I drive a 94 Civic and I have short air intake (with exhaust headers). I get plenty of ROAR when I open it up.When you are starting off at dead stop, the engine isn't that hot yet and the air under the hood isn't that hot. Once the car gets moving, you have tons of air being pumped in and out of of the bay and again, the temperature isn't that high.As for brand - forgetaboutit. The reason you get better performance is that the stock air passage is so restrictive (not that the aftermarket is so great). Any short air intake will improve the performance. Some exhaust are made poorly and the exhaust hole don't even line up correctly. But in general they are pretty much the same.I have cheapy air intakes and cheapy exhaust headers. I put them in just as starter set. But I like them so much I just stuck with it.Good Luck.===Don't forget to vote for the BEST ANSWER - please - whoever it may be.FACT: You also get +3 points when you vote for BEST ANSWER