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CAI Evaluation

316K views 644 replies 235 participants last post by  guy65 
#1 · (Edited)
I see a lot of posts and questions about CAI's, so I thought I'd do a little checking and do some comparisons. Everything is based on my Ram, 2010 with the Hemi. I'm sure there are other CAI's out there but these are the more common ones.

BFI $329.00 not enclosed and not out in the cold air.
K&N $322.00 partially enclosed and not in the cold air.
Airaid $365.00 partially enclosed and uses some cold air from fender connection, would use full cold air if it was fully enclosed

AFE Stage 1 $336.00 fully enclosed and uses cold air from the fender connection.
Volant $405.00 fully enclosed but has hole in bottom for scoop attachment which would be easy to block. Uses outside air connection on fender.

For my money were I to buy a CAI, I'd go for the fully enclosed CAI's hands down. CAI means "Cold" Air Intake. In my mind any CAI that does not get its air from outside the engine compartment is not a true CAI.
 
#373 ·
Smooth tube matters very little since you are flowing before the filter and too far away from the throttle body.
 
#374 ·
Wow.. no offense, but you got to be finding some better material to use that expandable drier vent... and looks like rubber/plastic/ wire lined tube.... Doesn't anyone know anyone who can weld aluminum tube?
 
#375 ·
cost was my deciding point. the dryer vent works just as good as anything. the point is a pathway for air to flow to the intake thats it. If i was too worried about the looks i could apply a coat of plasti-dip, but seems to be just a wast of materials since it cant really be seen unless i open the hood, and i dont show it......
 
#377 ·
these hemi's need airflow..I drilled multiple 1" dia holes in the bottom of my stock airbox to allow more in... even did 4" pvc piping from a fog light openning to snorkel and my motor still wanted more...you don't realize how much till you do a big intake like the bfi which i run..



 
#378 · (Edited)
I agree, whether the tube is ribbed or not is of little concern before the filter box,
...provided you give it enough Volume.

That's why I have Two Flex tubes almost at 4" each.

When I had my wheel well liners out to do my header install recently
I got a good view of the one that runs to the underside of my Volant and the one that leads up to the stock fender opening.



from the front:



from the bottom looking up

 
#379 ·
I think the fact that I have a scoop that catches air that has the area of nearly the whole front of my bumper combined with the 3" ducting, I am getting pretty good air flow while moving. granted while sitting still volume might be lacking in my set up but power is kind of pointless if im not moving. The 3" duct allows the air to move faster creating a ram air effect rather than just a large volume of air moving slower. the 4" or even 5" duct may or may not make a big difference but I do know that ram air is proven to be very effective. and at some point the larger duct will take away from the ram air effect.
 
#380 ·
it would have made a bigger effect if you started with 4-5" from the openning and had it go down to 3" at the box..that would really push it and take advantage of the ram air effect..
 
#393 ·
Fred, do you remember back in the day when Joey and I first started playing around with these scoops? We went from big rectangular shaped scoops, to round scoops in the foglight holes, to an big scoop in the headlight opening. Those track days were alot of fun testing all the different setups to see which would outperform the other.
 
#381 ·
I have a track intake I use at the track..opening is 8" which goes down to 6", then 6" ducting to 6" intake tube which goes down to 3" to tb...can you imagine the force of air by the time it reaches the tb..

 
#389 ·
that IS a pretty big intake for sure. Guess its not too practical for everyday driving though.
 
#382 · (Edited)
To take full advantage of the Ram Air effect you'll also want a large high flow filter,
and a modified throttle body too. ;)

My Ram with a Fastman modified TB is now making significantly more HP all the way up to 5700 rpm,
and thats while strapped to a stationary dyno with no fan in the front.
No doubt it will be even higher when air gets rammed in at the track at speed.



My bud with nearly identical ram/mods has a stock TB and no feeder tube on his Volant and saw his HP drop off after 5200RPM
 
#385 ·
No one ever read how a super charger or turbo works? No mater how the intake works, the less resistance (ribs, sharp turns) it has the better the air flow, in turn better performance. Hence why anyone that runs F/I (I know these are NA applications, but still holds true) runs solid, welded, piping... sorry to say but some of these are just way to "back woods" for the year and type of truck we drive.
 
#386 ·
its cost factor...wish i could have gone that route but couldnt, im in it for less than one an have beatin the only 2 fi'd rc's i've met at the track...
 
#387 ·
It is true that smooth tube vs ribbed tube is better for airflow. It is actually a minor difference though(at least at atmospheric pressure....I don't know about with forced induction). I agree most of these setups are pretty cheesy looking, but they perform better than stock, and for the couple bucks that they cost, as long as the owner is happy with it then who cares. Some people don't care about what it looks like. I put a similar ribbed tube on mine, although temporary, but I can tell a big difference. I would certainly not show it off though as I think it looks like crap on an expensive "refined" truck. But for $7 it will do for now until I finish the ram air project.
 
#388 ·
I have gone from 24L/100km to a consistant 21.7L/100km added a drop in k&n and the 4" intake.Haven't changed my driving style,should get even better with a new muffler and changing out the factory Y pipe,just not shure which muffler to go with yet.Oh ya that's all city driving.
 
#391 ·
Question.

Im looking for an intake purely for the Sound. My truck is Stock, its my Daily driver, I have my toy 11 CamaroSS, so im looking into something cheap but not cheaply made.

I saw Airaid made a intake w/o tube that autoanything sells for around $225...will this satisfly my needs? i take it the one with the actual airaid tube allows more air, but im looking for just sound qualitly.

Others i was considering was the K&N and AFE


Thanks
 
#392 ·
that will give you sound, as long as it is an open element and i believe the 4th gens don't use an air resonator anymore as well..
 
#395 ·
Man you guys are bringin back good memories for me too! Gettin to the track, payin the entry fee, settin up your stagin area, breakin out the tools, jackin up the car to drop the catback, unbolting all the seats other than the drivers. Makin sure you had only a gallon a gas, preferably 110 octane in the tank. And then walkin around checkin out the skin all over da place! Oh the 80's and 90's were fun brother!
 
#396 ·
volant

I did a volant it s big but like how I can pull the filter out and clean as for the hole in the bottom I wanted that to make my own cold out side air tube from the out side at the bottom of the bumber ! 4 inch ring , 4 inch drain pipe and made a box type on the bumber to 45 angle pipe ! it works maybe only .6 on the mpg at 70 mph but who cares got 18.6 last long trip 200 miles stright road . was fun just to build it :smiley_thumbs_up:
 
#397 ·
just read all 40pages in one sitting.... wheewee thats a lot of reading..


been shopping for a volant... kind of debating if i even need / want a CAI... just looking for some better MPG's and a bit more bark
 
#399 ·
the series 63 K&N CAI I had installed on my 2012 ram 1500 has a pretty well sealed box right around where the cooler air feeds in by the wheel well so not sure if I get where your evaluation for the K&N is coming from unless theres a significant difference between the 2012 and the 2012 models ?
 
#400 ·
40 pages in one sitting as well. Was hoping for a clear cut winner. Narrowed down to either smoother pipe and drop in filter or Black Ram's approach-Volant and pipe to front lower fake grill removed (When I detailed my truck last week, I was surprised to see that piece of crap down there. lol).
 
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