Nice mod to make the engine more edgy looking. Could you have done a CAI search based on the diameter of the inlet plenum? Perhaps what worked on similar V6 Accord or Ridgeline builds might be useful.

 

Actually they called this a CAI system due to the heat shield (not installed yet). If you look at the photo the intake itself had to be rotated a quarter turn so that it could clear all that plastic. I left most of it in so that water can't hit the filter. I'll be using some aluminum sheeting to add to the heat shield to make it even safer. I think it'll make it look cooler too.

 

On the second gen pilot the CAI sucks in through the front grill.. Not from the bottom or the rear of the engine bay..with this setup you have , your loosing that feature . It's more a WAI now .. the point behind these setups is to block the CIA filter from sucking on the engine cab hot air . Should have looked for something close in our year of a pilot.

 

This pilot also has a cold air directional funnel in the front grill. Once the heat shield and aluminum sheeting is installed the warm engine air will be completely cut off from the intake. Sure, it's not perfect yet but still a huge improvement over how it was.

 

I'm new to owning a pilot (and being on here) and mainly got it cause it was super clean inside, has okay towing and looked like it was well maintained. I've owned tons of Hondas and know they respond well to intakes but I wasn't prepared for how my pilot responded. Since I couldn't find an AEM for my year I went with a 2016 instead. If I get enough interests I'll write up a more detailed install but right off the bat you'll need an adapter because the intake pipe on this is larger then the intake plenum. I simply cut off a piece of the old intake hose and used that. Yeah, I know... I'll do it right once I install the heat shield and catch can. This engine sounds amazing now! 600 miles and no CEL, so I think it's pretty safe. Also no real difference in MPG either. With this car being as heavy as it is it's not going to win any races but it does seem to drive a little better. Oh but the sounds it makes. Brings a smile to my face every time I put my foot down.

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What's the micron rating on that filter?

 

Put a Magnaflow Exhaust on it ..that will make it sound awesome ..

 

🤮 🤮 🤮

Turbo style mufflers don't play well with my ears. Of course a chambered design (Flowmaster) doesn't sound great on DOHC V6s either.

At least from a quality and drone standpoint, Corsa is my #1 and Borla my #2.... seeing as how Corsa doesn't like selling just a muffler I'd probably call up Borla to see what they recommend for the engine. Corsa uses a resonance tube that is sized (diameter and length) to counteract the "drone tones" and is by far the most effective at giving you volume without drone. It is also one of the most "straight through" designs.

 

After a decade or so trying to find just the right notes from a litany of interesting cars, I've settled on "quiet" as the driving them when looking at intake and exhaust options. Good news is that the factory stuff is pretty quiet so nothing to change so far.

Reminder -- until you get to a point where pressure immediately upstream of the throttle is the same as downstream, and both are well below atmospheric pressure, intake modifications like this do nothing for performance. Except at close to wide open and high RPM's and load, the critical restriction in inlet airflow is the throttle plate.

The oil-wetted mesh (like K&N) "better mileage" claims have been debunked, and the amount of crud getting through is higher than the factory air filter. Unless you have your foot to the floor all the time, the only thing that might be 'good' is the change in appearance.

 

As always... there is a Project Farm video for this...

 

Hey this Guy is awesome

 

I think the Wix filter won overall in that test. He makes some really good comparison videos. I've been buying Wix oil and air filters for many years now. Back in the day ~20 years ago it was all about Fram but there is better out there now. Just like at the same time Optima was the best battery but not anymore. Their quality has actually gone downhill. I get the AGM Autozone brand batteries now.

 

Not sure what the original poster is accomplishing. The stock intake on the pilot is well designed. Your set up is allowing drawing hot, dirty air into the motor.

 

Not sure what the original poster is accomplishing. The stock intake on the pilot is well designed. Your set up is allowing drawing hot, dirty air into the motor. And you still have the original intake so it looks half baked. Not to sound harsh, but it is just that once any car hits a certain mileage, and gen 2 pilots are generally at that point in their lifecycle, money is better spent on repairs and maintenance that keep the car’s stock reliability and performance. Oversized “rims”, k&n air filters and other “cold air” intakes (in quotes because most of them are not as well designed as the factory intakes), tint, fake chrome, “upgraded” lights, are all generally a waste of money or a scam. Spend your money keeping the car reliable and clean at this age. I love it when I see a late model car with all that crap and then I see the owner has mounted a set of four Ling Lang tires or some other crappy off brand, to take one example. He would enjoy the car more with a set of first line tires rather than that crap. As a general matter, it is very difficult to meaningfully improve performance on a car without understanding the trade offs involved (e.g., suspension set up) and since we are talking about family haulers like Pilots why there is interest in that is beyond me. This way I can get to 60mph maybe .1 quicker while hauling the family to the beach with the bike rack in tow. I enjoy performance as much as the next guy and run amateur races with a group of friends but from having done that a while I can tell you much of the upgrades pushed by the aftermarket is a bunch of crap.

On the other hand the gen 2s are finally getting cheap enough that people who can afford them and want to do some mods can now do that. We all agree that there is little to no performance gain, but the OP likes the way it looks and sounds.

Let's encourage creativity and modifications instead of finger wagging at it, then we can learn more about these vehicles and how they perform with different modifications and in different situations.

Also, where are you racing in MD? I'm in Harford County, VIR, Englishtown and the WV tracks are all hours away...

 

Life would be boring if we all drove the exact same Pilot. Accessories make the Pilot his or her own. Some like it quiet and some like it less quiet. Depending upon what it is sometimes I like it hot, spicy and noisy. If we don’t experiment a little we won’t know what we’re missing.

 

Life would be boring if we all drove the exact same Pilot.

Lets just be honest - driving a Pilot is the definition of boring. Doesn’t mean I hate ours, but it’s very much an A to B machine.

I like that the OP is getting some enjoyment from modifying their Pilot. I also appreciate the creativity- I honestly would never think to do anything other than the vcm to ours. I’m not a k&n fan due to poor filtration performance.

 

Wow. Very informative. I replaced the element with a K&N and get more HP and average 22-24 mpg in mixed driving.

 

They have a pipe that's made for the Element..nothing to compare here ..there's Nothing out there for a Pilot series without a heavy modification. If there was a kit that we could install I may even consider it myself ..

 

LOL...Yes the air filter element. Thank you for clarifying for me @aggrex. We got some peeps on here that have quite the sense of humor...

 

I too used the Cold air intake for the 2016 Pilot. I used the HPS cold air intake for the 2016 Pilot. Mines is a 2014 EX The heat shield bracket I extended a bracket and its pretty much bolt on for the 2nd Gen.