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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.
 
#579 ·
Well in simple terms they just allow more air to flow in the center part of the cross section so the flow is more direct than in a factory box. The factory box tries to make the truck quiet by having a shape that eliminates resonance in the intake tract.

An aftermarket one dosent care about this so they try to make the path with as few turns as possible and with a wide and consistant cross section.


Proof of you want it is simple for people who have run systems back to back and it becomes very apparent on non stock engines. Mine currently is eating hot as heck air from right under the cowl and you can really feel the heat build up after a few runs. Slows down sightly too. However my stock box is far weaker at all times because it's flow sucks and is just not as direct as even a simple air hat.

If you want something good get a volant or similar sealed box that draws from somewhere outside the engine bay. Vararam is also great for that but is very pricey and blocks acces to the front of the engine.
 
#582 ·
Vararam Review...Buyer BEWARE

I was going to start my own thread on this, but being this one has so many views and seems to be going strong, figured i'd leave this here.

This is my 2-ish year ownership review of the VARARAM system for a 2007 era ram, with a 5.7.

The system comes out of the box looking like a classic orange mopar six pack air cleaner...and thats where my compliments end.

This thing was an utter piece of garbage form day 1 of ownership. Install Instructions were incorrect, they shipped incorrect hardware, the throttle body coupler is too short, the hoses cannot route the way they recommend. Again...a less than seamless install, and took me several rounds with their reluctant customer service team to send the correct parts. After standing back and looking at my install...i noticed it sits crooked, and that this massive contraption only has a driver side support bracket, and it droops to that direction. It's designed to just "ride on" the coolant res with no brackets or support on that side, The plastic housing is thin and flimsy, and the entire thing is held together with pop rivets and smeared on RTV.

Service intervals: During oil changes, I do my inspections and I begin to notice that the "hoses" scoop up all kinds of road debris...I regularly open this contraption up to find leaves, rocks, feathers, you name it, hiding in the back of the housing. I also note that their crap silicon adhesive that holds this POS together are starting to work loose, and also all the dime store pop rivets that hold the hinges on, are pulling out of the 1/8 inch plastic.
ETC...
*rivets pulling out of plastic
*"cover" cannot hinge and open as intended because of firewall clearance
*scoops up road debris
*rides directly on washer res
* Too tall, so it also rubs on the hood insulation
*completely discolored from interference with other engine bay components
*metal components rusting

And the biggest foul, the plastic case that is supposed to be "sealed" now has 3-4 HOLES in it where the cheap, thin plastic has been rubbed clean through from hitting other engine bay components, and the intake manifold.

FAST FORWARD 2-ish years.

Notice my truck begins getting 15 MPG instead of the usual 17. So that weekend leads to an oil change and a set of plugs. I open to hood to find that the silicon coupler that holds this POS onto the throttle body, has torn...so the MPG decrease was because the TB was pulling DIRTY, UNFILTERED air right from the engine bay!. Not only was it sucking up all the crap from the bay, but the china "breather" that vararam supplies is also a service item. Being it was full, my engine also had the pleasure of sucking up all the dirt and oil fumes that the breather kicks out.

I went to pull this thing out, and fix the coupler, and all the issues above had intensified. Hinges physically dislodged... rivets missing, the "hood pins" are completely rusted and coming apart. And I had the remnants of a bird IN THE AIR BOX....not in the hose...not halfway in the intake scoop... IN THE AIR BOX.

I’m done with this POS, and I’ll be ordering a simple KNN, or equivalent. I'd put the stock box back on...but you have to remove and discard your factory bumper filler, and the factory air box support bracket...to install this snake oil box of jokes.

attached is what it's supposed to look like...and what it ends up looking like after 2+ years...
 

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#583 ·
Years ago i bought a used Vararam because i wanted to try it. Luckily for me, the guy who I bought it from probable noticed the same issues that you pointed out and made a bracket type setup that bolted to the motor (I forget where) so it was solid and didn't rest on anything. Only reason I didn't continue using it was I like doing my plugs without having to pull off my cai. I can change them easily with the Ramhammer installed. With that said, I do want to try the S&B setup because it looks so clean and I want to test a closed box versus the open setup I have now, especially with the hot weather we've had as of late.
 
#586 ·
I did the DIY CAI mod with 3" black vinyl hose from bottom of stock box to 3" opening/scoop to front dummy bumper insert with K&N filter in box. IMO, just as efficient as any CAI available but much, much cheaper. I do notice much more seat of the pants power at about 4K rpm and when passing at freeway speeds. Easy mod that's much cheaper. Some of the parts from Home Depot and the black vinyl hose from Pegasis Performance and filter from K&N.
 
#588 ·
O.K. my takings on the DIY CAI: I got a chance today without the Wife to test it out on the freeway on ramp. From 50 mph on the speedo, floored it and definately more passing power. Ran it up to 88 mph. Pulled smoothly through the gears with air pulling sound a lot more than the stock box. Previous run some weeks ago with the stock box, did not climb in speed as quickly. I'm in the PNW and today was a warmer day than some weeks ago, temp. today around 80. All invested a little under $90. including the K&N.
 
#591 ·
Here's my take on the S&B cai after a weeks worth of use. My opinion doesn't really apply to anyone else except for my setup because my motor is more custom then the masses.

Pros:
This cai is solidly built, the fit and finish was 1st class (I own or previously owned a Ramhammer, Vararam, Ebay cai and dyi'd my stock box). Instructions were detailed and on point, my only change would be to pre-install the snorkel or have it in the space before you mount the main box as it was hard installing snorkel because the space was limited to get it in..had to loosen the box)..

Cons:
For me is was the performance...even though I reset the pcm, reinstalled my custom tune, I could feel that my truck wanted to breathe more than the air the S&B could supply... when I go to pass people I am use to flying by, but with this I could feel like I was being held back. I am a proponent to the theory that our hemi's love and want to breathe more then an enclosed cai can supply... and if I didn't know any better, I lost mpg's as well (not that this bothers me). If I ever get back to the track, I will test both to see if there is an obvious difference. I am going to leave it on thru the month to see if the pcm learns the characteristics and adjusts accordingly. Even though my hemi breathes the hotter air with the ramhammer, it does supply the air needed when I really want to get on it.
 
#593 ·
I did a DIY CAI after reading a forum post...for $18. The stock system has the isolated air box from the factory already and using this creates a great system for fraction of the cost of K&N et all. Drill bottom of air box, run 3-4" plastic pipe to behind radiator grill and you're done. The factory air intake is very, very small and does provide enough cold air van when using the after market kits.
 

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#599 ·
Wow, I'm running an S&B now (as I'm in smog mode)...I'm gonna take the lid off this weekend and check for any difference...I totally forgot about this tip...:smileup: , right now i am in no big hurry to go back to race ready setup so I'm gonna play with what I have now (shorty's with stock cats with end's cut off to make it 3" dia openings )...heck, I'm still at work and will take the lid off before goin home...
 
#601 ·
my initial thoughts is that it makes my motor sound like a monster...it does sound like it appreciates having more flow than before taking off lid... just for fun I'm gonna do some logging and have my tuner tweak it to see if we could fine tune the 'smog' mode for more git up and go... and for anyone who likes to compare wheel sizing... running 20's vs 17's does bog it down a bit, it's pretty noticeable..but the 20's are sexy... my 17's need new tires so will be runnng 20's for a few months..

 
#602 ·
yes, you're right, the snorkel does pull from an open area in the front corner and is not sealed/separated from the main engine area...in our version someone made a plastic vent up front that pulled air from grill and directed it to the area where snorkel resides..
 
#607 ·
man, nothing gets by you..hehe. Those are my oil bypass filters...suppose to get superior oil filtration (installed this at about 60k miles) and I don't change my oil til 25k/once a year.
 
#608 ·
I thought they might be. There was another member who put one on his Cummins the other day but it was mounted differently
 
#616 · (Edited)
Hey, all. As much as I would love to read 62 pages about all the info on CA I that has been posted to this forum, I unfortunately would rather ask the question directly and seek opinions from everyone. I am stuck on pulling the trigger to buy the Vararam intake for my 2012 ram. I am seeing alot of negative reviews of quality and fitment issues. I just want to reach out to actually vararam owners and how you all like it? Also I am seeing alot of research on certain ram owners upgrading the throttle body with this air intake upgrade. Any and all info is greatly appreciated. I am not looking to highly modify my ram. Just looking for AIR INTAKE, TUNER, TB upgrade (possibly). Just so everyone knows what I am looking to do. I have had very fast cars in my life I really just like my Ram as is just looking to add a little hear and there. I have already done a custom exhaust and led upgrades on the whole truck. Thanks again everyone!!!!!!
 
#618 ·
I know I'm not as well versed in the cold air intakes as most of the people on this site, but I do know that getting cold air into an engine is VERY hard. If you scoop it up from near the bottom of the truck, your getting the heat coming off the road in the summers. If you wanna say you don't get that heat in the winter, correct, but at that time the filter can be put just about anywhere in the engine bay. Bringing it in from next to the radiator is about the best place as far as I can see, but the air will heat up as, it travels to the TB. IMO unless you wrap it in some type of water jacket, the air warms up. I think you should look for a slight lowering of temp, but the air flow to the engine is what's important.
 
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