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 AEM was founded in 1987 by John Concialdi (J.C.) and Bob Sullivan as a
tuning performance shop catering to vintage automobiles and the latest
trend
in street racing, modified imports. Located in Compton California, AEM
was
embedded in the tuner market from the very beginning. It was a matter
of
being in the right place, at the right time, with the right technical
knowhow. Between J.C. and Sullivan, AEM had two important advantages.
Technical engine knowledge and massive creativity fueled by an
unbridled
passion to make things go faster. And when it came to understanding the
air
flow through an engine, few had more experience than Concialdi, who had
managed the R&D department for Weber Carburetors for North American
aftermarket applications the previous 10 years. By 1993 when the shop
relocated to Gardena California, AEM’s reputation as the modifier of
choice
had grown to the point that sometimes the business ran 24 hours a day
in
order to have cars ready for the next street race or sanctioned event.
Cars
and drivers sporting AEM’s bright yellow logo became famous in the
street
racing scene for one consistent reason, they won races. AEM’s first
glimpse
of mainstream notoriety came when cars tuned by their shop won in
various
classes at the “Battle of the Imports”. This highly contested shoot-out
and
others that followed landed AEM on the cover of Turbo Magazine and
Sport
Compact Magazine. Many of the most visible drivers in import street
racing
ran cars modified by AEM, names like Adam Saruwatari, Tony Fuchs, Brian
Kim
and Darin Ishitani, Archie Medrano, Russ Matuseavich, Abel Iberra,
Miles
Bautista, E.T. Saffon and many others. Today that tradition is carried
on
with Stephan Papadakis.
AEM developed one of the first Packaged Air Induction Systems and it
came
right out of their experience in dyno testing, understanding intake
energy
dynamics and racing at the Battle of the Imports. AEM’s presence in the
tuner movement and its proximity to Nissan, TRD and Honda allowed them a
unique opportunity. By living side by side with racers and working with
OES
engineers, AEM was able to understand both the practical and
theoretical
side of engine performance. This combination of street experience and
technical savvy resulted in the birth of the first Packaged Air
Induction
Kit. The kit was offered for sale in 1994 as a Do-It-Yourself upgrade
for
the Honda CRX and proved to be the beginning of a whole new tradition.
People could suddenly purchase affordable cars and modify them for
increased
torque and horsepower. AEM has been a leader in the development and
sale of
precision tuned induction systems ever since that fateful day at the
Battle
of the Imports. Today, the Company’s induction systems number in the
hundreds and AEM is still the one to beat.
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