IMO a cold air intake is not worth the risk. Unless you have some nasty built up engine the extra benefit doesnt outweigh the risk of hydrolock. I know you can drive sensibly and all that, but water simply does not compress in an engine, it wont take much to stop it from running.

 

Well, it really depends where you live. I mean if you live in Nevada, I really don't think there is much risk for hydrolock. And if you live in Florida, you're going to be in the rain every other day.

 

i live in central va and i got a 2000 accord ex. i was in the same dillema as you and i went ahead with the short ram because i didn't feel like risking anything even though most people say its not even a factor. i got mine off of ebay for about 28 bucks shipped. its a bomz racing one so its not a name brand thing or anything like that but it works just great and sounds great. the only thing i needed to get extra was additional hose clamps for the intake. IMO i would just go ahead and get one off of ebay because they are cheap and still have a reusable filter and are good quality, maybe not the best but they work and sound just as good. hope you make up your mind

 

an ebay intake? right............................
$50 says it's nowhere near as good as an AEM intake.

 

just pick up a quality intake (Injen or AEM) SRI and remove the factory resonator and run custom piping from the inner bumper up to the intake and you'll have the best of both worlds cold air being directed to your intake and it being high enough not to hydrolock. I say get the SRI over the CAI because you are not going to be blown away buy the performance difference and you will save money.

 

do not remove the resonator. i've run tests about this theory and proved it wrong. the res scoops air from the outside and funnels it to the intake. without it, you can feel the engine bog down at high speeds.

 

actually ...

a metal tube is a metal tube. with aem you pay for the paint and the carb exempt sticker that's manditory in CA.

 

yeah but isn't that true with the factory air box but if you have a aftermarket intake how does that apply. If you put a CAI in there you have to remove it anyway and if you have a SRI with custom tubing going from the inner bumper up to the intake it will direct outside air to the filter same principle.

 

but the filter is crap

 

when you remove the factory airbox, it's in 2 pieces ... the resonator and the filter housing. when you remove the filter housing, the resonator still can force air directly into the air filter. it's really hard to explain without the proper images ... i'll try to take some later.

i had this on my car for a good 15K. i really liked it. i removed it because my car needed work at the dealer.