As you can see above, this is a shot of what Tom Coleman has started to produce for the 3G's. This custom CAI features a 2.5" core with mandrel bent turns in the pipe. This is importaint b/c it keeps the air flowing at a constaint w/o having to conform to tighter spaces inside the tube. The results = better flow/more air into the Throttle Body. This stealthy design from LudeSPEED is guaranteed to raise your hp figures over what Weapon R's intake design will. The other fortunate thing is, with the CAI from LudeSPEED, you'll pay less for it than what you'd pay for the Weapon R. The kit comes complete with everything you see in the picture above for $165. It's a direct fit, and includes the mandrel bent intake pipe, a new air filter, hose clamps, a gap sleeve, and a specail mounting bracket. At this time the kit will come with the Air Filter as that's how it has been priced thus far (Email Tom Coleman for details).
The main reason this product was produced was to help those out that wanted to stay naturally aspirated with their beloved 3G Prelude. The cost of going turbo isn't cheap, but if your needing an intake setup, either of the two products are a great buy. Because this is a true CAI, this does mean your going to have to relocate your battery to the trunk. Fortunately, LudeSPEED also offers a Battery Relocation Kit. Though you don't have to purchase it to install the intake setup, I'd recomend the buy. In short, all you have to do is ground the battery with say a 4 or 2 gauge wire anywhere in the trunk, and run a positive power lead to the engine bay for the red. Tom's kit should take no more than an hour to install and will feature a box for the battery to hold it in place (which my discription doesn't include). The last thing you want to do is have the battery sliding around in the trunk.
Seems how this is my Pre-Article, I feel that I'm obligated to mention this. As you might or might not know, 99% of aftermarket intakes have a place for you to plug your factory set line into that's supposed to feed off the intake pipe directly in front of the TB. You can see in Tom's pic that he's allowed for this hole, and rightfully so. However, you don't just want any hole there, you'll want a slash cut tube. By this, I'm refering to the inner portion of the intake pipe. I won't discuss it any further here as I've already posted my own article on this subject (link below). If you feel this is an option you'd like to take advantage of, please let Tom Coleman know before he prodces your kit. If you decide against the slash cut option, then all I can say is that you had the choice. This is a custom kit, and I'm 99% sure Tom would be willing to spend the extra few min. and make the kit with a slash cut tube design if you so desired it. The article I've written is called The Truth About Crank Case Breather Filters.
Other than that, this concludes my write-up on Tom's new product. Needless to say, I give this product two thumbs up and have decided to publish a temporary article on the CAI. For those of you who purchase this setup, please send a pic (if possible), and even a brief description of what your thoughts are about this item after installation.