Another CAI question

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

2018 model with Z71 package, 2.25" level kit up front, 3" lift blocks on the rear, stock wheels with 33" Ridgegrapplers, front air damn removed(both black plastic ones), metal skid plate kit installed, straight pipes from the CATs back, and a SuperChips Flashpaq F5 with Performance map loaded, throttle sensitivity increased 20%.

Considering a CAI to add a little more throttle response and maybe a little power on top of the other mods. Watched a ton of videos with dyno runs, and there do seem to be some CAI's that add 12-15hp and 15-20 TQ at the wheel...

Question is, which one? Cold Air Inductions and Airaid seem to be the best, but others seem good as well.

What did you all go with? I have a K&N high flow oiled(VERY lightly) air filter in there now... Is there one particular CAI kit that is the "go to" for this 5.3L motor?

Summit has a few in stock and I can get them quickly or even drive down there, but wondering what the consensus is for the best bang for the buck it. I see the Airaid MIT, but I looked at the Black Bear Performance dyno thread and there really aren't any gains to be had there in the power department...

And while I was gonna use the BBP thread as my guide, I don't know which systems he actually used... Like the Volant or AFE... there are several models to choose from and I can't tell which ones he used...

Thanks!

AZ_SS · February 25, 2019

Cold Air Inductions, those #s seem a little optimistic but I really like mine. You will be getting a lot of responses soon from people who either say they do nothing or are concerned about you wasting your money (love those people). At the end of the day, its your money....mod how you want and enjoy your truck. Rant over.

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

Well, I am open to any and all opinions... I don't want to waste money, but if there is a tangible benefit I don't mind spending a little.

When I look at the Black Bear pulls, the gains with the MIT are minimal, but I wonder if that changes with the K&N higher flowing gauze filter? If that's the case and I get most of the benefit with half the cost, then that would make the most sense to me...

jaxcam02 · February 25, 2019

Have you looked at the free air box mod.

Your stock air box is technically a CAI. The air box can be opened up a little bit more on the fender side.

I'm going to give that a try before I tune it this week and see how I like it.

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

1 minute ago, jaxcam02 said:

Have you looked at the free air box mod.

Your stock air box is technically a CAI. The air box can be opened up a little bit more on the fender side.

I'm going to give that a try before I tune it this week and see how I like it.

I have heard of that but I am a bit skeptical. I mean, it has an inlet into the fender area but the area it opens into isn't all that open... But, I guess I can see how opening the box up a bit could allow it to gulp more air.

qwank · February 25, 2019

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

Just now, qwank said:

What am I looking at here? Is that the side that faces the fender? How does that allow more air to flow, unless you cut the sheet metal and open up the fender hold as well?

jaxcam02 · February 25, 2019

4 minutes ago, SquireSCA said:

What am I looking at here? Is that the side that faces the fender? How does that allow more air to flow, unless you cut the sheet metal and open up the fender hold as well?

If I'm not mistaken, the commercial CAIs use the fender opening as well?

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

I think they are also open on the bottom...

Maybe I will just go with the MIT, use my K&N air filter and open up the bottom of the box like the other CAI's do...

At the end of the day I don't mind spending the money if they actually work. When you are talking about $50k trucks, $400 on a CAI is a drop in the bucket. LOL

aseibel · February 25, 2019

1 hour ago, SquireSCA said:

Considering a CAI to add a little more throttle response and maybe a little power on top of the other mods. Watched a ton of videos with dyno runs, and there do seem to be some CAI's that add 12-15hp and 15-20 TQ at the wheel...

Question is, which one? Cold Air Inductions and Airaid seem to be the best, but others seem good as well.

What did you all go with? I have a K&N high flow oiled(VERY lightly) air filter in there now... Is there one particular CAI kit that is the "go to" for this 5.3L motor?

Summit has a few in stock and I can get them quickly or even drive down there, but wondering what the consensus is for the best bang for the buck it. I see the Airaid MIT, but I looked at the Black Bear Performance dyno thread and there really aren't any gains to be had there in the power department...

I don't know that any CAI really boosts HP by a noticeable amount, but I sure like the sound. My truck is the 3rd vehicle I have replaced the intake on.

I chose Airaid MIT for my truck because I believe these new trucks' OEM air box/filter is not the restriction point. The factory tube full of baffles is the bottleweck, meant solely to deaden the sound and slow down the air. Get rid of that thing and put a smooth tube in. That's my $.02. Anything else you do is purely personal preference.

qwank · February 25, 2019

8 minutes ago, SquireSCA said:

What am I looking at here? Is that the side that faces the fender? How does that allow more air to flow, unless you cut the sheet metal and open up the fender hold as well?

some people cut the sheet metal as well, but the hole is already close to that size.

here's a picture that shows you what you would need to cut, it's not much so I decided it wouldn't make much of a difference.

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

Interesting. Well, I watched this video:

They got 28hp and 45tq more, without any tuning just with that part. They saw no peak gains, but the curve gains were significant. I think that with my performance tune and exhaust that this is just what I need... Just ordered it from Summit, it will be here by Wednesday. and I can toss it in.

Will report back when I am done.

qwank · February 25, 2019

7 minutes ago, SquireSCA said:

They got 28hp and 45tq more, without any tuning just with that part. They saw no peak gains, but the curve gains were significant. I think that with my performance tune and exhaust that this is just what I need... Just ordered it from Summit, it will be here by Wednesday. and I can toss it in.

Will report back when I am done.

That's the one I was using and I cut the box and threw a K&N in. Now I have a supercharger, it came with a cold air intake but I prefer the look of the stock box so I'm using it still.

SquireSCA · February 25, 2019

I wonder about using a hole saw and cutting a hole in the box, on the front or bottom, and connecting a short piece of the same diameter hose or plastic pipe to it to draw air in from lower down, like the Airad CAI does, would help?

jaxcam02 · February 26, 2019

So this thread gave me the motivation to go out and cut my stock box up lol. Didn't take me more than an hour to get the box out, Dremel and sand the holes and put the box back together. Will see what negligible difference my brain thinks it's going to feel tomorrow.