Volant Cai On '05 Yukon Denali Xl 6.0 V8

yukon_denali_05 · October 13, 2008

I'm thinking of purchasing a Volant CAI for my '05 Yukon Denali XL 6.0 V8. I've read several of the posts on the various CAIs and seems like Volant is the preferred CAI. My goal is the look, the sound, and a bit more start acceleration. Then, i'm thinking of going with a tuner. Is this the right approach? I want to get better (smoother) response and shifting.

Also, would appreciate sharing your experience with the Volant CAI installation on the 6.0 V8 (easy/difficult?).

Thanks!

merlin5577 · October 13, 2008

I'm thinking of purchasing a Volant CAI for my '05 Yukon Denali XL 6.0 V8. I've read several of the posts on the various CAIs and seems like Volant is the preferred CAI. My goal is the look, the sound, and a bit more start acceleration. Then, i'm thinking of going with a tuner. Is this the right approach? I want to get better (smoother) response and shifting.

Also, would appreciate sharing your experience with the Volant CAI installation on the 6.0 V8 (easy/difficult?).

Thanks!

Sounds like you have a good plan. Tuning the engine is always a good idea.

Volant is a pretty reputable company, and while I havent had any personal experience with them, I have never heard anything bad about them either. I personally am a K&N guy but all the CAI companies are similar. Good luck and keep us updated. Post pictures if you can.

yukon_denali_05 · October 19, 2008

OK. So I went ahead and ordered the Volant PowerCore CAI. Has anyone had experience installing on the 6.0 V8? Was it difficult?? Please share your experience. Thanks!

flyin6 · November 23, 2008

OK. So I went ahead and ordered the Volant PowerCore CAI. Has anyone had experience installing on the 6.0 V8? Was it difficult?? Please share your experience. Thanks!

Maybe too late to hepl you, but it pretty easy putting one in my H2. Only took maybe thirty minutes. Results were a slight increase in noise, but none in seat of the pants performance. I can't say it was worth the $600+ I paid for it and the MAF it included.

The product itself is the real deal. A no-kidding CAI, unlike the myriad of others which are actually hot air intakes such as the K&N parts. Perhaps there is some increase, and that would be found on a dyno. Thinking about it a 5 HP increase on a 5,000 pound truck will be lost, so consider the bang for the buck impact of this purchase.

yukon_denali_05 · November 27, 2008

I couldn't agree more. Not much noticeable hp increase unless its above 3k rpm. Mine is a 7K lb truck and I need more lower end torque. I'm going with a westers custom tune next so hope this will wake her up. Right now she is still a little lazy

Z45 · November 27, 2008

I put the Volant on my 2004 Sierra SLT PU but removed it after 1 yr and about 15,000 miles if use. Several things bothered me about it. The think made so much noise when you were giving it gas, a loud drone that made the truck sound like it was straining to move. Another thing was I had the Ram Air tube and every time it would rain hard it sucked water up into the air box and soaked the filter. Once on a long drive from Minneapolis to da UP in rain the truck was stumbling at cruising speeds. Did not know at the time that water was the problem but on a hunch the next day I discovered lots of dirt in the bottom of the box as well as moisture and a wet filter (before Powercore). The Volant came off that day.

Also, I never noticed any improvement in performance and actually think it was worse if only for all the noise it made giving that impression. You could hear the engine all the time especially when I was pulling the trailer. Once I let someone use my truck and they called me later to say sometime was wrong as they went up this big hill and the engine starting marking noise. All it was the CAI sucking in air because the cheap plastic had no noise insulation properties.

Some people equate this noise to better performance.

Also, I made several attempts to contact Volant about the noise issue but they would not respond to any emails or phone calls.

flyin6 · November 27, 2008

Everyone here is hitting on a fundamental truth, that the CAI's do not work. It is just hype for the most part and any HP increase you might get is absorbed in the work of pulling such a large weight around.

I did see one remarkable test nce where on the 5.9 Grand Cherokee, a CAI made 26 extra HP. That was documented, but is the EXTREME and certainly not the case. A normal K&N installation results in a 3-5 HP loss over the stock system as I have seen from actual dyno pulls. Once while working a Toyota Tundra, we lost 3HP with a K&N CAI, because the inlet temp went sky high. We made the same HP with the stock box and a K&N filter. The Amsoil AF made an additional 1HP, and a factory fresh Toyota air filter made almost 2 extra HP over the used factory filter. The largest improvement came with the addition of breather holes being added to the factory box. Those holes later resulted in ingestion of all sorts of trash into the air box!

CAI's are a waste of money, period! You would get more HP from purchasing premium fuel and just slapping on a Volant decal under the hood on the stock box!