Gerhard

Nope... I don't believe you're correct.... or at least, I believe the addition of a CAI with the hondata gasket would be minor (VERY MINOR) at best.

At the time I did the testing I owned a Genisys diagnostic computer that recorded all of the information with respect to intake temperature (and a bunch of other stuff).

On hot days, the intake temperature of the H22A would raise when the car was sitting (both parked after driving and traffic). This was primarily due to convection, as the Hondata gasket's primary purpose was to insulate the IM with the cylinder head.

When the car was moving, colder air from the outside of engine compartment would be sucked into the stock intake, and begin cooling the intake manifold.

Data from the diagnostic computer showed that the intake temperature would lower to about 100 degrees F and stay there. (That was VERY consistant will all external temperature ranges unless you got to approximately 35F [or lower] or 100F [or higher].)

The OEM airbox and intake doesn't starve a stock or realatively stock H22A series engine by any means, and the difference between the OEM unit with a Hondata gasket and a CAI system without one was that the OEM/Hondata gasket was a better performer.

I tested against an H22A4 with a AEM CAI.

The AEM was not as loud as some of the other systems I've been around, but it still draws attention, requires pretty much as much work to install, and is MUCH more expensive.

The clumulative effects of the CAI and the Hondata gasket are going to be minor. Because the CAI's are mostly metal, and going to have similar thermal transfer when the car is parked or standing in traffic. Once the IM is hot, it's hot. Then it's simply a matter of the air getting to the IM and cooling it... and the engine isn't using any more air that it can safely mix with gas before detonation occurs... so you're not seeing any more real throughput that will result in better cooling than with the Hondata gasket alone.

If anyone is concerned about the "POS" oem intake... the air box on the JDM H22A is exactly the same, it's the top filter assembly and the pipe going to the intake that's different.

I'll tell you right now that when I swapped the H22A4 out and put the JDM H22A in, I wasn't having any problems with loss of power due to the OEM air intake system.

Without a doubt, the Hondata gasket is a superior investment to a CAI, and the addition of a CAI is not worth it.