I recently threw an aftermarket front bumper onto my 8 and plan on upgrading to an AEM intake in the next couple of weeks.

My issue is that I am slightly concerned about running the intake without a front grill. I have this dumb paranoia that the intake cone will get covered in dirt and debris but even with a grill that would happen, wouldn't it? Part of me wants to have a front grill because I think it will provide some kind of protection to the intake, but the AEM does look pretty cool dipping out behind the bumper like that so I don't necessarily want to "hide it", you know? Part of why I want the AEM is just to make the front end of the car look nicer; that huge hole in the center just makes it look like it's missing something.

Just looking for some opinions on whether or not it is important to have a front grill when running the AEM intake. Obviously I don't have a grill right now so it looks really bland and boring when you look at it. The guys who did the work on my bumper said that front grills are just a mind game; all of the dirt and dust gets in there regardless of whether you have a grill or not and that the only thing I should be worried about is a squirrel running in there or something.

 

the grills aren't to protect the filter from dirt and such but rather larger objects that could damage something.

I have grills protecting both oil coolers and the AC condenser (RB grill) but my AEM is exposed. It's a gamble I'm willing to take since I do not often drive the RX-8

 

Like Jedi said, I would at the VERY least get a set of RB oil and condenser grills. I have a set of the oil cooler grills and painted em black .... after about 4 months there were so many paint chips from random garbage getting in there ... and i have a stock bumper ...

 

Thanks for clarifying on this. I guess the risk factor comes in when you think about a rock or something flying in there and denting the intake tube but I dunno...

Also thanks both of you for pointing me to the RB screens. They are definitely something I'll be forking over money for in the near future.

 

If anything, you can always get protective sleeves for the filters on your intake. There are plenty of members on this site that run a MS bumper which doesn't have a good "grille" but they still love every minute of it.

 

to hell with the intake worry about your ac condenser and your radiator