Cold Air Intake -- Worth it?

[GotStinger?]

My my ... what a bevy of conversation I have created here with my little thread. All have been very informative! Much appreciated ... I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas season! I am 10 days post-op from having my R hip replaced (16 weeks post-op from my L hip being replaced) and the hardest part is not being able to drive The Beast for another 2 weeks -- it is truly an incredible driving experience. Sigh ...

 

[ChaneRZ]

Ouch. Have a wonderful rehab.

 

[n8hegr8]

i love the pssshh.. i want the pssshh.. not gunna get it because there is no point in getting aftermarket cais if youre not going to tune or add other things.

 

[Slip_Angle]

There's so much more to an intake system then just being cold or warm air. It also really depends on your goals and any tuning. Like someone said, the stock system is designed well but has lots of restriction at the inlet. Remove that and use snorkels and it's really good. I would love to see dyno's of the un-restricted stock system vs. other cone style options and the AFe system. My feeling is the cone style systems would make more top end hp with a good tune but the stock and AFe with snorkels would outperform them in bottom and mid range. I think the stock and AFe would also be more consistent in higher temps.

Just a guess though..

 

[StingerMG]

There's so much more to an intake system then just being cold or warm air. It also really depends on your goals and any tuning. Like someone said, the stock system is designed well but has lots of restriction at the inlet. Remove that and use snorkels and it's really good. I would love to see dyno's of the un-restricted stock system vs. other cone style options and the AFe system. My feeling is the cone style systems would make more top end hp with a good tune but the stock and AFe with snorkels would outperform them in bottom and mid range. I think the stock and AFe would also be more consistent in higher temps.

Just a guess though..

I wanted to add that the aFe intakes can be ran as a semi enclosed intake as well. The two airboxes have plugs towards the rear. I run my intakes without the plugs so they can take in a lot more air. If you have snorkels installed, the IATs will be barely higher than if you had the plugs in since the intakes are still very well shielded.

 

[Stiletto]

There's so much more to an intake system then just being cold or warm air. It also really depends on your goals and any tuning. Like someone said, the stock system is designed well but has lots of restriction at the inlet. Remove that and use snorkels and it's really good. I would love to see dyno's of the un-restricted stock system vs. other cone style options and the AFe system. My feeling is the cone style systems would make more top end hp with a good tune but the stock and AFe with snorkels would outperform them in bottom and mid range. I think the stock and AFe would also be more consistent in higher temps.

Just a guess though..

I'm not gonna say the AEM won't make more up top because I didn't dyno that particular one. But the Stillen made less everywhere compared to the Injen, which points to your first statement.

 

[Slip_Angle]

^^ Not following you. Can you clarify what you mean? The Stillen and Injen are both cone style intakes. Assuming the graph you included is comparing those two intakes, my thinking is that the Injens are longer and taper, which increases air flow. This is a similar concept to a closed intake (stock/AFe) with snorkels where air is reaching a higher velocity.

 

[Stiletto]

^^ Not following you. Can you clarify what you mean? The Stillen and Injen are both cone style intakes. Assuming the graph you included is comparing those two intakes, my thinking is that the Injens are longer and taper, which increases air flow. This is a similar concept to a closed intake (stock/AFe) with snorkels where air is reaching a higher velocity.

Sorry for the imprecise statement. I typed AEM when I meant aFe. Also, I was agreeing with your assessment that temperature of the intake air isn't the only factor in optimizing power.

The aFe system also uses cone filters, they just enclose the filter in an airbox. I concur that the Injen piping provides more volume/increased airflow and thus gains more than the shorter designs. If the aFe system weren't the most expensive in the market, I'd purchase it to compare to the Injen.

 

[Audible Silence]

i love the pssshh.. i want the pssshh.. not gunna get it because there is no point in getting aftermarket cais if youre not going to tune or add other things.

you could just take the host off that goes to the intake, then plug the hole in the intake box. the excess pressure will then release into the engine bay instead of the intake box, and "pssshhhht"

 

[Mo-mo]

The main limiter on the stock intake setup is the baffles/boxes *in front of* the core support. Remove those, add a snorkel if you want, and you're 90% of the way there. An aftermarket intake gives you the PSSSST and a bit more power.
Those forward air boxes are there to muffle noise, but they also seriously restrict airflow.

I have debated getting the snorkels. In theory it would be more effective to go that route with a stock airbox. I just can't find any numbers for power gains.

 

[Mo-mo]

After looking at the AFE intakes....I'm intrigued. It's technically in the engine bay still, but the obvious fins are pulling air in via the grill. Also from my tech school days oiled filters are no bueno. With all the fancy sensors for temp and pressure and everything else, oil=bad.

 

[StingerMG]

I have debated getting the snorkels. In theory it would be more effective to go that route with a stock airbox. I just can't find any numbers for power gains.

I don't think the ram air effect from snorkels would show on a Dyno. I've noticed gains in the powerband from driving around at highway speeds.

 

[Slip_Angle]

I don't think the ram air effect from snorkels would show on a Dyno. I've noticed gains in the powerband from driving around at highway speeds.

That's a good point. One of the former members here did testing and found the snorkels made a marked difference in his 1/4 mile time, so there is pretty good evidence they work but I agree that it likely won't show up on a dyno.

 

[Mo-mo]

That's a good point. One of the former members here did testing and found the snorkels made a marked difference in his 1/4 mile time, so there is pretty good evidence they work but I agree that it likely won't show up on a dyno.

Interesting. Side note the AFE setup is really clean, and priced about the same as most brands.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Interesting. Side note the AFE setup is really clean, and priced about the same as most brands.

I'm really interested in the AFe. My take on it is "stock +" - I'd love to see a dyno comparison.

 

[stoopid]

After looking at the AFE intakes....I'm intrigued. It's technically in the engine bay still, but the obvious fins are pulling air in via the grill. Also from my tech school days oiled filters are no bueno. With all the fancy sensors for temp and pressure and everything else, oil=bad.

I don't disagree that oil can be bad for those sensors, but that statement assumes the oil gets to the sensors. A 'properly' oiled filter won't discharge oil. The issue is people are twitchy, and they overoil the filters which can lead to sensor issues. K&N is very specific about the cleaning and oiling procedure for their filters, and although my experience is obviously anecdotal, have never personally had an issue or in my decades of internet forum involvement had members report issues from oiling/over oiling (because they didn't over oil).

Also worth noting that K&N only suggests oiling as needed which for most drivers is every 20,000-50,000 miles depending on environment and driving style.

 

[Slip_Angle]

I don't disagree that oil can be bad for those sensors, but that statement assumes the oil gets to the sensors. A 'properly' oiled filter won't discharge oil. The issue is people are twitchy, and they overoil the filters which can lead to sensor issues. K&N is very specific about the cleaning and oiling procedure for their filters, and although my experience is obviously anecdotal, have never personally had an issue or in my decades of internet forum involvement had members report issues from oiling/over oiling (because they didn't over oil).

Also worth noting that K&N only suggests oiling as needed which for most drivers is every 20,000-50,000 miles depending on environment and driving style.

You can get the AEM dryflow with them instead of the oiled K&Ns

 

[stoopid]

You can get the AEM dryflow with them instead of the oiled K&Ns

Yes, but they're only good for XX miles and have to be tossed. Some like the idea of going long durations between swaps and reusing rather than discarding/replacing. On a long enough timeline, the K&N also save some money.

 

[StingerMG]

Yes, but they're only good for XX miles and have to be tossed. Some like the idea of going long durations between swaps and reusing rather than discarding/replacing. On a long enough timeline, the K&N also save some money.

You can clean the AEM dryflow filters. I used to have those before the aFe intakes.

 

[Mo-mo]

I don't disagree that oil can be bad for those sensors, but that statement assumes the oil gets to the sensors. A 'properly' oiled filter won't discharge oil. The issue is people are twitchy, and they overoil the filters which can lead to sensor issues. K&N is very specific about the cleaning and oiling procedure for their filters, and although my experience is obviously anecdotal, have never personally had an issue or in my decades of internet forum involvement had members report issues from oiling/over oiling (because they didn't over oil).

Also worth noting that K&N only suggests oiling as needed which for most drivers is every 20,000-50,000 miles depending on environment and driving style.

True, I'm used to seeing guys just coat the whole thing, might as well have just dipped it in a drum. Then wonder why it's not running right