2014+ Intakes (CAI) & Air Filters

[GMC-AT]

Any thoughts on actual HP gains? I found this.. looks clean and easy. But $300...

 

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new.php?partno=54-32332&menu=gastruck&searchtype=engine&engineid=125&groupid=CG6&brandID=53

[TooTall1]

Check out the Airaid MIT. The truck already has a CAI, you just need the tube and a lower restriction filter to get the same benefits as a $300 CAI. Any HP or MPG gains are marginal at best though. If you check the data, most CAI "performance improvements" happen at 5,000 rpm or above.

[Pardo714]

I saw a video on the airaid air filter system and it looked pretty cool. I don't know much about this so I was wondering..

 

What are the benefits if any?

Which is the best, airaid, KN or another?

Will it void my warranty?

[Silverado Steve]

Zero benefit other than not having to replace a paper filter every 24K. Most dry oil filters actually let larger particulates in the engine....IMO these products are snake oil and the benefits are nothing more than a placebo effect

[TJay74]

Steve you obviously have been drinking the juice from what other people have said. I did back to back test on a dyno on the same day with the stock setup and a airaid setup on my Vette, 6 runs total and all runs showed the Airaid picked up 8rwhp on average. Cant see where that is hype and does nothing???

 

I have ran a K&N or some similar brand CAI setup for better part of 15 years and never once had an issue with a oiled or dry filter. Once again that is nothing more than old wives tale of them doing more harm than good as a way to knock down the aftermarket industry and push towards OEM stuff. If they were so bad why does GM now offer CAI kits for the Camaro's as well?

 

To the OP I will be ordering the Airaid CAI kit this week for my truck, on the 5.3 model the trucks showed to pick up 25rwhp. Even if I pick up 10rwhp I will be happy with the extra performance.

[Silverado Steve]

Not drinking any koolaid...plenty of empirical evidence to support my statement. Put your vette up on a Dino and remove the air box completely, and you'll see an even bigger output to the wheels. The point is, very little is gained by a CAI, Checkout bobistheoilguy.com, plenty of discussions there on the cons of any CAI. . Also, food for thought, why wouldn't the manufacturers just throw on a CAI if it improves horsepower? Chances are the long term negative affect outweigh the short term benefit

Edited December 24, 2013 by Silverado Steve

[RyanbabZ71]

Blackbear did some testing earlier this yr and showed adding a CAI does increase overall power. Some more than others but they are not all hype. The details are in the black ear section feel free to check it out.

 

Cold air inductions (CAI) is a popular brand on the camaro side. Definitely can tell a difference with mine.

 

 

 

Ryan

[RyanbabZ71]

The main reason why mfgs don't add them is due to the extra noise (albeit very small) and cost.

 

 

Ryan

[kstruckcountry]

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/145676-bbp-independent-intake-test-results/

[amxguy1970]

TJ

 

I to have some experience with CAI's and although your system did pick up RWHP, you were also dealing with a completely different setup on your vette. The vette system is out in front of the radiator not sucking in any engine heat, almost a ramair system if you will. Ramair systems are the best, you want the engine pulling in as cool and close to ambient temperature as possible and those systems would do that. Not to mention the faster you go the more air is allowed in and wala more hp.

 

Alot of the CAI systems you see on cars are none other then a pipe connected to a cone in the engine bay. These are the systems that suck in mostly hot air and allow for minimal to no peformance gains (it can actually lose power at a stop because of the higher intake temps and timing being pulled). Many GTO owners saw little to no gains with your standard CAI and there were many people that data logged temps to prove it. Worse can be said for the chrome metal intake pipes, those get hot and in turn your cold air gets heated up in the pipe.

 

The vette has a great intake setup, straight in away from radiant engine heat. That is the reason vararam followed a similar path with their intake systems, shortest coolest route. Many vararam (and home made setups that followed the same logic) would see some hp gains on the dyno but it really showed moving and in the trap speeds (just seeing the IAT's nice and low).

 

Best bet for a working CAI would for it to not be metal, sealed off from the engine to not suck in the heat and even better take fresh air from the front of the truck or car. Other wise you are getting a nice sucking sound but no real performance gains.

 

Not sure if it holds true with the trucks since their engine bay is so large but the same concept would apply. If you aren't into off roading something like this would be best

http://www.vararam.com/tri-power/tri-power.html

 

Take it for what you want but I spent alot of time dealing with the GTO & LS community (vette included) and the same principal applies for all motor vehicles.

 

For those wanting to save a few bucks and are only doing a few minimal bolt on mods, many people would get good results just by removing the stock intake pipe and replacing it with a smooth plastic pipe (the stock pipe is restrictive with all the chambers and rough bends) then drilling in a few holes to get more fresh air from the outside air intakes and using a drop in filter. The stock box setup will provide plenty of flow for minimal to moderate mods, it won't be a choking point.

 

Ya'll have a great christmas.

 

Tyler

 

PS, just seeing some of the posts above while I was typing and it shows many use a sealed off set up which is exaclty what I was pointing at. Nice to see one just replaces the pipe with a new filter and gets similar gains.

 

When were the IAT's taken? I wonder what they were at idle after a minute of idling on a warm truck? I am guessing they were taken during the run?

 

Volant was always pretty good because of it being enclosed, many follow the same principle now.

Edited December 24, 2013 by amxguy1970

[Silverado Steve]

The main reason why mfgs don't add them is due to the extra noise (albeit very small) and cost.

 

 

Ryan

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, when it comes to any muscle car or v-8 power plant noise engine noise is the last thing any buyer would really care about. The truth is a CAI doesn't filter to the same effect as a paper filter, hence manufactures don't want the added liability. Hence benefit vs cost...the added 8 hp doesn't outweigh the cost of advanced engine wear. If your truck sees it's days in a field or dusty road, that's significant vs a muscle car on a road, drag strip or track.

[txab]

You can have gains just by replacing the intake tube and sticking with stock air box

[kstruckcountry]

^^ This. In BlackBear's test the MIT did really well. I have just the tube on my 2006 with the stock air box. AFE Pro Dry is a good filter you can replace the stock one with.

[haider320]

I saw 11rwhp gain with a CAI with my Cobra Mustang. They are not hype.... They do add HP. Where you see the benifits; if your looking at it from a performance state of mind, a CAI and a tune will net you the most HP.

 

I don't see why a CAI wouldn't add HP to these trucks too.

Edited December 24, 2013 by haider320

[TJay74]

TJ

 

I to have some experience with CAI's and although your system did pick up RWHP, you were also dealing with a completely different setup on your vette. The vette system is out in front of the radiator not sucking in any engine heat, almost a ramair system if you will. Ramair systems are the best, you want the engine pulling in as cool and close to ambient temperature as possible and those systems would do that. Not to mention the faster you go the more air is allowed in and wala more hp.

 

Alot of the CAI systems you see on cars are none other then a pipe connected to a cone in the engine bay. These are the systems that suck in mostly hot air and allow for minimal to no peformance gains (it can actually lose power at a stop because of the higher intake temps and timing being pulled). Many GTO owners saw little to no gains with your standard CAI and there were many people that data logged temps to prove it. Worse can be said for the chrome metal intake pipes, those get hot and in turn your cold air gets heated up in the pipe.

 

The vette has a great intake setup, straight in away from radiant engine heat. That is the reason vararam followed a similar path with their intake systems, shortest coolest route. Many vararam (and home made setups that followed the same logic) would see some hp gains on the dyno but it really showed moving and in the trap speeds (just seeing the IAT's nice and low).

 

Best bet for a working CAI would for it to not be metal, sealed off from the engine to not suck in the heat and even better take fresh air from the front of the truck or car. Other wise you are getting a nice sucking sound but no real performance gains.

 

Not sure if it holds true with the trucks since their engine bay is so large but the same concept would apply. If you aren't into off roading something like this would be best

http://www.vararam.com/tri-power/tri-power.html

 

Take it for what you want but I spent alot of time dealing with the GTO & LS community (vette included) and the same principal applies for all motor vehicles.

 

For those wanting to save a few bucks and are only doing a few minimal bolt on mods, many people would get good results just by removing the stock intake pipe and replacing it with a smooth plastic pipe (the stock pipe is restrictive with all the chambers and rough bends) then drilling in a few holes to get more fresh air from the outside air intakes and using a drop in filter. The stock box setup will provide plenty of flow for minimal to moderate mods, it won't be a choking point.

 

Ya'll have a great christmas.

 

Tyler

 

PS, just seeing some of the posts above while I was typing and it shows many use a sealed off set up which is exaclty what I was pointing at. Nice to see one just replaces the pipe with a new filter and gets similar gains.

 

When were the IAT's taken? I wonder what they were at idle after a minute of idling on a warm truck? I am guessing they were taken during the run?

 

Volant was always pretty good because of it being enclosed, many follow the same principle now.

 

Actually the Vette is no where near a ram air setup, it is completely sealed off and the air filter sits right on top of the radiator. Only way to even remotely get a "ram air" eccect is to cut open the lower air damn which most wont do in case of running thru water.

 

 

 

Not drinking any koolaid...plenty of empirical evidence to support my statement. Put your vette up on a Dino and remove the air box completely, and you'll see an even bigger output to the wheels. The point is, very little is gained by a CAI, Checkout bobistheoilguy.com, plenty of discussions there on the cons of any CAI. . Also, food for thought, why wouldn't the manufacturers just throw on a CAI if it improves horsepower? Chances are the long term negative affect outweigh the short term benefit

 

Coming from an engineering standpoint, lots of reason as to why GM wont put one on from the factory. NVH test, CARB/CAFE requirements, and every engine setup has to be tested and ran thru EPA testing process to get certified before the engine can be release for production. That all is factored into the cost of production. Why would GM or any other manufacture spend the money when the aftermarket can do it a lot cheaper?

 

 

 

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, when it comes to any muscle car or v-8 power plant noise engine noise is the last thing any buyer would really care about. The truth is a CAI doesn't filter to the same effect as a paper filter, hence manufactures don't want the added liability. Hence benefit vs cost...the added 8 hp doesn't outweigh the cost of advanced engine wear. If your truck sees it's days in a field or dusty road, that's significant vs a muscle car on a road, drag strip or track.

 

I have yet to ever see any advanced engine wear, I have owned several cars over the 100,000 mile range that had K&N style filters on them with no issues, dad has a 1996 Yukon that's had a K&N filter on it since new and has 500,000 miles on it. Combustion temps are well over 2000° degrees, I highly doubt any small specs of dirt cause any issues at all.

 

 

I saw 11rwhp gain with a CAI with my Cobra Mustang. They are not hype.... They do add HP. Where you see the benifits; if your looking at it from a performance state of mind, a CAI and a tune will net you the most HP.

 

I don't see why a CAI wouldn't add HP to these trucks too.

 

I am with you, pretty sure I will know in the next week or so once mine comes in. Airaid doesn't have a MIT tube yet and for the hook up I am getting on the whole kit I will just use the kit instead.