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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.
 
#4 ·
Thanks, like I said, I'm sure there are others out there. Pretty much the purpose of this thread was to bring them out in the open.
 
#7 ·
Good comparison there RB! Guess if it were me, I agree with the Volant for the enclosure, just wish they didn't have to make them so freakin' HUGE, lol! I like the look of it with just the filter, IMO.

- Cajun
 
#10 ·
True about the heat shield, however the brands that are fully enclosed and get their air from outside the engine compartment provide significantly cooler/colder air. This results in increased performance and efficiency.
 
#11 ·
nice comparo on paper..but the true performance test is on the track...on pre 09's, none of the other cai's hold a candle to bfi or vararam equipped trucks (at least in qc's)
 
#13 ·
The 09's and 10's have a pretty good CAI stock, just the filter is not as free flowing, or at least that's what I've been told. Plus the tube connecting the filter box to the TB is ribbed rather than smooth.

I have no intention of buying a CAI for my Ram. I don't think I need one. My driving is mostly city (90%) so little would be gained.
 
#14 ·
The 09's and 10's have a pretty good CAI stock, just the filter is not as free flowing, or at least that's what I've been told. Plus the tube connecting the filter box to the TB is ribbed rather than smooth.

I have no intention of buying a CAI for my Ram. I don't think I need one. My driving is mostly city (90%) so little would be gained.
Probably the same with me. Might just get the K&N drop in filter.
Thanks for the info.
 
#18 ·
over the life of my truck I've changed my cai 5x's (7 if you want to count the k an n and trueflow dropin's). I have 2 of them right now, the bfi an vararam...these 2 are head an shoulders above the others I've tried (i forget the names), especially now with the cam an head setup i have now I need the extra airflow which the previous ones didn't have....i have 186k+ miles on my truck, I have tested an retested an tried different mods. I don't know when i got into the performance mod kick and am not sure what flipped a switch to make me go deep into it. I started out like everyone else thinkin the same thing..cai, catback, programmer an call it good. then some ram guys took me to the track for the very first time and i was hooked. then i started researchin back in 05 and followed the really fast guys back then as they modded ahead of me. I saw my times drop and dyno numbers increase as i modded up to the point that I got to where i never thought i'd be, quickest 1/4 na hemi stockblock qc in all the forums (from jan 09 - may 09). I've since dropped my time a little more but I'm at the point where i jump into my truck and am truly satisfied the way it performs on the street and not wanting more. it's a pretty cool feeling when you pull up next to almost any vehicle at a light an know you can pretty much takem or at worst surprise the heck out of them with the quick acceleration from a full size pickup. And then when they try to pull the loud sound exhaust out, i open the dual cutouts an go nascar on them. This truck has become a toy an hobby to me and as a 50 year old, im lovin every minute of it..
 
#22 ·
cant say that i heard it i dont like there intake i had it i bought it and the kn&n then i sold it for more then i bought it for so i bought bfi should be here soon
 
#25 ·
The other thing to keep in mind is the true cost of the Volant if you want the total CAI experience. Each add-on, ram air from the fender or hood scoop is a $200 + further investment. With Vararam you are getting the Ram Air without the extra investment.
 
#26 ·
Actually on the Gen 4 Rams the Volant connects to the fender just like the stock one does.

The ram-air you're speaking of is the "scoop" which in deed does cost more, but is not needed in the late models. In fact I suggest anyone buying the Volant plug/cap the bottom whole the "scoop" connects to unless using the "scoop".
 
#28 ·
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.
I don't have this thing called CAI... I have been wondering about it ever since joining this forum. RB is right. I have seen a lot of pics on here with the filter right beside the exaust manifold, or at least behind the radiator. That is a LONG way from cooler/denser air no doubt! While most I have seen do improve on the air flow coming into the intake manifold, It makes no sense to spend that kind of money and get 'half' what you could gain!
 
#35 ·
Were you able to test these two? My bad if I missed the results being posted somewhere else.
 
#31 ·
I run the Volant and just wanted to throw my hat in and say that I did see a roughly 1-1.5 mpg increase as well as a deeper exhaust tone. BTW i got mine from next level motorsprts for about $50 cheaper than RB quotes... here is the link if anyone is interested.

http://store.newlevelmotorsports.com/vocoairin20d16.html
 
#36 ·
naw..didnt get to, we got to track late and dint get as many dialin runs that I wanted too so i stuck with the vararam for all the runs..track was hot so my times sucked..best time was 13.4...13.8 was worst (but that was my dialin for brackets an i hit it dead on to win that race)
 
#37 ·
you still at 13.08 :) step it up lol i need to go to the track soon. what gear you got in your truck
 
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