CAIs might provide more performance off the line & at low speeds, and they're quieter than shortys. The downsides are 1.) they're more $$ 2.) harder to install 3.) they're somewhat more dangerous to the life of your engine due to hydro lock. Hydro lock occurs when water gets into the engine intake. If that happens you can kiss it goodbye. They make safety devices to prevent this from happening. That adds even more cost and complexity, and some of those haven't worked properly. It's up to you to "trust" that they will.
Shortys sound better, (IMO), and to notice any performance difference between them & CAIs I think you'd need very sensitive instruments. They're cheaper, easier to install & maintain, and pose no danger of hydro lock.
I've had a shorty on my car for years. No regrets.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
Without a lot of engine mods, you will not see a difference between a CAI and a short ram. That is why I reccomend a short ram over a CAI. Plus, a short ram is cheap. Hell, you can basically make a short ram by sticking a cone filter on the end of your MAF.
I love my CAI. Living in rainy, puddle-infested Western Washington has posed no problems with it, other than the damn filter becoming a little packed with snow last winter. Worrying about hydrolock is for weenies. J/K. On a side note, I did have a SRI on my car for a little more than a year, and it was okay, as long as I wasn't in stop and go traffic. Then my underhood temps would increase so much that the intake tubing would heat soak and my car would have NO power at all. The tube would get so hot that I couldn't touch it without gloves. Now, with my CAI, that is no longer an issue and my car seldom feels gutless after sitting in traffic. And the CAI has a nice sound at high RPMs.
____________________ Lookin' fast in the slow lane
