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Lengthy Review: S&B Cold Air Intake 75-5064 [2009-2012 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi]

144K views 312 replies 112 participants last post by  Ramathorne 
#1 ·
First and foremost, let me say that I am in NO WAY affiliated with S&B Filters, as some have asked thru PM. I’m a career firefighter as my full-time work and I cut lawn as a side job on most of my days off. I, like you, am a consumer first and foremost. After that, I enjoy modifying cars with quality aftermarket products. I’ll happily spend good money as long as I get bang-for-bucks in return. Don’t we all feel the same way? So when I find a quality product, I tend to be VERY loyal to that company and its products for future rides. I feel the same way towards vendors. Prime examples: S&B Filters and Auto-Anything.

Anyway….

As I’ve posted on these boards in the past, I became a fan of S&B Filters many years ago when I owned a 2000 GM fullsized pick-up. Truth be told, I purchased my first S&B Cold Air Intake for my GM somewhat blindly. I saw a picture of it on a forum and loved the way it looked… so I purchased it. The installation was super-easy. The appearance was drawing. The sound was throaty and mean under WOT. The HP gain was obvious across the band-width based on my butt; but more-so on the bottom-end. The MPG gain was minimal, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I had a hell of a time keeping my foot off the pedal on the far RHS.

After that vehicle I purchased a 2005 F150 Screw which I poured a few dollars into from the interior, to under the hood, to the drivetrain and finally the exterior [appearance]. There are some pictures floating around these boards of that truck which, again, had an S&B Cold Air Intake. The installation was very straight forward and easy. Again, I saw obvious HP gains [especially mid and top end]. The sound was a little more mellow than the what the GM displayed under WOT, but nonetheless apparent. The finished appearance was much better. The MPG gain was a full 2MPG and some change. Suffice to say I was very happy with S&B Filters following this truck and hooked on their products.

Which bring us to my 2012 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi. When the mod-bug hit me [doesn’t it always?] not long after purchase, the first thing I did was look at the S&B Filters webpage to see what was available for our trucks. Based on previous experiences, this was the system I wanted. Nothing! I was disappointed but –truth be told - not shocked as there’s a limited amount of performance modifications available for our trucks [you listening tuner companies?]; especially back in January of this year. Then, thru these and other boards, I researched the bee-jeesus out of the CAI’s that were available for our trucks. I settled on another closed-box intake [I’m not a fan of bare and/or open lid boxes; but I’m not about to get into that here] from a manufacturer I’ve used before [I won’t mention any other brand names under this review]. Just prior to pulling the plug and purchasing [literally hours away], I decided to check the S&B Filters webpage again. I’m sure glad I did!

Which brings us here to my no BULLSHEET review [remember, I have no connection to S&B Filters] of the S&B Cold Air Intake Model 75-5064 manufactured for the 4th Generation 2009-2012 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi HERE

This is the oiled/cleanable filter model and NOT the dry/disposable filter model. I’m not a fan of dry filters as I briefly touched on in another thread. But just so I can give an honest review/comparison, I did also order the dry filter which will arrive shortly I’ve been told. Upon delivery and change-out of the oiled-filter to the dry-filter, I will update this thread and forward a brief opinion on what difference [if any] the dry filter displays.

One last thing before I start. I initially was going to do a full-blown review on these boards where step-by-step installation instructions and photos were provided. Halfway thru snapping pictures and taking notes thru the install, it occurred to me that the installation instructions provided by S&B Filters was spot-on; and that the photos they had in those instructions was pretty much what I was snapping. I immediately stopped as it was a waste of my time and would have been yours too. So I’ll say this: if you follow the installation instructions that S&B Filters has provided to a tee, the installation is a breeze. In fact, it took me a LOT longer to remove the OEM intake housing/assembly than it did for me to install the S&B CAI. If you’re not sure on how to remove the OEM intake housing and assembly, S&B provides that information also on the instructions supplied. However, there are more than a few threads on these boards, but the very best IMHO is HERE by brad12kx who has an excellent pictorial attached. The installation instructions can also be found on S&B Filter’s webpage HERE.

Let’s go.

Build & Quality & Construction: Top notch! Air box assembly is solid and has a really nice company logo on its side [facing the vehicle’s firewall]. The oiled-filter is heavy duty [manufactured by S&B Filters]. Intake tube is rigid with no flex and looks great with the company’s logo. Everything from the filter to the housing down to the screws and hose-clamps is top quality. Even the smallest item supplied like the grommets are heavy duty. S&B generously [even] supply replacement plastic clips in case your break/ruin your OEM ones while removing the plastic fender liner. S&B Filters has also provided some extra screws [at least I had some extras left over] just in case some grow legs and go MIA….. and we all know that can happen. Upon completion of the installation, the thing that struck me instantly was not only how well everything fit together but how rigid and tight everything was. The parts are solid floating around your workbench on their own; once they’re put together, they’re good for life! Let’s face it, there’s absolutely no reason any intake assembly, once installed, should have any play or flex to it. Obviously the crew at S&B Filters is on the same wavelength as me. Well done guys!

Ease of Installation / Fit-n-finish: As I touched on before, if you follow the [outstanding] supplied installation instructions with real-time pics, as S&B has set out, then installation is an absolute breeze with no issues. This didn’t surprise me given my experience in the past with this manufacturer, but it’s always pleasing when your expectations are met. No problems whatsoever. Everything lines up well and fits together the way a non-OEM intake kit should. Not only that, but as mentioned above, everything is rigid and part A is made to fit part B and so forth. For example: where the intake tube’s mouth meets your fender-wall is a nice butted-up, tight/wedged fit up against that OEM sponge surround. It took me about 20MINS at best to install this intake once the OEM intake assembly was removed and discarded. A thorough once over immediately following the install revealed NO adjustments were necessary. Honest. Nothing but enjoy! It doesn’t get better than that, now does it?

Appearance: I’ll make this short and sweet. Show me another intake on the market that looks better, and turns more heads, than S&B Filter’s Cold Air Intakes… ? I’ll save you the time Googling. There is none. Photos do NOT do this intake justice. Ask any owner of S&B Cold Air Intakes and they’ll whistle the same tune. S&B Cold Air Intakes look a LOT better in person than they do in pictures… I sheet you not! The End.

MPG Gains: Way too early to determine, but this will be updated as time goes.

Performance & Sound: First performance: my butt-dyno registered obvious HP gains. Nothing that’s going to tear the track up, but we are speaking of a CAI only here; not a supercharger or the like. I took it for a good drive in town, along my back roads and I-295 for almost 80MILES round-trip. Throttle response is obvious at take-off. Throttle response is REALLY obvious at WOT cruising/ kick-back. The throttle seems to be noticeably more responsive when you hit it while cruising. I’ve always like this to be apparent because you never know when a Ford or Chevy may roll up on you, right? Sound: now this was the pleasant surprise for me and something I was honestly not expecting. Honestly, it’s almost worth purchasing this CAI just for the “throaty growl” under WOT that it screams out. It sounds a LOT better than any [and every] previous CAI I’ve owned. Let me give you an example: previously when I’d hit the throttle, my exhaust would send out sweet deep throaty tunes coming from BEHIND me. Now, however, that very sweet sound seems to be amplified and surrounds my truck from front to back. Love it! Keep in mind my exhaust is not OEM [see my sig] so take it for what it’s worth. An old-timer once told me “…. if you can hear the intake sucking in air, then your engine’s working efficiently and loving you for it.” You can most certainly hear the S&B intake sucking in air.

Cons: Yeah, after all that, there’s one [little] thing that doesn’t sit well with me. I’ll say up front that this is a personal preference as the next person may not see an issue and be perfectly fine with it. Some may even say it’s trivial. I absolutely hate the way the S&B engraved logo on the clear Plexiglas lid/cover has been placed on the outer edge of the lid [see pics below]. All other S&B CAI’s that I’ve had in the past, and seen, have had the logo engraved in the dead-center of the Plexiglas lid, which I thought looked awesome! You pop your hood and there it was, the S&B logo directly above the filter in dead center, which almost looked like it was floating in mid air. Why S&B Filters decided to take this route with this intake is beyond me. In fact, I painted the S&B logo on my GM’s lid the same color as the truck and it looked awesome, and many praised it and copied it. I was going to do the same thing with this one…. until I saw the logo’s positioning. Nah! Yeah, maybe I’m splitting hairs here but I know what I like and what [little] things don’t sit well with me. It’s certainly NOT a product deal breaker but I wish it was positioned in the center where I was expecting it to be. I’m sure S&B Filters have their reasons for changing the logo’s positioning, but if it was just a no-reason thing, then why change something that isn’t broke, right?

One last thing if you’re still awake: The intake comes with an air inlet drop tube [almost a scoop type but not quite] that hangs down well past the intake housing and is attached [you can see it it the pics]. S&B Filters provides a plug for this tube for those who may be concerned that [unwanted/unwelcomed] warm/hot air may be sucked into the throttle body. I did NOT install this plug as I see four credible reasons not to IMHO. One: as we all know, hot air will rise so it’s highly unlikely any standing hot engine compartment air in that region will hover around long enough to be sucked thru. Two: if for some reason that particular region does have standing hot air, the several crevices directly in front of this region [the grille/bumper/skirt/under-body area] will assure that it escapes quickly. Three: the more air you can get into and thru your intake, the merrier. Not plugging this inlet drop tube will guarantee that additional air – albeit minimal – will assist the main fender wall opening. But give the crew at S&B Filters credit where it’s due; at least they’re trying to cater for everyone and those people’s concerns by providing the plug. Kudos guys! The final reason for NOT installing the supplied plug is that horrible fender-wall opening Ram have used as the primary outside air supply for the intake. Have you seen it? If you don’t know what I’m speaking of, HERE BlackRamHemi speaks about it briefly and snaps a bunch of really good picture of it. Can you say “restrictive?” Another brain-fart on Ram’s behalf; pfftt… For that reason alone, leaving the plug off of the S&B CAI will assist in drawing much needed additional outside air, IMO.

If you’ve managed to get this far, then I thank you for taking the time to read. This is a damn fine system that ANYONE who owns the model Ram in question, and is the market for an after-market Cold Air Induction Intake, should SERIOUSLY consider taking a good hard look at. I hope my thread has helped you in some shape or form. I will give periodic updates over the coming months should anything change, or anything of the sort. The more miles I put into this, the better I’m going to have a feel for it. Anything out of the ordinary, good or bad, will be documented and updated in this thread. Ask any questions you want here [or PM me if you wish] and I’ll address them immediately upon viewing. If there’s a particular picture of the S&B CAI you want to see, or maybe a close-up of one part or another that I may have missed, I’ll be happy to accommodate and snap more pics for you. Just say the word. If I missed something, I apologise; bring it up and I’ll be more than happy to address it.

Grub out.

Now enjoy the pics [in no particular order] below…..









































 
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#10 ·
great review. thank you sir, i'm sold. don't know how well it would come through, but any chance of a short vid so we can hear it?
Thank you.

The video clip is going to be tough for two reasons.

One: I really doubt a clip will portray the sound from the S&B CAI I describe in my review. If I was to hold it outside, then it may pick of the intake's growl. However, I'm sure you'll be hearing more wind noise generated under WOT to capture an accurate description of the sound I speak of.

Two: I still do not own a video camera. Finances right now don't allow. I could snap something from my Driod, but I'm sure we'd both agree that wouldn't sound right.

Sorry.

Side note: Someone asked thru PM what the weather/temperature conditions outside were when I took it from a drive following the installation. The image below - snapped on my Droid while on 1-295 cruising at about 70MPH - shows the Ram's EVIC readout and the outside temperature it was reading. So conditions were [far] less than ideal. We had a high of 99-degrees today with a feels-like temperature of 107-degrees.

Yeah, like most of the country, we're also frying here.



 
#5 ·
:rep:Nice review! Reps your way! I love the thorough review you did and I am glad you are happy! How ever I will say that Vararam makes the best air intakes and are probably the best performing *Site supporters* IMO of course. They run a lot more than these but definitely are the most "Head turning" due to it going back to the old style carb look.

These are amazing looking intakes and I love that they are fully inclosed and look a lot less restricting than stock. No tunes how ever make the difference nothing but sound for now. I am thinking in the near future I will re-think my open box K&N CAI for this for sure! I appreciate the time you took for our forum to write this review and do so in a grammatically correct and unbiased way.

Thanks! :leghump::nutkick:
 
#6 ·
Definitely Rep Point for that review! You have actually made me want a CAI for the first time :)
 
#7 ·
Great review and pics. I think I am ready to order as soo as my rak rear and axle are back in. Already been 3 weeks of finger pointing so hopefully week 4 is bettr. think this is the one for me and all my cars have oil filter so that is the choice for me. thanks for the review and pics. very helpful I my decision
 
#9 ·
Looks awesome man. I can't wait till I get mine. (I pre-ordered mine with the dry filter which should ship any day now)

Happy to hear that the fitment is spot on. Since This units doesn't have any fitment problems I think its safe to say it has surpassed the volant as the best available CAI for the 4th gen . Glad I waited for its release.
 
#13 ·
Now that is real nice
 
#14 ·
S&B should have made their tube the same dia as Volant...i thought it lookd pretty cool until i saw the Volant's tube and now the S&B looks small...
 
#15 ·
If S&B Filter's testing - prior to consumer release - during the experimental phase called for a bigger tube from the throttle body to the filter box, and tests showed obvious gains, I have no doubt they would have implemented a larger intake tube.

There is such thing as "overkill."
 
#17 ·
then the 6" dia i have must be overkill...then again, not many as fast as i am an i need as much air volume as i can get..the s&b would be like breathing through a straw..for me. will probably work great for the masses of less modded trucks..

 
#19 ·
then the 6" dia i have must be overkill...then again, not many as fast as i am an i need as much air volume as i can get..the s&b would be like breathing through a straw..for me. will probably work great for the masses of less modded trucks..


:smileup: Hey! That looks like mine! Only red... I always heard "Bigger is Better!". I had another CAI on before this one that had a 3 1/2" tube and this one definitely kicks it in the ass!

 
#20 · (Edited)
Awesome write up Grubrunner! :rep: I'm glad you like it and hope it performs to your expectations over time. :smileup: Hopefully at some point they will come out with a programmer for th '11 -'12's at some point so you can take full advantage of it.
 
#21 ·
Here's the thing about the S&B Cold Air Intake reviewed here and those similar: For those of us who mildly modify their trucks for performance with off-the-shelf products then, as chefred112 touched on, these types of CAI's are more than sufficient for the cause and will perform very well. With a [quality] catback exhaust, a canned tune and [maybe] a larger throttle body, these types of intakes are well suited to these applications and perform more than adequately.

Once you start going well beyond these "basic" bolt-on performance modifications, then yes, alternate routes are [strongly] encouraged and advised. But forums like this and experience and/or word-of-mouth over the years has taught me that most people do NOT go this route. They're more than content with the gains achieved with your basic modifications.

Now this is my opinion only but I'm sure manufacturers like S&B Filters, K&N Intakes, Volant, AEM etc, will agree.
 
#22 ·
During my email exchange with them a couple of weeks ago, while they don't beleive in posting dyno results since there is no set conditions all manufactures use to get accurate comparisons. He did say this intake outflowed the volant kit, even with it's smaller tubing.
 
#23 ·
Of course they will say theirs are better....wouldn't you? Like mentioned ealier without tuning your not getting any real noticeable hp gains with any CAI for OUR 11's and up.
 
#24 ·
Well no, a manufacture can't out right claim to out flow or any of those things over other companies without data to back it up, or companies like volant can go after them for fake claims.

Not that easy when dealing with larger companies like that...

ANYWAYS... It's a very nice intake and a great review and will for sure be a near future mod for me
 
#25 ·
Not gonna sit here and argue with you but you don't know jack....you contradict yourself.
 
#26 ·
How so? I said they dont show dyno's because due to conditions and different dyno's results can always vary, by a lot which is completely true. Flow testing procedures are done in controlled enviroments and generally pretty accurate... this really isn't that hard to figure out if you have ever done some in depth reading into testing intakes.

but sure, lets go with your theory i know nothing and best of luck. Luckily most on this forum aren't as rude as you
 
#28 ·
Awesome!

Let us know if you feel the same way I do.

And yes, please post pics.
 
#29 ·
Got the install done but only had 10 minutes to go down the road and back. Throttle response is greatly improved. The sound is nice as well.....not overly loud on startup and 1/4 throttle but definetly has a growl to it at 3/4-wot. Can definetly feel a improvement in overall performance. Very pleased with the setup and will write more when I get off work in the morning.
 

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