I have not found much info on the AEM CAI in the searches. I can pick one up used for around $100. Good idea? Bad idea? Too much money for this used? Any info appreciated. Thanks

 

No bad experiences at all.. Invest in a Water Diverter if it is not included...

Clean the filter before you put it on, or even purchase a new filter...

$100 isnt bad used... less then half the street price of a new one...

 

I have one and have been very pleased..sounds great at WOT and around 4500 rpm's...$100 is a great price considering i paid over double for new...plus the blue piping matches the DB pretty well

 

any other opinions?

 

I had an AEM, and when it was just the intake, no toher mods, I loved it! However once I got the Stillen exhaust, crawford plenum and high flow cats, it did not work so well with that set-up. I am going to be testing my new Stillen intake and let you know how it is compared to my old AEM set-up.

On a side note, I been hearing some chatter about how CAI's are not that great for our car. Because of the long tubes the air has to travel up to the throttle body it does not help the low end.

 

I had the AEM before swapping in a popcharger. I liked everything about the AEM better. It sounded amazing at WOT and it seemed to have better response in the lower-RPM range. Although that could be entirely in my head.

The only reason I went with the popcharger is because my neighborhood was having flooding issues. I still miss it.

 

Besides these 500 plus posts

https://my350z.com/forum/search.php?searchid=991536

I could not find much either.

 

do i smell a little sarcasm here.

 

you search through those for a while son and let me know how many posts you find on people who have had the AEM CAI. there are hardly any posts about people's long-term experiences with this brand.

sorry i don't have as much time as you to search through 500 posts...
thanks for you input though.

 

u cant pick one up for $100 cuz mine is sold......
and nothign wrong with AEM, good intakes but i just needed the nismo printed on my intake tube thats why i sold it...

basically AEM = NISMO so u cant go wrong with it

ps. for future reference, if ur thinking of buying something talk me...
dont post "is something good?"

 

what are you talking about? why are there so many haters on here??? number one, i didn't even know you were selling one. number two, i have a G35 and not a Z so i don't even think your's would work for me. number three, i have a friend locally that is going to sell it to me because he got a vortech supercharger. jeez...calm down boy...
even if i was inquiring on your sale item, who cares if i am asking for other's opinions. i would much rather trust outsiders on opinions than the guy who is just trying to get rid of something...GOOD LORD!

If anyone else has any good/bad experiences please let me know. Any info is appreciated...
Otherwise, don't waste your time trying to hate on my post. I'm sure this will be useful for others in the future who want to know more about AEM.

 

that was the first mod i did 2 mine and it sounds amazing...you can hear it sucking in the air when your revving and after 3500+ it ROARS!!! especially at wot.

 

^^nice! that is what i wanted to hear! i'm getting it installed today. ill post some pics after.

 

I know it's after the point, but I also love my AEM CAI - the sound above 5.5K rpms is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

SunDevil: Theres a lot of controversy over CAIs and whether or not the add power or take away power. Im a believer that they do NOT take away power. Now whether or not they add power I cannot prove (no dynos), but for such a cheap mod I would say it was worth it. It really does sound great. I don't have an AEM, but it's the same style. It was 25 bucks off eBay, and it's basically a replica of the AEM.

I would go with AEM for a few reasons.
It will give the same gains as any other intake, but I think it looks a lot nicer. 3 colors to choose from, really dresses up the engine bay. Also, if you do get the AEM, first of all I suggest getting an eBay knock-off
----->http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/350Z-...40354741QQrdZ1
and also getting the water bypass valve. I sucked up water a few times, it was scary

 

^^^thanks, i appreciate it.
i can't believe that they can still make money selling that intake for so cheap! it is amazing how much a brand name can change the price!
the intake i am buying is polished. cant wait!

 

Just so you know, if you plan on doing a plenum or a spacer in the future, don't get the AEM, go with a PopCharger instead, accordingto Alberto. He said after dynoing his car with the Popcharger / plenum, he picked up 10whp (i think) over his last dyno with a CAI / plenum.

 

Here. I just cropped a quick clip out of a video I took awhile back. Here is the AEM CAI on an otherwise stock Z (windows cracked). You also get to hear that I forgot to turn off VDC.

MPG (2MB)

Note: I have no idea what happend to the aspect ratio when I cropped this. Sorry about that. And this link will expire in a couple of weeks.

 

hmmm...10 whp seems like a lot for such a minor switch
i have the crawfordz plenum with the pop charger so i guess i will just have to wait and see. ill hold onto the pop charger for a few days just in case! thanks for the heads up

 

How can a short ram make 10whp more than a cai? I kno this has been discussed before, but basically that statement is saying that 12 inches of piping and one <90 degree bend robs an NA motor of 10whp? Im not trying to start up this war again, the only reason I suggested the ebay AEM is that it is a fraction of the cost of the already-cheap popcharger.

IMO an intake is an intake, they should yield the same power.