once water gets in in it

Do you have any base maps for fbo rsx type s?

are u going to do a 2 step setup

hybrid racing has the best intake

civic 8 gen air intake dyno tuned

I like the hybrid silicone intake , no fan boy

Nick where are you located at? City wise..

what would you recommend after an intake and exhaust ?

Where are you located Nick?

i dont understand why people don't have shops make them custom cold air intakes for their cars.... seems like the cheapest way to make power.

You should do a pop tune

Nah, for the less than 10% gain with any of them, compare against stock!

Can you also do this for a b18c?

are the AFRs affected at all?

A little more knowledge on intake systems would of been better. My short ram setup will beat cold air setups. You live in Ontario canada with lower temperatures than me here in Dallas, TX. I just ran a datalog myself. With the car warmed up from being parked it was at 80 F. When I did just a mere 2nd to 3rd pull. It cooled itself back down to 77 F. And the ambient temps are in the mid 60's on that day. It's best to get the benefits of short ram and cold air. So I have ram induction that goes to my short ram but I still keep the filter in an open high pressure zone so it doesn't get seen as a "Cold air" by the engine. That's why mod for mod my K20 has beaten others and built more mid range torque than others.

Wait... so your baseline is the cold air? And they were Your first 3 runs? and they were the best? not trying to crap on your results.. Logically thinking 3 1/2” cold air would be better... but AEM and KNN both do lots of engineering and slap their name on it. So if they do 2 1/2 there’s probably a reason why? I’m assuming. I could be wrong but to test them last on (in my opinion) doesn’t do them justice... or justify their prices of what $200+ if it’s pulling the air temp off your MAF... it’s not taking temp off the intake it self. I know with my 8th gen the first couple pulls in the morning are fun and fast... but if it hot out or I’m driving for a while. if I go to take off or down shift to pass someone.. it’s a way different car! It starts reducing power the hotter it is. Like you hear the V-Tech... but don’t notice a speed and power increase. Nothing close to what it was when you first started driving it... My assumption is it’s the engine and intake becoming heat soaked. it acts and replicates your tests... with the same intake on.. I’m still using oem with knn replacement filter. I’ve been wanting to buy cool air but can’t justify buying one for $200 so I don’t have a bone in this fight. I’m legit questioning it because I do want one if it’s a positive. I’ve noticed right in the mornings at temp right and it’s like at 50F outside the thing just goes! It’s happy as F! It’s a different car! Like without looking at the temp outside just by the way it acts I’m like oh it must be about 50F. What I’m getting at is Temp for some reason really affects these cars. I’m not sure if it’s compression? or the oil thinning out causing it the oil to not build the pressure to open v-tech solenoid all the way? Idk but temp matters the more heat soaked the engine and intake is in this car.