Stock, short ram or cold air intake? Acura Integra GSR

[sevenspeed]

I've spent hours searching and haven't come up with much. I thought short ram would be better due to drawing in hot air but some claim due to heat soak a cold air doesn't really change engine temps much.
I also read that the bigger difference is due to pipe length and diameter so a cold air makes more power because of that not where it is drawing the air from. And it makes more low end torque and power where a short ram is more for high rpm which i'm not worried about.
The stock system has an airbox with a pipe that goes down in the fender, through a resonator, and loops back up to the engine bay.
I was going to do a short ram into the stock box and remove the resonator/lower piping but now maybe it would be better to just remove the resonator for better flow?
Would changing the hose from box to intake manifold to an aluminum pipe make any difference? That is doable or so is just a drop in K&N filter. They have a 5" OD that fits but have to pay $8 shipping or a local store has a 4" that tapers down to a 3", I know the 5" is better but $14 better?

[sevenspeed]

Oh and also that intakes don't make much difference on stock motors. Also a guy had an AEM cold air on his car and short ram on his wifes, only saw negligible mpg gains.

[Daox]

I'd stay with the stock intake. You could route the inlet to the exhaust manifold to get a warm air intake. It works on some engines, does nothing on others.

[Zerohour]

Intakes generally do improve MPG if they improve the the airflow and throttle response of the vehicle. But it stands to reason, and take no offense, the nut bolting the cold air intake to his/her car is not trying to conserve gasoline.

Intake + better foot control = more MPG.

Just like the Tesla Roadster, goes 125 miles on one charge, but drive it like a sports car is it only goes 30 miles.

[PaleMelanesian]

A free-flowing intake can only help the airflow it it is the biggest restriction in the system. Unless you drive all the time at full throttle and redline rpm, that's not the case. The throttle is the main restriction in the system. The stock intake may be a little restrictive for the high-throttle-high-rpm condition, but if you're there, fuel economy is not a priority, is it?

A short intake is going to shift the intake resonance higher, so it'll help more at high rpm than low. Again, how much of your time is spent at high rpm? not much.

Keep it stock.

For comparison, mine is stock. I think my mileage is ok.

[UFO]

If you want your engine to last, don't get a K&N. They flow more air by passing more dirt. In fact they generally have less filtration area than an OEM filter.

[sevenspeed]

Are the AEM dryflow any good? I do want the engine to last but thought something would be better then paper ones. Will reply about the rest later, appreciate the tips but on the way out the door.

[PaleMelanesian]

Save your money. If you don't have one already, get a Scangauge or Ultragauge.

As for the filter... You might get performance gains, but not likely to see any mpg gains from a high-flow filter.
Testing a 'performance' air filter for MPG - Part 2 - MetroMPG.com

[sevenspeed]

Thanks, and I do have an Ultra gauge but even the roads that appear flat are not around here so I'll have to do an average not steady state.
So would removing the resonator box make any difference in mpg? It is a restriction but how much I don't know.
I assumed aftermarket filters would filter better too, newer technology. The reason I asked about the AEM is it is not an oil filter and tests showed it filters excellent with K&N just very good but they didn't include a paper filter in the test.

Unrelated but is your 96 Civic a stock motor or a Vx? That's awesome mileage. I'm trying to balance between Hypermile and mild driving. I don't do anything that would cause extra strain on the drivetrain like pulse and glide (clutch wear.) And with the Ultra gauge at least for now I'm not doing EOC when I get to my destination either since I don't think it would read mpg anymore even if I had a kill switch.

[bestclimb]

Pulse and glide is no harder on the clutch than any other shifting of gears if you are doing it right. In top gear the wheels have lots of mechanical advantage on the motor.