Rep Power: 528

Damn, I was gonna get the FIPK but then a $1900 credit card bill came in the mail for me.

Do you think there's a substantial difference between the two? Cuz it's like $163 difference in price... with that leftover money I could get a Neuspeed F/U strut bar and an eBay R/U strut bar (cuz I heard they're awesome).

Argh, fuggin credit card bills! (none of it is debt, by the way, I pay my bills on time... but $1900... damn!)

IronFist

 
Rep Power: 0

this was just posted the other day.... i would assume that the FIPK is better than any drop-in. If you just have a drop in, you still have the airbox restriction, whereas with the FIPK, the only restriction you would have is the filter. Someone posted though that they noticed some gains at higher rpm with the drop in

 
Rep Power: 368

I dont think the stock system is that restrictive...

200 is just too much for a intake and a pipe, even if its well designed. I'm just gonna get the drop in filter myself.

plus I bet u lose top speed with the FIPK, like all other intakes... and I bet u lose some low ends too...

it probably works better than a regular short ram just because of the heatshield, and the better K&N filter. you'll also get the noise you get when u get rid of the resonator.

go with the other route, so you can get more stuff!

I'm gonna try the denso plugs that everyone got all hype up about.

edit: btw what did u spend on for 1,900!?

 
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Actually, I thought I read that the K&N FIPK was better than the AEM and Injen SRI's cause it kept the low end and still gave a somewhat noticable difference in the high end. Maybe I'm wrong though.... Anyways, I was just about to post this same question, cause nobody really seems to have an answer. In terms of performance I thought the stock airbox actually wasn't very restrictive compared to others. If the performance gains would be about the same between the drop-in and the FIPK I would much rather just get the drop-in cause 200 bucks more isn't worth it for cool sound. Anyways, how much of a difference do you think there really is between the drop-in and the fipk? Does anybody really know?

 
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get the drop in filter.....then try removing the resonator...see how you like it, you can easily put that back in.....all intakes make somewhere around the same amount of hp on our cars.....which all make a very minimal amount....all they do is make noise, rob low end torque, and give you a lil hp up top........ive learned this from experience.....

just get the drop in and thank me later..mark

 
Rep Power: 528

this was just posted the other day....

Dude, I totally forgot that this topic had been done already. My bad. My credit card bill must have made me temporarily insane.

Hmmm, I still haven't decided which on to get. The drop in filter is totally economical, but the FIPK seems pretty awesome, and someone on here said it didn't affect their low end at all.

As for robbing top speed, I don't care about that. If I can only go 105 instead of 115 it doesn't really matter. I haven't even been to 100 in my Civic yet. I'm gonna order the IK20's tomorrow tho. I want to wait until I get them AND the filter/FIPK so I can install them both at the same time. The effect will be bigger that way (hopefully).

edit: btw what did u spend on for 1,900!?

CapYoda, it was a month and a half rent at my college apartment, $600 worth of books for my classs, a couple clothes, and a bunch of food. I'm a weight lifter so I eat a lot [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

IronFist

 
Rep Power: 306

I had both.

First, at 12000 miles, your stock airfilter is almost useless. The filter is almost right over the throttle body. So it sucks air from a sweet spot over it. Now when the dirt clogs that portion, it has to pull air from around it, this causes some turbulence and I really started to notice the performance drop.

I installed a drop in K & N. It did restore the performance to new levels. And it did give a modest improvement. But you still had it sucking air from basically one spot. Since it needs cleaning less often than a stock unit, it should offer a longer life time and less restriction.

If all you are looking for is a small improvement, a filter you don't have to change and throw away, and better filtration, go with this.

Now, if you want some incresed performance, go with the FIPK.

It has a cone air filter which flows much more than stock. It uses a cool inlet to the tube which increases flow and then uses a plastic tube with smooth bends. So you get air sucking from the entire filter and much more flow. Plus you get a heat shield which does block hot air from the header.

I did notice much more torque accross the entire range, with a big increase from 3000-4000. I noticed no loss of torque anywhere. In fact I used to have to downshift on some hills, which I no longer do. As far as top speed, I hit 120 mph and slowed down by choice. On several onramps I had to slow down because I was pulling too hard to 6000 and was almost running into the car ahead of me.

I just drove 2100 miles and I can say the trip was much nicer with the added power. The car is just easier to drive. The kit installed easily to the stock mounting points, no removing transmission mounts or anything like that. Removing the stock air box was harder.

As for the stock resonator not adding restriction, I took it apart. It has all kinds of sharp bends and baffles to make the intake quiet. Yes, the FIPK is louder, but only when you get on it. The baffles were the compromise Honda made to ensure that grandmas did not complain about the loud noise. You probably will not mind too much. Basically the stock resonator quiets the car, and that necessitated the filter being mounted above the throttle body. I would guess other intakes suffer from low end torque loss because they have no radius filter adaptor which may restrict air flow until a sufficient draw is generated.

I would definately buy this item again, it did make a noticealbe difference.

 
Rep Power: 368

damn. u just changed my mind.

arggh... hahah. 200 bucks though.

thats an insightful review.. and your words are well put and u point out the examples well.. and I dont think u're the type that thinks himself into performance gains... and the fact that u didnt' lose top speed really made me think.

I duno. I guess when I have the money. I'll grab it. I'll love to get some increase without lost. I notice it easily in my car, since I got a manual... (ie: how long I gotta keep the clutch in without car bogging)

I guess I can always get it, and if I dont like it, sell it.

iron: yeah I know, I just spend $605 on school too, I lost my financial aid [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/IMG] I haven't even bought the books yet!

 
Rep Power: 528

I know right? Me too.

Guess I'll wait on the strut bars...

IronFist