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I have done a quick search on "intake" and I dont think I found too much info...so im gonna post this.

For SRI intakes, what is the difference between a name brand I.E. AEM or INJEN, and a normal SRI you could find at Pepboys or Kragen? Sure the Injen and Aem have a "mirror touch" finish on it, and also comes with a K&N filter, but wouldn't you pretty much get the same results (if your thinking more power, probably like 1-2hp max) (also sound, the pipe is just for the airflow right?)?
Lets say I went out and bought a SRI pipe from Pepboys, and swaped the filter to something better. Does the AEM or Injen have somesort of extra un-noticible thing happening inside the pipe that makes it much more expensive and much more wanted? If so, I havn't seen it looking into the pipes of both intakes...
Or is this somesort of brand name thing, like nike of hilfigure, and thats what makes it so much more expensive than a normal noname brand?
Help would be appreciated, and hopefully I wont be flammed for not knowing what's suppose to be known..

Bboysushi

 
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its all about name brand.
some intakes makes u lose hp though...
if money is an issue i think theres a drop in filter by k&n... shrug.
but then i have an injen cai system. and i love the sound and i noticed some high end gain.

 
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For me i luv the sound from my injen cai...plus a felt a slight difference...but then again it could be my mind makin me believe it...i;ve heard the intakes from pepboys and kragens...and those arent as deep pitch as the injen intakes

 
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things that might make a difference in pipe... mandrel/crush bent, how many bends, location of filter, size of pipe, material of pipe(insulation purposes). but ya i would think main difference would be in the actualt filter itself cause if you have a bad filter that doesnt suck in air at all then it wouldnt matter, opposed to a filter that sucks in alot of air, then restricting some airflow wouldnt matter too much. but then again, how much do you really gain from an intake anyways, i really dont expect any gains, only reason i want it is for sound/looks

 
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I have an AEM SRI (short ram is best for autos).

The reasons why I paid more for this one:

-mandrel bent piping for smoother air flow.
-K&N filter makes a deeper sound.
-It fits perfectly, no install troubles.
-zirconia based powder coating to reduce engine heat.
-C.A.R.B exempt
-Looks sweet under the hood with AEM on the pipe [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
-doesn't void warrenty

Hope this helps

 
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how is it that short ram is better for AUTOS? i always figured cold air is always better

 
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Well AEM did a lot of R&D and found that for autos, the short ram poduced better numbers than the CAI. That's why AEM only offers the short ram for autos