Cold Air Intake

[shad295]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this Forum, so hello. I've been looking all over for answers on Cold Air Intakes for my 2007 Honda Pilot (2WD). Does anyone know why there aren't any, or if we can adapt the intake that goes on the Ridgeline to the pilot without problems?

[N_Jay]

Pilot owners are practical, and CAI are not!

[robrecht]

Helping an engine breathe better (more air, colder denser air) is always practical. My Dad used to say that an engine burns air, not gas. That said, the Pilot is not a sports car.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by robrecht
Helping an engine breathe better (more air, colder denser air) is always practical. My Dad used to say that an engine burns air, not gas. That said, the Pilot is not a sports car.

But it only burns the amount of air that it needs, and "giving it more" is as easy as stepping on the gas.

[robrecht]

Originally posted by N_Jay
But it only burns the amount of air that it needs, and "giving it more" is as easy as stepping on the gas.

Only if you assume there are no limitations and inefficiencies in the air flow and exhaust, but there always are, right?

[scuba steve]

i haven't seen any.

i didn't look at one for the ridgeline that close, i can't say for sure.

as for the rest of the replies, stick to the topic and leave your opinions out of it.

[A6Pilot]

shad295-

Take a close look at the intake system on your 2007 Pilot, and you will see a very sophisticated and imaginative design. First of all, the Honda powertrain engineers did, in fact, design a cold air intake system. Look carefully where the air is drawn from. Clever, don't you think? A K&N system can't compare. Matter of fact, many so called "Cold Air Intake" systems draw air within in the engine compartment. They can advertise 'cold air intake' all day long, but that doesn't make it true. Do they lie? You be the judge.

Additionally, the Honda engineers designed the intake path so precisely, that standing pressure waves within the intake path are amplified, and thus provide a mild supercharging effect over a broad rpm range. Fit an aftermarket system to your car, and you will casting aside all that intricate engineering. Passive intake path engineering is one reason your Pilot produces 244 horsepower on only 211 cubic inches of displacement. Truly remarkable, don't you think?

Not only that, but fitting a washable filter system to your car will provide the claimed horsepower increase in only the far upper reaches of the rpm range. And that increase (if there actually is any at all) will come at the price of filtration power. Not only that, but oil soaked filters have been known to coat the intake path with the charge oil, thereby compromising the downstream emissions control sensors. And, cleaning plus reoiling the filters is simply a pain in the butt.

Seems like a high price to pay. But then again, most people would agree in looks pretty cool. Some people, anyway. Well, maybe just a few.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by robrecht
Only if you assume there are no limitations and inefficiencies in the air flow and exhaust, but there always are, right?

And the filter and intake are a fraction of the throttle body during all but full throttle/high RPM operation.

How many people drive at greater then 3/4 AND over 4000 RPM that much?

[TurboTurtle]

I would think some of the Ridgeline ones would fit. You could always check a Ridgeline forum to see if someone over there has pics of intakes installed. Ive seen a cold air for the pilot on ebay from time to time, generic though. I have a short ram on mine. I had a iceman cold air from my integra lying around I just cut it and used it.

[robrecht]

Originally posted by N_Jay
And the filter and intake are a fraction of the throttle body during all but full throttle/high RPM operation.

How many people drive at greater then 3/4 AND over 4000 RPM that much?

Not many, I hope! Like I said, the Pilot is not a sports car. I'm really agreeing with you about practicality for most of us so my first response wasn't worded well. But I do like talking and learning about engines.

It's not just less restriction to the intake (if that's the limiting point in the breathing process), but colder, denser air that can, when well executed, measurably increase hp for those that want it.

Of course, if airflow is not being restricted primarily at the intake, you can even eliminate (for temporary testing purposes only) the filter and intake on some cars and not see any hp increase. But if you want to optimize the whole breathing process and look at all restrictions, it's obviously worth investigating the intake placement and dynamics.

If you really want to appreciably increase the whole breating process on the Pilot, I suspect you'd have to also look at headers and exhaust and maybe the A/F computer, injectors, etc. Apparently, there's been some here who have looked into forced induction as well. Some take their Pilots to the local dragstrip. Is that practical, certainly not for most of us.

Although this theoretical discussion isn't appreciated by everyone here, it might be helpful to some, if only to underscore the fact that sometimes it's a pure waste of money to add a CAI in the form of a K&N filter and you might just get more noise and worse over-all performance.

[A6Pilot]

Again, for what it's worth, the Pilot is already equipped with a highly engineered Cold Air Intake system right from the factory. So what's the point?

[shad295]

Thanks, I think I'll keep my OG equipment. I Love my Pilot as it is and even if I installed a cold air intake I don't want to take the risk of sucking up water and screwing up a $30,000 vehicle.

[Luwin1026]

Fujita5 makes one for the Ridgeline that should fit the Pilot - but it's a short ram where the exposed filter is located within the engine compartment.

[Gav]

Man, why is everyone always bagging on the K&N? Quit hating. Sure if you over oil it, it'll mess up some sensors. Blah blah blah. I expect to see questions like this under performance. Not just questions about mileage. I've had these air filters on my cars, my family's cars, my friends cars...These filters have been around forever. I've never had a bad experience with them. If you really want to improve performance, that's probably one of the easiest things/first things to change out.

So what if you don't romp on it all the time, for times you do, you'll probably like the under hood growl/whoosh sound that an open filter will make.

Here's a link of fellow member Bernie making his own CAI

K&N install Completed - pics

[A6Pilot]

The dirty little secret with K&N filters is that the perceived horse power is not backed up by real, independently verifiable increases, except (maybe) at the absolute upper reaches of the rpm band. And any small increases, if any at all, are at the expense of filtering power. See this:

Why do you suppose these fanatical Japanese engine designers (or Corvette, or Ferrari, for that matter) do not specify a K&N system for their powerplants? Expense has nothing to do with it.

Sorry to say, but they just don't work in the real world. Not only that, but there's a good chance you actually decrease power, and decrease the longevity of your engine. On the other hand, they look neat, all shiny and everything. Bling vs bang, once again.

Next, let's talk about performance chips, Vornados, etc, etc. P. T. Barnum is alive and well!

Finally, consider this: