AEM 21-478WR Wrinkle Red Cold Air Intake System

This is the 3rd car I've had an AEM intake on. Everytime, I'm amazed at the quality and attention to detail with the company. Install was super easy and quick. Tuned the car and now it's running smooth. From before install and tune to after, my '11 WRX actually feels like its running smoother and better. Throttle response is better and the sound that is produced is just amazing. Probably gain a little bit of power. But from just running better and the responsiveness, 100% worth every penny.

Exactly what it said it was. Fit perfect in my 2010 STI , super easy install. Harder to get the old intake out than put in new set up. Great sound under acceleration, noticeable difference all aroundI think this is the best option for intakes available for 2010 sti. This set up actually gets filter away from engine bay, and fits all existing OEM mounts.Wrinkle red color is a little brighter than wrinkle red on intake manifold, so if you are super picky about color match be prepared to adjust

Installed on 2011 STI sedan along with the AP tune ACN91 AEMThere is a lot of info on CAIs for WRX/STIs in the forums so I wont be too redundant.DO NOT expect to be blown away by the extra power if you are already running a stage 1 tune.There is some noticeable power as you near the top of the range, but for day to day driving you wont tell much difference.Here is a link to some good dyno info on the AEM and other bolt ons.<...>What is good:*Quality of the product.*Ease of installation.*Easy to return to stock if you plan to be stealthy when taking the car in for service.*Looks good*CARB sticker*No CELs (didn't run it on a stock tune though)What is not great:*There is an odd intake sound with this CAI. I have had K&N and Macs on other cars before and you usually get a honk or howling sound. This one sounds really odd at low RPMs and not at all nice to listen too. Turn the radio up and you wont hear it.*Not a tremendous gain over stage 1 AP tune. My opinion is that it is less smooth than the stage 1 tune by itself - not bad though.*To clean the filter you will need to take out the entire assembly (not really too difficult and cleaning is not that frequent).*Should come with the splash cover given the filter location on the STI. Down low in the front corner and very likely to get wet.Amazon has the best price on this for sure. I would buy the splash cover and install the first time. Planning to get it and install soon.The best part is the recirc valve noise you get through the filter. Getting on and off the gas gives a menacing whoosh that makes it sound great. Not as loud as an external BOV, but a more subtle effect. My wife thinks I am an idiot since i made her roll down her window and listen. It may be worth $200 just for that!My goal is to get a protune soon and i wanted the most mods possible while being easy to revert to stock. I have the SPT exhaust that sounds great once it settles in. Probably if you want max power you should go right to stage 2 and spend the money on the DP.

After 2 installation attempts I found that the screw holes for the MAF sensor were not tapped correctly preventing the outer screw from tightening completely and allowing air to leak at the sensor mount. for $242 for what is essentially a huge cone filter and a piece of painted aluminum pipe, I expected much more. I was looking to pair it with my AccessPORT but I'll look elsewhere after this. If you're the engineering type, have a look at Vibrant Performance's 3" pipe here on Amazon.

The AEM CAI (Cold Air Intake) is a true cold air intake. Why? Because it sits in an area of the engine just below the RH side headlight, behind the bumper. The air there is definitely colder than in the Engine bay. The Covering Plate (Black) is very well designed and keeps the engine bay heat away from the filter. Everything is neatly packed in bags and the instructions were straightforward. IF you're thinking that the filter might get soaked with water because it sits way down there,, there is chance. Only if you drive in a water puddle that's deeper than a foot ( I don't know why you would drive a car in water that deep, probably should be looking at a boat :p). If you still feel a little insecure, get the Filter Sock (AEM 1-4001 Dry Flow Air Filter Wrap) and rest your mind. I did.Back to the CAI. Install was easy, on a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being "Piece of Cake" I'd rate it a 4. 4 Because the stock airbox was a tad hard to get out! Putting in the CAI is EASY! After the install, DONT DRIVE HARD for about a week. Stay out of boost. Gradually get into it. I know it's hard BUT, it lets the ECU learn to deal with the more air coming in. There's information out there that say that you can run without a tune, or "shouldn't run its not good" etc, and I agree to both of those statements. The car will run, but like I said, stay off the boost if you can. You will be running lean. Which is if you don't know, is more air that you are supposed to be putting into the Air to Fuel Ratio. Get it tuned! :) Believe me, with a Stage 1 93 Octance tune, the car has close t0 290HP. And you will notice the tune. Also, try to get a custom tune than shelling a lot of money on an off the shelf flashing software. There is a definite Whooshing sound that comes when the car starts to hit 3k RPM (Basically Boost) and the Bypass Valve sounds like it's doing it's job. In short, the AEM CAI was a good buy, definitely worth the money, solid performance gain from stock and THANK YOU AEM, for they have put in a lot of research into it as they claim to have. Amazon had the best price from anywhere too! I hope this review helps someone.

fitment was tighter than expected, it was/is a prime object and took more than 3 days to get it

Shipping was fast and fit was perfect on my 2010 WRX Limited.

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