Entity
26-07-2007, 01:43 AM
Quick Summary
Item: Fujita Cold Air Intake (Honda Accord Euro CL9) http://www.f5air.com/
Installation: DIY about 2 hours for an inexperienced person (like me)
Performance: No notable gain at any point in the rev range, that being said, no notable loss down low either.
Price: Fairly reasonable compared to the competition
Sound: Overall I would give it 4/5
Bling: Looks decent in the engine bay, but i will say that both the Injen and K&N look better.
Overall satisfaction: Very good bang for your buck, probably my favourite mod so far (and also the cheapest)
Review
When I was choosing a CAI the options that were immediately open to me were the INJEN and the K&N, I never really considered the Comptech Icebox but that's because its a different type of product altogether. When i discovered that Fujita also made a CAI for the euro i decided to do some research both in and out of Ozhonda. The scoop was that the people who formed Fujita were actually technicians from INJEN and to expect both products to be similar.
What pushed me to buy it was that it was the only one-piece CAI available, it was competitively priced and also it was something different from the crowd. I've sat in cars with Injen and k&n CAIs and have in some been less than inspired, so i thought i would give Fujita a try since in the worst case scenario i'll only be set back a few bucks on resale.
Pros:
The biggest Pro i can think of for the Fujita is the induction noise which begins at a measly 2800 rpm. at 3500rpm the sound is notable and after 4000rpm it becomes quite loud. This was a pleasant surprise to me because in most other intakes, the induction noise does not start becoming noticable until 4000rpm, meaning you really need to thrash your car just to hear the noise. With the Fujita you can drive the car fairly tame, shifting at 3500rpm or so and still get your cheap thrills.
Another thing i really like about the noise is that when you first step on the accelerator, the intake makes a gentle "pshht" noise, similar to a very very quiet blow off valve. Previously i had thought this was a feature unique to the new generation of Injen intakes, and i never paid attention as to whether other intakes do this, but i thought it was neat. The final point ill make about the sound is that it is absolutely crazy in a carpark, even below 3000rpm, inside a carpark the intake makes the car sound like an absolute beast, i've had friends hear me coming from the next level up.
The sound the intakes makes however is different in each gear, and in some very odd circumstances makes a pretty disgusting "rumbling" noise. I've noticed this happens when the car is in low revs in 4th gear, and this can largely be avoided if you drive a manual. If you learn to control your revs in an Auto the problem can also be resolved, but it makes for some embarrassing moments when you step on it expecting a mean growl and getting a pussy low rev rumble.
The Fujita is also the only CL9 CAI which has dyno charts showing that it does not lose power down low, which is one of the downsides of installing a CAI. I personally can't feel a difference either way, but it seems to be pretty advantageous. All the dyno results are available on their website but i'll attach their test of the 04 TSX Auto below:
http://www.f5air.com/images/dyno/ca1007%2004-05%20tsx.GIF
Cons:
There are obvious downsides to this intake, the first of which is the quality. The installation went smoothly enough, but the aluminium tubing provided to connect the intake to the PCV system was not long enough, and i had to go to bunnings to buy a new tube because this one kept falling out.
The piping which leads down into the filter is also very awkwardly placed, scratching against one of the panels on its way down and forcing me to install a rubber housing to stop the piping from scratching and eventually rusting. Additionally, the intake does not have the option of being converted to a SRI, a feature both the Injen and k&n have.
Finally, like i mentioned above the intake doesn't look as good, nor have the brand appeal of Injen and k&n, and so if bling is what you are after, then this intake probably won't take home the cake. My engine bay doesn't get flashed around alot and my main motivation for getting a CAI was for the induction noise, so the Fujita works out well for me.
Overall i'm quite happy with the intake, mainly due to the great sounds at low revs, but also because it was significantly cheaper than the other intakes and does what i consider a better job.
I give it a 4 out of 5. It loses one point because of the rumbling noise it sometimes produces... its difficult to describe this unless you have experienced it a few times.
Hope this helps anyone with their CAI decisions... i'll probably make some amendments to this if i think of anything, cheers!
Item: Fujita Cold Air Intake (Honda Accord Euro CL9) http://www.f5air.com/
Installation: DIY about 2 hours for an inexperienced person (like me)
Performance: No notable gain at any point in the rev range, that being said, no notable loss down low either.
Price: Fairly reasonable compared to the competition
Sound: Overall I would give it 4/5
Bling: Looks decent in the engine bay, but i will say that both the Injen and K&N look better.
Overall satisfaction: Very good bang for your buck, probably my favourite mod so far (and also the cheapest)
Review
When I was choosing a CAI the options that were immediately open to me were the INJEN and the K&N, I never really considered the Comptech Icebox but that's because its a different type of product altogether. When i discovered that Fujita also made a CAI for the euro i decided to do some research both in and out of Ozhonda. The scoop was that the people who formed Fujita were actually technicians from INJEN and to expect both products to be similar.
What pushed me to buy it was that it was the only one-piece CAI available, it was competitively priced and also it was something different from the crowd. I've sat in cars with Injen and k&n CAIs and have in some been less than inspired, so i thought i would give Fujita a try since in the worst case scenario i'll only be set back a few bucks on resale.
Pros:
The biggest Pro i can think of for the Fujita is the induction noise which begins at a measly 2800 rpm. at 3500rpm the sound is notable and after 4000rpm it becomes quite loud. This was a pleasant surprise to me because in most other intakes, the induction noise does not start becoming noticable until 4000rpm, meaning you really need to thrash your car just to hear the noise. With the Fujita you can drive the car fairly tame, shifting at 3500rpm or so and still get your cheap thrills.
Another thing i really like about the noise is that when you first step on the accelerator, the intake makes a gentle "pshht" noise, similar to a very very quiet blow off valve. Previously i had thought this was a feature unique to the new generation of Injen intakes, and i never paid attention as to whether other intakes do this, but i thought it was neat. The final point ill make about the sound is that it is absolutely crazy in a carpark, even below 3000rpm, inside a carpark the intake makes the car sound like an absolute beast, i've had friends hear me coming from the next level up.
The sound the intakes makes however is different in each gear, and in some very odd circumstances makes a pretty disgusting "rumbling" noise. I've noticed this happens when the car is in low revs in 4th gear, and this can largely be avoided if you drive a manual. If you learn to control your revs in an Auto the problem can also be resolved, but it makes for some embarrassing moments when you step on it expecting a mean growl and getting a pussy low rev rumble.
The Fujita is also the only CL9 CAI which has dyno charts showing that it does not lose power down low, which is one of the downsides of installing a CAI. I personally can't feel a difference either way, but it seems to be pretty advantageous. All the dyno results are available on their website but i'll attach their test of the 04 TSX Auto below:
http://www.f5air.com/images/dyno/ca1007%2004-05%20tsx.GIF
Cons:
There are obvious downsides to this intake, the first of which is the quality. The installation went smoothly enough, but the aluminium tubing provided to connect the intake to the PCV system was not long enough, and i had to go to bunnings to buy a new tube because this one kept falling out.
The piping which leads down into the filter is also very awkwardly placed, scratching against one of the panels on its way down and forcing me to install a rubber housing to stop the piping from scratching and eventually rusting. Additionally, the intake does not have the option of being converted to a SRI, a feature both the Injen and k&n have.
Finally, like i mentioned above the intake doesn't look as good, nor have the brand appeal of Injen and k&n, and so if bling is what you are after, then this intake probably won't take home the cake. My engine bay doesn't get flashed around alot and my main motivation for getting a CAI was for the induction noise, so the Fujita works out well for me.
Overall i'm quite happy with the intake, mainly due to the great sounds at low revs, but also because it was significantly cheaper than the other intakes and does what i consider a better job.
I give it a 4 out of 5. It loses one point because of the rumbling noise it sometimes produces... its difficult to describe this unless you have experienced it a few times.
Hope this helps anyone with their CAI decisions... i'll probably make some amendments to this if i think of anything, cheers!