About AEM's CAI
#1
05-04-2005, 09:14 PM
About AEM's CAI
I purchased an AEM bout a year and a half ago, and this is post is in response to Will's inquiry but figured everyone should know about my experience and be forewarned before purchasing one.
Soon as I installed it I was in love, worked great...and if it wasnt for the knocking sound, it was perfect. I tried to combat the knocking by installing shims/pads to keep it from coming in contact with what it was knocking on...the fitment of this thing was very tight, and didnt have the necisarry 1/2" of room to move when accellerating and decellerating.
This is the shim/pad I installed..
This is ONE of the contact spots, the major one!
The red circle is where it comes in contact with the headlight.
The yellow circle is where it comes in contact with the bolt holding the fender on.
This is the damage caused by those 2 friction points...
If your dealers service department saw this, theyd definately void your warranty!!!
So as you can see...not very pretty. I discovered the hole and gouging one day when rotating my tires I decided I was gonna silence that knock for good...well to my surprise! I removed the damn thing and immediately called AEM!
AEM was less than helpful...at first the gentleman asked what year my car was...03. Then he says to me, well thats the problem, our intake was only designed to fit the 02 model! And he claimed it stated so, clearly on the "jobber"(manual that came with the intake). I informed him that I bought it off line from one of THIER retailers claiming it was for 02-03 and that I would have gladly purchased it from them if they sold dirrectly...he said "we cant control what our retailers do or advertise" and that I was basicly screwed! I got off the phone and felt defeated, like I had just totally wasted $250! But then I remembered I had the manual near by...pulled it out...and it said "03" right on the cover, no mention of 02 at all! So I called them right back...he demanded I fax him the cover sheet and that hed call me back....no call back, but Im patient, so I wait a week...and then call again.
Basiclly they gave me the run around for 2 months, never ever returning a phone call as promised...blaming my install, that I should have had it professionally installed and thats why it happened, never recieving a complaint yet. But I knew for fact there were others out there, because the online instructions by another fellow Aerio owner actually showed some heavy duty thick tape to protect it from that friction point posted above. I then put out a call and found 5 others just like me. I sent them all of my pics, they gave me the engineering department, the guy who designed it for the Aerio...this is funny, he says "how did you get my number?" and I never heard or spoke to him again. Then they wanted to see my vehicle, to see it installed, to do some testing, to see if it was the install or the design flaw. But Im in Florida! They are in California...as a matter fact, just like 4 buildings over from Suzuki North America headquarters! They could have gotten a test vehicle and retested the fitment but NOOOOO! So I said fine! I will get you a test vehicle, and set up a fellow Aerio owner to drive 1 1/2 hours there just so they could test his car...."No, weve changed our minds, we wanna see your car, one that already has it installed." Me,"Well, that aint happenin...and Im sick and tired of this horse****e! I want my money back and now!"....and they agreed, finally!
So I returned it to the original supplier, and recieved a 2/3 refund(restocking fee).
Just so you know there are people out there who have made this work, but it does require alot of simple engineering, but even then youre still gonna have friction...youre always going to have to keep an eye on it, and check it frequently!
Also worth noting: Thats not the only friction spot!!!
Soon as I installed it I was in love, worked great...and if it wasnt for the knocking sound, it was perfect. I tried to combat the knocking by installing shims/pads to keep it from coming in contact with what it was knocking on...the fitment of this thing was very tight, and didnt have the necisarry 1/2" of room to move when accellerating and decellerating.
This is the shim/pad I installed..
This is ONE of the contact spots, the major one!
The red circle is where it comes in contact with the headlight.
The yellow circle is where it comes in contact with the bolt holding the fender on.
This is the damage caused by those 2 friction points...
If your dealers service department saw this, theyd definately void your warranty!!!
So as you can see...not very pretty. I discovered the hole and gouging one day when rotating my tires I decided I was gonna silence that knock for good...well to my surprise! I removed the damn thing and immediately called AEM!
AEM was less than helpful...at first the gentleman asked what year my car was...03. Then he says to me, well thats the problem, our intake was only designed to fit the 02 model! And he claimed it stated so, clearly on the "jobber"(manual that came with the intake). I informed him that I bought it off line from one of THIER retailers claiming it was for 02-03 and that I would have gladly purchased it from them if they sold dirrectly...he said "we cant control what our retailers do or advertise" and that I was basicly screwed! I got off the phone and felt defeated, like I had just totally wasted $250! But then I remembered I had the manual near by...pulled it out...and it said "03" right on the cover, no mention of 02 at all! So I called them right back...he demanded I fax him the cover sheet and that hed call me back....no call back, but Im patient, so I wait a week...and then call again.
Basiclly they gave me the run around for 2 months, never ever returning a phone call as promised...blaming my install, that I should have had it professionally installed and thats why it happened, never recieving a complaint yet. But I knew for fact there were others out there, because the online instructions by another fellow Aerio owner actually showed some heavy duty thick tape to protect it from that friction point posted above. I then put out a call and found 5 others just like me. I sent them all of my pics, they gave me the engineering department, the guy who designed it for the Aerio...this is funny, he says "how did you get my number?" and I never heard or spoke to him again. Then they wanted to see my vehicle, to see it installed, to do some testing, to see if it was the install or the design flaw. But Im in Florida! They are in California...as a matter fact, just like 4 buildings over from Suzuki North America headquarters! They could have gotten a test vehicle and retested the fitment but NOOOOO! So I said fine! I will get you a test vehicle, and set up a fellow Aerio owner to drive 1 1/2 hours there just so they could test his car...."No, weve changed our minds, we wanna see your car, one that already has it installed." Me,"Well, that aint happenin...and Im sick and tired of this horse****e! I want my money back and now!"....and they agreed, finally!
So I returned it to the original supplier, and recieved a 2/3 refund(restocking fee).
Just so you know there are people out there who have made this work, but it does require alot of simple engineering, but even then youre still gonna have friction...youre always going to have to keep an eye on it, and check it frequently!
Also worth noting: Thats not the only friction spot!!!
#2
05-04-2005, 09:17 PM
RE: About AEM's CAI
This is how a buddy of mine combated his rebbing issues....
Originally Posted by flaerio
hot spots under the hood. I had no rubs here but the AC line was close enough to rub had I not moved it about 1". (top of the intake tube)
I placed an inch spacer in the fender support bracket to give the intake tube more room to prevent the support bracket rub. I also cut the end of the bolt off so it wouldn't rub.
I made a 6" or so support bracket with transparent rubber tubing to support the intake and prevent rub. The far right of the pic shows my clear sidemraker light and the one screw and speed nut I had to drill into the plastic.
Another shot from below looking up into the fender. The black headlight bracket is just above the hose clamp screw in this pic. A big rub area, but the bracket I made pulled the intake away from it.
I placed an inch spacer in the fender support bracket to give the intake tube more room to prevent the support bracket rub. I also cut the end of the bolt off so it wouldn't rub.
I made a 6" or so support bracket with transparent rubber tubing to support the intake and prevent rub. The far right of the pic shows my clear sidemraker light and the one screw and speed nut I had to drill into the plastic.
Another shot from below looking up into the fender. The black headlight bracket is just above the hose clamp screw in this pic. A big rub area, but the bracket I made pulled the intake away from it.
#3
05-04-2005, 09:24 PM
RE: About AEM's CAI
But if you want one at a great price I highly recommend getting it from SuzukiSpeed @ 169 and I believe that even includes free shipping!
But for my money, Id rather(and do) have the K&N short ram...none of those issues at all! And it bolts right upto the block so it travels with the motor...unlike the AEM that bolts to the fender wall.
But for my money, Id rather(and do) have the K&N short ram...none of those issues at all! And it bolts right upto the block so it travels with the motor...unlike the AEM that bolts to the fender wall.
#4
05-05-2005, 08:59 PM
RE: About AEM's CAI
Oh yeah another funny lil comment I remember from that whole fiasco, "We didnt even want to design an intake for the Aerio...Suzuki practically begged us to!"
BTW you 04 and 05 guys...there isnt really any intake that will work for yall!(without some modifications but has been done)
BTW you 04 and 05 guys...there isnt really any intake that will work for yall!(without some modifications but has been done)
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