Cold air intake

[wisconsin1259]

I am thinking of getting a K&N cold air intake for my Silverado. I am wondering if anyone has purchased this one and what your thoughts are. Also, will adding an intake void the warranty? 
 

https://www.americantrucks.com/kn-53silverado1500-series-77-high-flow-performance-cold-air-intake-77-3110kp.html

 

[Z45]

IMO, save your money.  Its more eye food than substance. 

[Railroad_Jim]

I put a generic cold-air kit on my 2000 Silverado (5.3 liter engine) back in 2010 when I was commuting 150 miles a day mostly highway miles, and I did notice a fuel mileage improvement of about 1.5 MPG.  

 

Now that fuel prices have skyrocketed, I'm considering a cold-air kit for my 2020 Custom Trail Boss with the 5.3 liter engine, if it would also get a fuel mileage increase.  My commute is "only" 50 miles a day, but it's non-highway.  The truck only gets around 15.5 MPG and it's painful.

 

Anyone have any experience with fuel mileage increases from a cold-air kit on this T1 platform?

[richard wysong]

factory intake systems ARE cold air intake. Save your money!

[Z45]

12 hours ago, Railroad_Jim said:

I put a generic cold-air kit on my 2000 Silverado (5.3 liter engine) back in 2010 when I was commuting 150 miles a day mostly highway miles, and I did notice a fuel mileage improvement of about 1.5 MPG.  

 

Now that fuel prices have skyrocketed, I'm considering a cold-air kit for my 2020 Custom Trail Boss with the 5.3 liter engine, if it would also get a fuel mileage increase.  My commute is "only" 50 miles a day, but it's non-highway.  The truck only gets around 15.5 MPG and it's painful.

 

Anyone have any experience with fuel mileage increases from a cold-air kit on this T1 platform?

Regular air filter (OEM) vs. a CAI or performance filter will have no effect on fuel efficiency.  The ECM is programmed to adjust Air/Fuel (A/F) ratio to predetermined spec’s., so increasing air will mean the ECM will adjust the fuel to the programmed A/F ratio.   Basically cold air intakes and performance air filters make minimal HP increase and give the illusion of more HP simply because they make more noise over factory setups and people tend to justify their silly purchase by embellishing the performance and fuel economy.  Defies logic as more air = more fuel.

[Silverado4x4]

9 hours ago, elcamino said:

Regular air filter (OEM) vs. a CAI or performance filter will have no effect on fuel efficiency.  The ECM is programmed to adjust Air/Fuel (A/F) ratio to predetermined spec’s., so increasing air will mean the ECM will adjust the fuel to the programmed A/F ratio.   Basically cold air intakes and performance air filters make minimal HP increase and give the illusion of more HP simply because they make more noise over factory setups and people tend to justify their silly purchase by embellishing the performance and fuel economy.  Defies logic as more air = more fuel.

 

100% correct, and to buy a CAI to save on fuel mpg is just not thinking and your not saving. Think about it you spend a few hundred bucks on a CAI to save on fuel it will take you 10+ years to get your money back on the price of the CAI in fuel savings with the little bit of mpg gain which your not gaining. Fuel mpg will change from tank to tank fills based on driving style and conditions. I used to check my mpg just for the hell of it and it would very anywhere from 2-3 mpg better to the same mpg lower based on driving and my truck is totally stock.

[Railroad_Jim]

On my 2000 Silverado, I really did see a measurable increase of about 1.5 MPG after adding the cold air intake kit.  The truck already had a Borla cat-back exhaust on it, and I was driving a repeatable, 85% highway, 150 mile daily trip, fueling up daily at the same Sunoco station.  (BTW, that was pure hell, and I was glad to find a closer job after a few months!) 

 

Maybe on the 2000, the filter was restrictive, and the cold air intake kit slightly improved volumetric efficiency?  I don't know the reason, but I saw a measurable increase in fuel mileage.  (And a few weeks later, I lost second and fourth gear in the transmission, and my mileage went to crap without overdrive....)

 

On my now 50 mile daily commute on non-highway roads, I definitely see my fuel mileage vary by two to three MPG, depending upon how aggressive I'm driving.  My 2020 Custom Trail Boss with the 5.3 / 6-speed only gets an average of around 15.5MPG, which is pretty crappy in my book.  I guess that you guys with the 8-speed and 10-speed transmissions are probably getting better mileage.  I'm sure that the lift kit and big mud tires on the Trail Boss aren't helping matters. 

 

My highway fuel mileage is usually worse than my around town mileage, which is something that's I've never experienced before in a vehicle.  I read that the lift of the vehicle makes more air drag, and I'm rarely going under 80mph on the highway.  I made a 300 mile trip last month and kept the speeds down to around 75mph most of the way and got around 16.5 MPG, so speed seemed to make a difference.  Whatever the reason, highway fuel mileage sucks on my truck.

[Z45]

To quote a tuner;

Quote

Decrease AIR!! This flies in the face of what is sold out there today, but if you can decrease the amount of air entering the engine (due to the fact that this is a closed loop system as of 1996 OBD2) you will use less fuel, too. Ideally, you want to maintain the same horsepower required to combat air friction, rolling mass losses, etc...but do it with LESS AIR!!

Let me illustrate. A closed loop system maintains the air fuel ratio at 14.7 lbs air to 1 lb of fuel. This is maintained for idle, cruise and in some cases, even at wide open throttle.

If you have 60 grams/sec air entering the engine at cruise, you're using 4.08 grams of fuel per second. If the cylinder pressures are increased without creating harmful exhaust by-products, or if these by-products are controlled by the catalytic converter, we can gain mileage by decreasing airflow through the engine while enhancing the spark curve to maintain the same rear wheel HP.

On the chassis dyno, we can get vehicles down to 45-50 grams air/sec maintaining the same air fuel ratio, and same wheel HP as stock--and the overall result is less fuel consumed ! 45 g/secs works out to 3.06 g/fuel used in the same time period--or an almost 25% saving. We can't gain this in all vehicles of course--this example was resultant data from a 2007 6.0L HD 3500 GM truck.

This flies in the face of every aftermarket product out there claiming that it saves fuel--you will never gain mileage by increasing airflow through a gasoline engine in a mass airflow type system.

 

[Byrds8]

Correct me if I am wrong, but since having a different filter or a CAI doesn't change how open the throttle is, it really doesn't increase any air flow? Wouldnt a different filter or CAI etc only make it less restrictive and allow the air to flow easier but still be the same volume?

[richard wysong]

cold air is denser than hot air thus will create more hp but still needs more fuel to do that. it won't increase fuel economy. stock air cleaner systems draw air from the fender well (colder air than engine bay) 

[Z45]

13 hours ago, Byrds8 said:

Correct me if I am wrong, but since having a different filter or a CAI doesn't change how open the throttle is, it really doesn't increase any air flow? Wouldnt a different filter or CAI etc only make it less restrictive and allow the air to flow easier but still be the same volume?

Correct.   The ECM will adjust the air to the programed air/fuel ratio via the mass air flow sensor even if the filer is restricted, mileage will not change.  Less air = less fuel, more air = more fuel.  

 

You don't see K&N making any mileage claims, they know it CAN"T be backed up and would lead them to false advertising claims.

 

GM engineers must be dump as rocks to invent active fuel management, dynamic fuel management to gain tenths of a mile in fuel economy if these after-market CAI intakes and performance filter gave them over a mile per gallon increase.  Think about it.

Edited March 16, 2022 by elcamino

[KARNUT]

Strangely and puzzling a few years ago Motorweek did a segment on performance intakes. They claimed a slight increase in mileage. Not enough to cover the cost of the intake. 

[It's Tim]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:32 PM, elcamino said:

give the illusion of more HP simply because they make more noise over factory setups 

Better choice:

https://www.amazon.com/SoundRacer-Realistic-SuperCar-Engine-Effects/dp/B0030IQK30/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

SoundRacer SRV8 Realistic SuperCar V8 Engine Sound Effects

 

• Race car sounds through your stereo.
• Imagine starting up your modern, boringly silent car and the interior is filled with the thrilling sound of a powerful Super Sports Car engine.
• The SoundRacer Plugs into your cars cigarette lighter and uses an FM transmitter to play a choice of V8 engine sounds through your car stereo
• It's an incredibly simple device to use - plug it into your car's cigarette lighter socket.
• The SoundRacer plugs into your cigarette lighter and transmits rev-matched fake V8 engine sounds via FM radio making your car sound.

 

[Byrds8]

2 hours ago, elcamino said:

Correct.   The ECM will adjust the air to the programed air/fuel ratio via the mass air flow sensor even if the filer is restricted, mileage will not change.  Less air = less fuel, more air = more fuel.  

 

You don't see K&N making any mileage claims, they know it CAN"T be backed up and would lead them to false advertising claims.

 

GM engineers must be dump as rocks to invent active fuel management, dynamic fuel management to gain tenths of a mile in fuel economy if these after-market CAI intakes and performance filter gave them over a mile per gallon increase.  Think about it.

About what I thought. When I changed mine out, I had no misconceptions about a tremendous increase in HP or MPG. I did it just for it being a bit more free flowing. Much like when I removed the muffler and flapper off the exhaust. I did it more for sound than anything else. Yes, its less restrictive and allows it to flow better which means the engine doesn't have to work as hard but didn't expect any real gains. I have gotten better gains changing my driving habits. I threw on my tonneau cover and slowed down from 75 to 70 in the interstate and so far have gained about 2mpg on the DIC. Granted that in itself is a chore because I like to drive... LOL

[Grumpy Bear]

1 hour ago, Byrds8 said:

I threw on my tonneau cover and slowed down from 75 to 70 in the interstate and so far have gained about 2mpg on the DIC. Granted that in itself is a chore because I like to drive... LOL