Hey guys I was wanting to know if a CAI was really worth it. Leaning more towards an S&B. I have heard really good things about them so I came here hoping that you guys could answer my own question for me. Should I or should I not? Only "performance" upgrades I have are a Bully Dog GT and Cherry Bomb Extreme muffler.

 

Unless the truck has extensive mods such as headers, ported heads, high flow throttle body, cam, etc you will not flow any more than the stock setup. So no performance gain there. As for "cold air"? The majority of the systems marketed under that name are not flowing cold air at all, in fact many flow air that is hotter than the stock system because they are putting the filter in the engine compartment air and using metal tubing which transmits heat more than plastic.

A true cold air kit will draw air from outside the engine compartment. That means under the front bumper, through the hood or through the fenderwell. The S&B system does use a duct to draw air from outside the compartment. But if you look at any other system that has a filter that is open to the engine compartment, then you are not getting cold air. Even if they include some goofy "baffle" that they claim will shield the filter from the heat of the engine compartment air.

Aside from that fact you will not get any noticeable gain in power using these systems on a stock truck, you are opening yourself up to allowing dirt into your engine. It's a proven and well documented fact that cotton gauze type filters do NOT filter air better than paper filters. Sure, they FLOW more air than paper but with that increased air comes dirt too. When you consider that the factory airbox/paper filter setup flows more air than a stock 5.7 can use, you will have a better understanding of how other than noise, these systems are not going to do anything from a performance standpoint.

 

Sweet. Thanks for the info man. Well detailed description that they are not worth the money on a pretty much stock truck. I don't know that you had to have upgrades that big to notice a difference with one! Now, what about a K&N drop in filter? I kind of already know that there won't be a power difference based on what you said about the CAI. Same thing? Puts the engine more at risk of getting dirt in it? Would I at least notice an MPG difference?

 

I would say save your money on the K&N drop in filter as well. I'd take better filtration (paper) over the oiled "performance" filters...never been a big fan of oil in my intake. If you saw 1-1.5 mpg improvement with a K&N I'd be surprised.

What is the ultimate goal you are looking to achieve with your intake/performance?

 

All they are good for is noise. It amazes me how many people drop $300-400 on one of these things thinking they are magically going to improve mileage/performance. Yes, I have them on my cars and trucks, but I buy the cheap ebay/amazon versions. I just like the sound they make, and thats all they do is make noise.

 

Car and Truck manufacturers are incorporating all the little details to squeeze out extra power and MPG's that aftermarket companies used to specialize in. Other than doing major mods and a programmer, their are few, if any "simple" bolt ons that will give you gains. A programmer is by far the easiest and most effective way to get more power and potentially better MPG's. But air filters systems and mufflers on stock trucks more than anything simply make your truck louder. That's it. You are not going to see anything else. Psychologically maybe, but in reality? no.


See my above post. The stock airbox/paper filter setup on your truck flows more air than your truck can even use. So you will see no gains in HP or MPG by putting a K&N (Or any other "high flow" filter). What you will do is allow more dirt into your engine and turn what would be a $15.00 and 2 minute air filter replacement job every 30,000 miles into a 1 hour+ (taking into account drying time) process of cleaning the K&N and re-oiling it. And to the people who claim that you can save money by going with a K&N since it's reusable? Do the math on the cost vs the 30k recommended air filter change duration. After 140,000 miles the K&N will pay for itself. But you will still have spent literally hours of your life cleaning and re-oiling it vs throwing the paper one way and dropping in a new one.

 

Complete waste of money period. and stay with original Mopar air filter , why do people think aftermarket is better than OE.

 

Okay. Yeah I have never really liked the idea of having to oil my filter. And I just want a couple more MPG and a little better acceleration/response.

 

Sweet. Thanks for the info guys! It's been really helpful. You basically just helped me save $300. Lol I will just stick with the OEM Mopar filter!

 

I've always had really good luck with Purolator filters for what it's worth.