y2kprotege

i wanted to get a injen cai for my 00 protege lx is there any problems with them? Or should i wait for something else b/c some people had problems with the engine check light and stuff so what should i do? I havent heard too many ppl talk about the intake like the aem one.

Protege5online

I personally really like the Injen. I think it looks great for one & I think between it & the AEM, they are about the same performance wise. Now, Im still not sure of the different engines in the different proteges (so I dont know what the LX has) but Injen makes the 1.6L intake while AEM makes the 1.8L. Some people have had problems in the past with the 1.6L intake but I think the majority of them where mistakingly (or just flat out lied to) that the 1.6L would fit on the 1.8L or 2.0L engines. This is wrong. There is a reason Injen says this intake is for a 1.6L and they dont say anything about the 1.8L & 2.0L. 2 Other possible problems people may have run into on the 1.6L intake on their 1.6L engine is not getting the MAF hooked up exactly right and/or Injen was having to problems for a little while with some of their filters having to much oil in them. These are oil impregnated filters just like K&N and at times, if you get to much oil in that filter, you could start sucking oil into your intake which in turn may mess up your MAF. Now, this was supposed to be taken care of months ago & I havent heard any recent outbreaks of Injen problems. Other than that, most people I know love them. I've probably sold 50 over the last 2 months & havent had any problems from anyone yet. I think I had 1 customer that got a Check Engine light when he first put it on but went off after a little while & hes not having problems that I know of now. I know I've probably had it in my car longer than anyone & I havent had 1 problem since I put it on (thats probably been 10 weeks now). But, Im talking about the 2.0L Intakes. I did sell a 1.6L intake to a customer a few months ago & he hasnt said anything about problems & I have another customer with a 2.0L & a 1.6L protege & he put the 1.6L intake on his 1.6L protege without any problems. So, I like it.

LinuxRacr

Have you guys ever heard of MHP (Mad House Productions) CAI's? I installed one on my MP3, and it is bad ***! It comes in Carbon Fiber, and Black Chrome, and comes with the AEM Water Bypass Valve. If you want to see pics look here:

http://protegemp3.com/cgi-bin/ultima...c&f=4&t=000095

It Growls and hisses when you stomp on it, and the gains are definitely noticable.

The MHP website is :

http://www.mhptuning.com

ToMaC

You cant go wrong with the Injen CAI, it just kicks too much *** IMO.

LinuxRacr

No doubts there!

jking

I highly doubt you will FEEL any performance increase from a CAI. I remember reading somewhere the human body doesnt really feel an increase untill 10hp (maybe 5 not sure). And a CAI is not going to add 10hp to your car.

Greddy917

I am not trying to be a punk...but if you go to www.Injen.com they have actual dyno sheets from cars with only their intakes on...and the LOWEST gain was about 4HP@wheels for a Civic Ex....the HIGHEST gain was about 18HP@wheels for the RSX-S!!!! That is ONLY cai! Other gains were close to 10HP@wheels for the IS300 and 240SX.

This is proof of excellent R+D no matter what other companies come out with.

Eric F

Jeff, I've seen Jesse's posts about the human body not noticing increases smaller than 5HP or so. The point he's trying to make is correct, but that number is BS. Think about it, if you are driving an M3 with 330HP, would you notice 5 more HP? Probably not. If you were driving a Geo metro with 70HP, would you notice 5 more HP, probably so. It's more a function of a percentage of HP increase, hard to say how much. Does Injen have a dyno sheet for the Protege? I'd also like to see some independant dynos confirming those test results. Not that I don't trust Injen to publish their own test results, but I don't trust them to publish their own test results.

Greddy917

What do you mean by "independant"? As far as I know, Injen doesnt have their own dyno...those sheets are all from separate dyno facilities.

Sorry...there wasnt one for the Protege5

I agree with you Eric...a +5 hp gain on a Geo would be more noticable than a +5 hp gain on a 300+hp M3...I dont care what anyone says...I can DEFINITELY feel the diffrence while accelerating.

Eric F

By independent I mean a test by someone with no stake in the results. Like an automotive magazine, for example.

Protege5online

I dont know about the Dynos on the Injen site but they told me they dont like posting their own dyno graphs because of that reason. People wouldnt trust them. So they wait on "independent" tests.

exmiataman

There is nothing BS about that number. It is commonly accepted throughout the automotive industry that 5 bhp is the minimum SOTP (seat-of-the-pants) tolerance, meaning 5 bhp is the smallest gain you can actually feel. Taken to extremes (a Geo Metro is an extreme in this case) yes, you might feel 5 bhp more on a weaker engine. Would that Geo experience substantial performance gains from such a small increase: no. Are you going to feel 5 bhp on your 130 hp P5: doubtful. Will your brain make you think the car is significantly faster as a result of your mod (to justify the price you paid): oh yeah.

When looking at the dyno results for the Injen, it's important to look at the type of car tested. It's absurd to think that a Protege would experience the same results as the RSX-S, which has a very high compression, 200 bhp engine. It's also possible that the RSX-S has restrictive intake from the factory. The intake on the most recent Proteges isn't terribly restrictive. My guess is, much like the Civic EX, the Injen intake won't gain our cars more than 4 bhp. Such small gain isn't worth the high price of these mods to many people. Of course, if you're just trying to look cool (and there is nothing wrong with that), all price considerations tend to go out the window.

And no, slapping a product on a dyno months after it is available to the public is NOT proof of excellent R&D. Research and development, as the name implies, occurs BEFORE the product is brought to market, not after several wise consumers question the manufacturer's unfounded claims.

I'm not knocking the Injen intake. It does show modest gains and, combined with other intake/exhaust mods, could help to add decent horsepower to the Protege's engine. I just want everyone to have realistic expectations about the benefits of slapping an intake on your car. Don't want anyone thinking they can outrun a Z06.

By the way, why does everyone in the import scene seem to add an intake first? Isn't it assumed that you should reduce back pressure before you try to introduce more air into the engine???

Greddy917

And no, slapping a product on a dyno months after it is available to the public is NOT proof of excellent R&D. Research and development, as the name implies, occurs BEFORE the product is brought to market, not after several wise consumers question the manufacturer's unfounded claims.


Thanks, but I know what research and development means.

IMO the above quoted statement is just plain ignorant.

You seem to know what you are talking about...do you work for Injen???? You talk like you know that they never tested their intakes on the cars they were made for, before selling them.

The fact that the results of the dyno tests by "independent" facilities show such good gains only proves that Injen DID do RESEARCH and DID DEVELOP their product in conjunction with the findings in their research.

exmiataman

Obviously you don't. I haven't seen anything on their site regarding research and development, and there's nothing in their modest gains to indicate anything other than they copied an existing design (I'm not saying they did, I'm just saying there's no proof otherwise, as their gains are similar to everyone else's).

All I see are a few dyno charts. Did Injen pay to have the dyno tests done? Where's the proof that these are stock cars? Are the graphs corrected to sea level? What were the atmospheric conditions at the time of the test? Did someone "accidentally" turn on a high-power fan right after the "stock" test and right before the test with the new intake? There's no way to know because there's no information, and because what information is available is provided by the company selling the product. Just because Ijen doesn't own the dyno doesn't make the test independent.

And you call four horsepower a good gain? I can make an intake myself that would gain that much on a Civic! And I don't work at Injen!!!! Again, where is this "proof" of R&D? FWIW, I never said I knew there was no R&D on this product, I said that your statement that a few dyno charts prove good R&D is wrong.

Since there is NO information about the R&D of this product, how do you know they did any testing at all? For all you know they made sure it would clear the hood and slapped it in there (again, not saying they actualy did this, only that there's no way to know). Why are you so determined to defend something you know nothing about? That, my friend, is ignorant.

Above all, these dyno charts tell us NOTHING about the effectiveness of the Injen intakes on the Protege5. Not one damn thing.

Look, I'm not bashing Injen here. Their product looks very well made, and it seems to offer some gains on some cars. It is entirely possible they did countless hours of R&D on the intake for the Protege, but there is no way to prove that.

I want the best possible products for my Protege, and the only way to ensure that is for all of us to be very critical of every product that comes down the pipe, and not just believe what the manufacturers tell us. We don't want to turn into another Honda crowd, do we?

Greddy917

I am not trying to push Injen on a pedastol...I could give a rats *** about Injen...but,the fact that there are a few dyno sheets on Injens out there along with personal experiences of members on this group is proof to support MY opinion about their product development...YOUR opinion consists of "they MIGHT not have" or "theres no way to know"...all speculation.

Now, tell me what being so critical over this intake subject is going to acomplish? Intake is something that usually has similar gains of HP between the diffrent brands out there...why the anguish over mabe a diffrence of 1-2HP? Besides, many of us have the Injen and can vouch for its great performance. What more proof do you want about the performance of an intake?

I could understand, if the Injen JUST came out yesterday...but its BEEN out for a while now and those of us that have had it for some time are testifying to its good quality and performance.

I never said YOU were ignorant...it was the statement...I am sure you are a very intelligent human being. Regardless, any adult should be able to take some critique of a made statement, with out getting all butt-hurt.

Its just a conflict of viewpoint...You seem to be the cup's half-empty type and I am more the cup's half-full role. (concerning this intake debate)

You are right to want the best for you car...we all do. This is wack...ITS NOT EVEN CONCERNING OUR CAR!!!! Enough is Enough.