I have an '02 Civic EX and I'm interested in adding a muffler and Cold Air Intake and was wondering if anyone could give me any suggestions on how to get started and if their is a major downside to going with something that is universal over a name brand.

-Symbi

 

well a CAI is pretty much universal the only thing that should be name brand is the filter, this is b/c egay filters tend to be crap. now it all depends on what kind of sound youre looking for from your exhaust. most off brand exhausts sound kinda crappy IMO so you are better off looking for a name brand in that respect

 

AEM and Injen intakes are dyno proven and sound good, but I've got an ebay one with a good filter on it. Sounds alright, works alright. A pipe's a pipe, right?

 

Also, what is the major difference between a Cold Air Intake and Short Ram?

 

A short ram intake has the end of the pipe and the filter in the engine bay, so the air is warmer. A cold air intake moves the end of the pipe out of the engine bay, behind the bumper cover, so the air it pulls in is "cold" and not heated by the engine.

 

also w/ a cai you will have a slightly decreased throttle response

 

spend the money and get a good name brand so you won't regret it down the road.

 

go with a SRI, they're cheaper, quicker and easier to install and pretty much offer the same performance/sound gains a CAI would.

as with exhausts, these are good examples of good and bad:

rsr exmag - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjQ8ynVfMBI
greddy sp2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDNf1bWtE-g
apexi ws2(what I own) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbnC3NEkDQ8
mugen twin loop - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4-Zo0aQmuA
cheap no name exhaust - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-pOu9F2ss

 

For the intake, get an eBay one (I recommend short-ram... CAI isn't as good as it's hyped up to be). Then, go somewhere like procivic.com and get a name brand filter. They have a pretty wide selection.


For the exhaust, you truly get what you pay for. If you cheap out, your exhaust will sound like crap. If you spend the extra money on something nice, you will be very pleased with the sound of your exhaust. If you want a nice tone, you'll want to look into an oval canister muffler, such as the Apex-i WS2, GReddy SP2, and RS*R Exmag.
The round mufflers tend to sound really loud and raspy, and drone out the sound of your stereo when you are cruising. The oval mufflers I named tend to be quiet while cruising, a little louder than stock when accelerating normally, and moderately loud when accelerating quickly, especially in the higher RPMs. I recommend the Apex-i WS2.

 

True cold air intakes DO make a difference, since cold air is more dense (more air molecules per cubic feet of volume) that hot, engine bay-heated air. If you don't believe me, try this:

Take your car to the drag strip on a cool morning. Keep your hood open until it's time to run. Save your time slip and then do it again on a hot Summer day without popping the hood. You WILL see a difference because of the intake air temperature difference.
Another thing to look at is some of the fastest cars out there. Take a new Corvette Z06. See that opening in the front end, just in front of the hood? That's for cold air ingestion. Mitsu EVO? Check. Dodge Viper? Check. Subaru STI? Check. You get the picture.....cold air intakes are the way to go.

Exhaust: The big name cat-backs are almost all made of 300-series stainless steel and they will probably last forever. I like the sound of Magnaflows - very low tone that is not irritating to you and the police. You can hear some video clips on their website.