[noturbonoproblem]

The 2.0L filter is still wildly overpriced (although less so than before). Something like that should be like $200 - $250. I get that you guys can't do a whole lot about it - you still have to make money, and I'm sure AEM doesn't let you go below a certain dollar amount, so I guess that complaint should get directed to the companies that make these parts

 

[noturbonoproblem]

Engineering costs have to be factored in.
Fabrication of dies to stamp out metal parts have to be factored in.
Fabrication of jigs to bend, align, and weld tubes have to be factored in.
Rubber parts and clamps costs have to be factored in.
Cost to produce printed instructions or videos have to be factored in.
Cost of packaging has to be factored in.
Cost of warehouse storage has to be factored in.
Cost of shipping has to be factored in.
Cost of procuring a test vehicle has to be factored in.
Cost of testing has to be factored in.
Cost for insurance has to be factored in.
Cost for employees has to be factored in.
Profit margin has to be factored in - they're not going to make these for free!

I seriously doubt any of us could make an intake that looks like it was made for the car for less than $400.00!

2.0
AEM Cold Air Intake Install on 2019 Forte - YouTube

1.6T
AEM Cold Air install on SPACE GHOST 2020 KIA Forte GT - YouTube

Yeah true, and $400 seems fair, if a little high, for the GT intake with that long, complex bent hard pipe with appendages welded to it.

But the 2.0L intake is so short that you could easily make it for not much money. It's basically a 45-degree pipe with some short silicone hose on it and a box with a filter in it.
Here's a super complex intake for my Volvo that comes with a bracket to relocate the ECU, and the box itself requires some real engineering and a complex forming process to make properly. It's $40 cheaper than the intake for the Forte 2.0L, where the box is just a bent piece of sheet metal.
Hell, here's a true cold air intake for my other Volvo that's only $250. It's not impossible to make something good for a respectable price.

Not trying to start an internet war with anyone, and I'm not a "back in my day I could get an intake for $10 and a six pack, or flip the lid for free!" curmudgeon, but for something that's so simple (and doesn't even add power due to the MAF sizing having to remain constant), it's just too expensive.

Signed,
Someone that's bummed it's so expensive and can't justify it, because intake noises are cool LOL