NOTE: This article is very basic intake info for beginners. For more advanced intake tech, please check out Michael Delaney's intake article at Hondavision.

The most basic bolt-on, replacement of the restrictive stock intake system will give great power gains for their comparatively low price.

The stock system includes an opening inside the engine bay which leads down a passageway through a sound deadening resonator. After it passes through the resonator, the airflow comes up another passageway into a sealed airbox where the airflow finally meets the filter and is sucked in through the intake hose to find it's way into the engine.

Short Ram Intakes

Easily the most affordable intake you can buy, short ram intakes incorporate the most efficient design. Having a short pipe allows the engine to more easily access the air it needs to breathe. The issue with this intake however is that it takes in hot air from the engine bay, air which can reach into the hundreds of degrees. Hot air is less dense, and will have a lower number of oxygen molecules per cubic foot than cold air. The explosions in the combustion chamber depend on oxygen. If there is less oxygen, the explosion will be weaker and create less power.

An arguement made for short rams is that underhood air temperatures will be generally the same as the outside air when the car is moving. There have been tests that have shown both sides, but one thing is for certain, starting from a standstill you will definitely be drawing in very hot air for the first few seconds of your run.

Advantages:
-Short pipe length with minimal number of bends allows for quick and efficient airflow entry into the engine.
-Risk of sucking water into the engine is no greater than with the stock intake.

Disadvantages:
-Brings in hot air from inside the engine bay especially when starting from a standstill

Cold Air Intakes (traditional long tube style)

The infamous cold air intake (CAI), thousands of import fans swear on cold air intakes to help their cars run at peak performance. Brands like AEM and Injen have made a big name for themselves just from this part alone. These cold air intakes are designed to suck in air from behind the turn signal, inside the fender, or in some cases from the front of the car. The air is much cooler in these places than inside the engine bay which allows a higher density of oxygen to be sucked in, resulting in a larger explosion inside the combustion chamber.

Advantages:
-Brings in cooler air from the outside allowing a higher density of oxygen molecules to enter the combustion chamber giving a more powerful explosion on ignition.

Disadvantages:
-High risk of sucking water into engine in partially flooded areas.
-Longer pipe and more bends will cause slight hesitation of airflow and may restrict power in bigger cammed engines.

Hybrid Cold Air Short Ram Intake

Mugen pioneered the hybrid short ram/cold air intake system for the Integra. Comptech made a general copy of the Mugen CAI with their Icebox however you get to keep your air conditioning unlike with the Mugen CAI (heh, how nice of them).

The hybrid intakes utilize the efficiency of a short ram intake while putting cold air into it. The air filter is sealed in a larger unrestrictive airbox which is directed downward to suck air in from near the turn signal, allowing cold air to come through it's short ram intake. This design is arguably the most desirable as it provides the best of both worlds and is used by many competition race cars. The box design also gives somewhat of a pressurized intake charge so there is almost no hesitation in getting air to your engine and low to midrange gains will be improved because of it.

Advantages:
-High efficiency, cold air intake design gives good power gains throughout the RPM spectrum.
-Decreased risk of water ingestion.

Disadvantages:
-Absolute peak HP may not be as high as with regular cold air intakes on otherwise stock motors.
-Might not be as loud as you like your intakes to be.

Purchasing Guide

For normal short ram and long tube intakes, you can pretty much get anything and they will perform the same. These days everyone has copied one another so the diameter and bend radius that AEM originally used years ago to be the "best" has now been copied by every Joe Blow Performance shop out there. Go for the eBay special with these intakes.

The only exception really in that category is the Knights Engineering Iceman Intake. This intake consists of a two-piece plastic tube which decreases in diameter as it reaches the throttle body. This multi-diameter design was meant to increase the speed of airflow as it travels up the tube. Also being plastic, it doesn't have the inherent heatsink properties that most aluminum/chrome intakes do.

For hybrid intakes, you have basically two choices, the Mugen intake or the Comptech Icebox. Both are insulated plastic airboxs which draw air in from a tube that extends downward to pick up cold air via a velocity stack type opening. You can use the Comptech Icebox with the stock intake hose and filter if you choose. You can also get Comptech's drop-in filter to add to the Icebox on your stock hose which is the recommended setup as it fits better. Or you can get the full setup which includes the Comptech short ram pipe, which will all run you a little over $300. The Mugen box is made to fit with the stock rubber hose and comes with it's own filter. But if you thought the full Comptech setup was expensive, you'll pay even more for the JDM bling Mugen intake which retails for $650.

Of special mention is the Arospeed FMIS (Front Mount Intake System). This interesting design places a large flat air filter in front of your radiator. Aerospeed claims tha air will be forced into the intake when you are traveling at speed, creating more power. I claim they are full of it, and that's not the only problem I have with this intake.

For one, the intake pipe is too long. Shorter pipes are more efficient, the engine does not like to have to work to get its air. Second, the "ram air" that they claim the FMIS gives you is impossible given the design of the pipe mounted sideways to the direction of airflow. Third, this thing is just plain dangerous. All the airborne crap like bugs, rocks, goo, and whatever that you see murder your front bumper is now in direct position to murder your engine. Traveling at speed, there's definitely a possibility of some of that crap busting through the air filter. Fourth, to counteract reason 3, there is a safety device they offer for the FMIS called the Lexan Window. This blocks all that airborne debris however it then takes away the entire advantage that they advertised you would have by having the air filter mounted in the front of your car. And lastly, with the intake now in front (especially using the Lexan Window), airflow to your radiator is now blocked and coolant ventilation is kept at a minimum. I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone that this is a bad thing.

So hopefully with this everyone can understand the basics of selecting an intake. Again this article is very basic and does not cover the other more "extreme" setups out there so check the Hondavision article for that. And remember, it's only an intake, in the grand scheme of things this will be the least important mod on your car so just get what meets your needs and budget the best.