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Anyone install a Cold air kit? Any improvement?

Matt99Z71

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Matt99Z71 Enthusiast

Matt99Z71

Posted
Posted

Hey, just wondering if anyone has installed a cai kit on their trucks. I've been thinking about it for awhile, I want to get that AEM dry flow filter kit for my truck. I've got a Magnaflow exhaust system and had the cpu sent out for reprogramming. The truck seems to definetly have more power on the upper rpms, but I'd like some more low end grunt (i.e. be able to smoke the tires for once). I know i've lost some power due to the 285's, but I've seen two magazine reports now that say the AEM kit is good for like 15 horsepower on the dyno. They say its their most responsive kit. Just wondering what your results were.

rmreid Enthusiast

rmreid

Posted
Posted

CAI's won't make any/much low end power, look at where they make their claimed HP it is in the upper RPM range save your money.

pwall Senior Enthusiast

pwall

Posted
Posted

Dont' think you'll get the results you're looking for.

But it does sound better :uhoh: ....my opinion of-course.

hoorders Enthusiast

hoorders

Posted
Posted
Hey, just wondering if anyone has installed a cai kit on their trucks.  I've been thinking about it for awhile, I want to get that AEM dry flow filter kit for my truck.  I've got a Magnaflow exhaust system and had the cpu sent out for reprogramming.  The truck seems to definetly have more power on the upper rpms, but I'd like some more low end grunt (i.e. be able to smoke the tires for once).  I know i've lost some power due to the 285's, but I've seen two magazine reports now that say the AEM kit is good for like 15 horsepower on the dyno.  They say its their most responsive kit.  Just wondering what your results were.

 

 

 

Most people buy them because of the advertized claim to extra power............but if you take a pole on people who have bit the bullet and installed them........most, probably 90%+ say all they do is make some extra noise under the hood...........save your cash..... :uhoh:

C & A s Dad Senior Enthusiast

C & A s Dad

Posted
Posted

Matt, Some think I probably work for TrueFlow but I do not. I have a True Flow "real CAI" on my Yukon XL and it did make a diff, although it was nothing earth shattering. I would agree with Cameron's statement above. If it is pulling air from unde the hood, it is not a Cold Air Intake system.

 

I bought a TF set up because it does retain the factory box and pulls cold air from the fender well area. It is much quieter than an open element unit but it can still be heard under a load, it produces it's 14Hp and 17ft lbs of tq (approx, my memory is not good) in the mid rev range and they do all their testing with the hood closed on the truck, which is how I hope you drive. Some companies test with the hood open and cooling fans blowing air on the open element. They also use a oiled dual stage foam filter that filters better than cotton gauze but does not flow quite as well. The oil contains a glue agent to keep it from sucking into your Mass Air Flow sensor.

 

Check them out on their website.

 

Mine has been on my truck for about 9 months and I have had no issues. It looks great, is a quality piece and I can tell some difference when towing my camper. It seems to help from about 2200 RPMs up. I cannot swear it made the diff in my MPG but I picked up almost 1 MPG after the install. I had a good record of my previous 7 or 8 tanks and ran another avg after the next 5 or 6 tanks.

 

It is expensive so you really have to decide is the small gain worth the $s.

Buggle_96 Enthusiast

Buggle_96

Posted
Posted
Matt, Some think I probably work for TrueFlow but I do not. I have a True Flow "real CAI" on my Yukon XL and it did make a diff, although it was nothing earth shattering. I would agree with Cameron's statement above. If it is pulling air from unde the hood, it is not a Cold Air Intake system.

 

I bought a TF set up because it does  retain the factory box and pulls cold air from the fender well area. It is much quieter than an open element unit but it can still be heard under a load, it produces it's 14Hp and 17ft lbs of tq (approx, my memory is not good) in the mid rev range and they do all their testing with the hood closed on the truck, which is how I hope you drive. Some companies test with the hood open and cooling fans blowing air on the open element. They also use a oiled dual stage foam filter that filters better than cotton gauze but does not flow quite as well. The oil contains a glue agent to keep it from sucking into your Mass Air Flow sensor.

 

Check them out on their website.

 

Mine has been on my truck for about 9 months and I have had no issues. It looks great, is a quality piece and I can tell some difference when towing my camper. It seems to help from about 2200 RPMs up. I cannot swear it made the diff in my MPG but I picked up almost 1 MPG after the install. I had a good record of my previous 7 or 8 tanks and ran another avg after the next 5 or 6 tanks.

 

It is expensive so you really have to decide is the small gain worth the $s.

 

 

 

 

Do you have custom tune setup for that intake? just curious.

Mark_in_Tulsa Senior Enthusiast

Mark_in_Tulsa

Posted
Posted
Matt, Some think I probably work for TrueFlow but I do not. I have a True Flow "real CAI" on my Yukon XL and it did make a diff, although it was nothing earth shattering. I would agree with Cameron's statement above. If it is pulling air from unde the hood, it is not a Cold Air Intake system.

 

I bought a TF set up because it does  retain the factory box and pulls cold air from the fender well area. It is much quieter than an open element unit but it can still be heard under a load, it produces it's 14Hp and 17ft lbs of tq (approx, my memory is not good) in the mid rev range and they do all their testing with the hood closed on the truck, which is how I hope you drive. Some companies test with the hood open and cooling fans blowing air on the open element. They also use a oiled dual stage foam filter that filters better than cotton gauze but does not flow quite as well. The oil contains a glue agent to keep it from sucking into your Mass Air Flow sensor.

 

Check them out on their website.

 

Mine has been on my truck for about 9 months and I have had no issues. It looks great, is a quality piece and I can tell some difference when towing my camper. It seems to help from about 2200 RPMs up. I cannot swear it made the diff in my MPG but I picked up almost 1 MPG after the install. I had a good record of my previous 7 or 8 tanks and ran another avg after the next 5 or 6 tanks.

 

It is expensive so you really have to decide is the small gain worth the $s.

 

 

 

 

 

From what I have heard on the net, that product is the best out there right now.

I would love to get one some day, but right now the output of it, is not worth the cost of it to me. But that is with any CAI.

 

Oh also, I've mostly heard bad with the K&N products.

C & A s Dad Senior Enthusiast

C & A s Dad

Posted
Posted

Cameron, no tune. The folks at Hypertech scared me away from using a canned tune such as theirs. They tune for an outherwise stock veh and the tech at HT told me that they did get their share of calls with codes set because of their tune being added along with a CAI. I would assume a good custom tuner would take the CAI into consideration when working his magic.

 

I may do this one day, but this is my Wife's daily driver. I did the intake becase I liked the way it cleaned up all that snorkle junk under my hood and I was looking for a little boost in grunt to help me when tugging my camper.

Shoot2Thrill Enthusiast

Shoot2Thrill

Posted
Posted

I bought the K&N air charger system for my truck. If I had it to do all over again, I don't think I would have spent the 220 bucks on the system. With that being said, I still have it on my truck. One of the reasons I like it is the engine sounds louder under the hood on acceleration, which is a plus for me as I shift based upon the engine, not any of the gadges. I don't think these systems really give you the boost in performance they claim. -Shoot2Thrill

overlord1 Enthusiast

overlord1

Posted
Posted

:uhoh:

Matt, Some think I probably work for TrueFlow but I do not. I have a True Flow "real CAI" on my Yukon XL and it did make a diff, although it was nothing earth shattering. I would agree with Cameron's statement above. If it is pulling air from unde the hood, it is not a Cold Air Intake system.

 

I bought a TF set up because it does  retain the factory box and pulls cold air from the fender well area. It is much quieter than an open element unit but it can still be heard under a load, it produces it's 14Hp and 17ft lbs of tq (approx, my memory is not good) in the mid rev range and they do all their testing with the hood closed on the truck, which is how I hope you drive. Some companies test with the hood open and cooling fans blowing air on the open element. They also use a oiled dual stage foam filter that filters better than cotton gauze but does not flow quite as well. The oil contains a glue agent to keep it from sucking into your Mass Air Flow sensor.

 

Check them out on their website.

 

Mine has been on my truck for about 9 months and I have had no issues. It looks great, is a quality piece and I can tell some difference when towing my camper. It seems to help from about 2200 RPMs up. I cannot swear it made the diff in my MPG but I picked up almost 1 MPG after the install. I had a good record of my previous 7 or 8 tanks and ran another avg after the next 5 or 6 tanks.

 

It is expensive so you really have to decide is the small gain worth the $s.

 

 

 

 

 

From what I have heard on the net, that product is the best out there right now.

I would love to get one some day, but right now the output of it, is not worth the cost of it to me. But that is with any CAI.

 

Oh also, I've mostly heard bad with the K&N products.

 

 

 

 

 

What I did was to order True Flows air filter online for about $40 and then I bought an Airaid intake tube for $100. So basically I have the same effect as True Flows "Cold Air Intake" but for $100 less. Granted the mandrel bent tube you get in the True Flow kit is nice, but not an extra $100 nice :smash:

overlord1 Enthusiast

overlord1

Posted
Posted
Ed, I would have likely done the same thing if I had of thought of it.

 

How do you like the TF filter?

 

 

 

 

I like it quite a bit. What I did not want was a K&N filter or any type of gauze filter since I am convinced that they filter poorly based on tests results I've seen. What I like about the TF filter is that it flows about as well as a brand new paper element filter, but it maintains that same level of flow even as it gets dirty. One thing that the TF website points out that I had not thought of before is that with a gauze filter like the K&N, every time you clean it you lose some of the gauze material. So you start with a an air filter (gauze) that does not trap dirt that well to begin with and you gradually make it worse every time you clean it. The foam of the TF filter is about 2" thick and will not degrade over time when you service it. Like you I researched this quite a bit and I would not use any air filter on my truck except a paper filter like oem or the True Flow filter.

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