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S & B or LMI

7K views 63 replies 18 participants last post by  calvinmx48 
#1 ·
Gonna pull the trigger on a intake for my 14' sport
Tossed up between the LMI and s & b
I want a intake that is gonna make a bit more power and help with fuel millage
I know they are two diffrent style of intakes. I see allot of people love the s and b but don't see many people talking about the LMI
???
Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Not a lot of people are talking about the LMI, as it has only recently been brought to these boards. A very good thread to read that goes into some great detail about different CAI's and which ones are good and which ones aren't and why is here, most of the time I would just copy and paste the most relevant post and quote the person who made the post however there are pages of good information. Check it out, and if you still have any questions feel free to post them up I would be more than happy to ask.

Here is 1 http://ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=152496&highlight=maker&page=2
here is another I would recommend reading it in full there is only maybe 4 or pages to this thread. http://ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=154975&highlight=vararam+proof

Another reason you see a lot more about s&b is because it is a huge manufacturer, which gives them more advertising power, they are a good intake however they are sealed, and with sealed intakes you will never get the full potential out of your intake, essentially you could get the same gains if you put a hi-flow filter in your factory air box and then drilled a hole in the bottom of the air box and ran a tube to the bumper. You will get a little more air into the engine, but not a lot.

The best intake for velocity and performance is always going to be a true short ram intake with a tube made of either a plastic composite (cheap route works and effective but not the best) or a carbon fiber tube (little more expensive works and is very effective) to bring heat soak down to a minimum. The reason you do not see a lot of LMI's is because it is one guy who makes them, he almost exclusively makes them for the dodge/ram/chrysler market, only advertises on a few different forums, and rely's on dealers to get the word out, thus keeping the cost of the product down and the quality top notch. In regards to the lack of seeing them on this board that is because most on this board have not discovered the LMI yet, some have thanks to us here at Bully's Performance, some have heard of them before too but for the most part until we started carrying them very few people had heard about them, and with CAI's you don't start seeing a lot of people run them until there are 3-4 others, and some reviews up about them. However if you get over on the LX boards the charger and challenger guys swear by them and have for years, and it is essentially the same design and the same material used for the RAM's as well.

(of another fun fact is that the filter used is an S&B filter so you get the best of both worlds, the awesomeness of S&B filters and the excellence of a carbon fiber short ram intake at the same time).

Thanks
Jeremiah
 
#6 ·
the lmi intake kit isnt a true cai though... benefits? downfalls?

its just sucking in warm air from the engine bay...

i can see how the 4" tube to the stock airbox would help.

any info on the kit?
 
#7 ·
Order

I will be ordering my LMI SRI tomorrow
Feed back to come
 
#10 ·
Yes

Yes will be getting the full kit.
 
#34 ·
I also went with the SB CAI but it seemd to be worse than the stock airbox with the clear cover on it(could hear it as if it were starving for more air) so i took it off and it was a HUGE difference!!:SHOCKED:

I know it took away from the real purpose of the thing by pulling in hot eng compartment air but i am going to be making a tube to fit onto the downtube end that comes down in front of the wheel and end it right under/behind front bumper for more forced cold air and then put the cover back on and see if it changes anything. I will send update on here once i am done with it.
 
#12 ·
i have the S&B and i love it but the LMI tube looks pretty solid, and like many others have stated the stock box on the newer rams is already a true CAI, that being said for the difference in cost and the very minimal at best gains of the S&B versus the LMI why not drop in a green filter and the LMI and have something that not alot of other people have just to diversify, just my .02 but i do like the look of the stock intake cover and air box if you get them custom painted makes them look real sharp
 
#13 ·
Where can you buy one of these? I really like the design!
 
#14 ·
Order

Hopefully will be ordering mine today through bully's
 
#15 ·
Hopefully will be ordering mine today through bully's
So these will fit on my 2014 Sport Ram 1500 without having do do any modifications? The reason I am asking is because it says they are made for 09-13 ram trucks not 14?
 
#16 ·
LMI is HUGE in the LX performance market. Hand made amd rigorously tested, they're an awesome intake for sure! Just wish they were around when I got my S&B. Although I do love the look of the S&B

As for a short ram pulling in warm air, well you know theres kinda cold air ramming into your engine bay while driving
 
#18 ·
would performance gains not be a little better with the cold air as opposed to warm air with the sri? i know throttle response will be better with sri, but colder air, more efficient...

also, @calvin, look forward to seeing how it works out for you.
 
#19 ·
Sri

The SRI will have the better HP gains but won't be a true CAI
I will be making something up to direct the cool air to the filter
Hopefully have it this weekend
 
#21 ·
For the entire intake through us is $264 delivered, if you find a lower price we will match it or beat it. http://bullysperformance.com/dodge-...-hemi-v8-137/index-1-2a.html?manufacturer=101.

The SRI's almost always give more horse power, as it is not just how cool the air is, however the air velocity and how smoothly it gets to the engine, here are some very good posts from a fellow member in another thread explaining it much better than I can.

The best short ram intake you can get is one that draws from a fresh air source, by design accelerates the air flow along its length and resists thermal absorbtion into the air flow. The best short ram intake ever made for the hemi engine is the Legmaker 'Hammer' intake or the old BFI for the trucks.

So, talking about flow velocity: Because of the 'keg style' intake manifold we have, the higher the intake velocity you have entering through the throttle body, the more air you can move into the combustion chambers in the given open intake valve period. The intake manifold takes care of flow acceleration with its active short/long runner settings, but you want to get as much air flowing into the intake manifold as possible.

Since a N/A engine generates vacuum, this is how it moves air into the combustion chamber, by creating a pressure differential between the cylinders and intake manifold. The intake manifold must replenish its volume regularly and it does this through an intake, and is throttled by the throttle body. The speed at which the manifold replenishes its volume determines its efficiency. An ideal intake tube design reduces the flow restrictions, surface drag, and allows for laminar air compression along its length.

An ideal intake will have a large opening to atmosphere, preferably with no intake restriction (not practical since we want filtration as well), gently reduces its diameter through a cone shape that will allow for the compression of the air flow, which increases velocity of the flow, and made of an internal surface that reduces the effect of the no-slip condition. Smooth surfaces are not ideal, a contoured surface that reduces the detachment and shear away speeds is best.

Most Cold Air Intakes are just that... they route air from outside the engine bay through a tube to the throttle body. As stated in previous posts, the Vararam does this very well, but it doesn't do anything for the flow velocity as there is no runner length to increase the intake velocity. It does have a much larger reservoir capacity compared to most cone filters, but the tiny hole it has to move air through doesn't impress me at all.


Actually, a short ram intake will always give you better flow, it's a characteristic of their design. Intake air temps aren't the same as the ambient air temp except at highway speeds in the short ram intake design because of heat soak. It's a minimal change, <10 deg, but a change none the less.

The Vararam just gets closer to ambient intake temps because it's a shorter travel distance and you see less heat soak into the intake air pocket compared to most short ram CAIs that use a plastic or aluminum mid-tube. If you want the best mid-tube heat characteristics you want to look at a carbon fiber tube, they don't heat soak and don't pass that heat into the intake air charge.


hope this helps you all get the benefits of SRI's
 
#22 ·
Macc08

Macc08- I haven't gotten my final quote shipped to Canada yet. I will have it today
Sounds like we should get two and split shipping :)
 
#28 ·
Macc08- I haven't gotten my final quote shipped to Canada yet. I will have it today
Sounds like we should get two and split shipping :)
lol i wish i could right now. but i am very curious to see how it works out. i havent really seen to many threads with reviews on it.
 
#24 ·
So the LMI Short Ram CAI will fit our 2014's?
 
#25 ·
Yes

From what I'm being told yes it will
 
#29 ·
Sri

Well I will update when I put it on. It should be here earlie next week
 
#36 ·
Well I will update when I put it on. It should be here earlie next week
Did you install the intake? If so, what are your thoughts on it performance wise?
 
#35 ·
I am ordering the LMI Short Ram intake tonight!
 
#38 ·
Do you have the link?
 
#39 ·
For some reason LMI is not that popular on the Ram forums, but they are the top choice over at the Challenger forums.

I dont know what versions he has available for the Ram but the S&B looks like it takes air from the engine bay with the tube at the bottom. Short ram, Volant and this S&B is more of a hot air intake than anything.

The LMI true CAI reduces heat soak drastically faster than the stock box.
 
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