Yesterday I bit the bullet and got my new 2012 1500. I love this thing! Definitely getting a cat back from magna, and a cold air induction kit. The Question I have before I do so is the hood on it has air dams built into it.
Is there any kind of induction kit that will utilize these?







This is the truck in question. Now the air dams do not have openings, but I can always buy inserts for it. Also which CAI do you all suggest? I've been looking into the Air Raid version over K and N. Thoughts? Thanks in advance guys, and I'm super glad to be part of the club!

 

Search in this forum regarding the CAI questions. I think most folks agree that for the 4th gen rams that they either do nothing or make the performance worse. You do get more noise though if that is what you are into.

 

You can make them functional with a sawzall. Then get one of those dual short ram intake kits off ebay. Wont do you any good, but it will look and sound cool.

 

Agreed on what he said. A CAI on a stock 4th gen will offer ZERO increase in power or fuel economy. Some models of CAI's can actually hurt performance due to an increase in intake temps due to metal tubing or removal of the factory intake location near the fenderwell.

A CAI will only produce an increase in power if you have headers, ported heads, larger throttle body and a free flow exhaust. Otherwise it will do nothing more then make your engine compartment louder and allow more dirt into your engine.

And don't waste your money on K&N filters either. K&N or any brand of foam type filter will not filter dirt better then paper. It's a documented fact. And the argument that you will save money since you can clean it vs. buying paper is also false. Here it is broken down:

The typical reccomended filter change interval is 30,000 miles. Less if you drive in severe conditions but if you did then i would certainly not want a filter with less filtering ability (Foam based)

You can buy a quality paper filter for as little as $12.00. Total time to change the filter is less then 60 seconds. Take it out and throw it away, drop in a new one. Done. No cleaners, no hose, no re-oiling, no mess, no chance of over-oiling.

K&N for the factory airbox runs around $55.00 A recharge kit goes for about $10.00

So for a K&N to "pay for itself" under normal use you would be reaching 170,00 miles and have literally spent several hours of your life cleaning and re-oiling a filter that on a stock (or near stock truck) offers zero increase in power, engine protection or MPG.

The stock induction supplies more air then your truck can use. Any changes you make are worthless. Even a cat back exhaust will give such a small HP increase that it will not even be noticeable. But if you like the sound, then go for it.

 

Wow. I've looked on the forums alot today, and alot of people were saying that the air raid, and a magnaflow helped them with gas efficiency/power. I've yet to see any actual tests that were conducted to prove this one way or the other though so I'll take that with a grain of salt. Do any of you have any links to any dyno tests that proved it one way or the other with a stock system? I'll continue looking, and will post whatever results I find. I'm also reading that most chips are actual garbage as well. I'll continue researching this as well. Thanks.

 

Google CAI myth and you will find tons of links.

 

Kids always say that when they have wasted money making their toys louder, the butt dyno lies


Think of it this way - the auto manufactures spend millions of dollars trying to eek out more power and fuel mileage. If they could put $2.00 worth of junk plastic on a vehicle in a slightly different configuration to magically increase performance and economy - don't you think they would?


Now with some of the tuners it is possible to get more power, the manufacturers make decisions about engine longevity and fuel economy that you can second think and actually increase the power.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. That is why i laugh when i see all these ridiculous add-ons claiming to give noticeable improvements in HP and MPG. Arguably the two biggest selling points when it comes to buying a truck (after size and features) is HP and MPG. Many people will go with one brand over another if it means even slightly higher numbers on one or both of those fields. So if things like fuel line magnets, Throttle body spacers, CAI's, high flow air filters, special exhaust tips and even simple tunes would dramatically raise those numbers then Dodge would be adding them right from the factory. When designing a new engine or complete vehicle making changes like that are simple.

The issue mainly comes from the fact that a long time ago many of the "bolt-ons" actually did make noticeable improvements. Many cars did have restrictive intakes and exhausts, metal intake manifolds that would transmit heat to carburetor and tunes that favored fuel economy over power or power over fuel economy. But manufacturers caught up with the aftermarket companies and and made changes that make the majority of these add-ons redundant. They now oversize the intake systems to supply all the air the engine will need. Intake manifolds are plastic now and fuel is introduced practically at the heads. So plastic throttle body spacers serve no purpose. Exhaust have been opened up and high flow catalytic converters are standard.

Cold Air Induction or CAI's are hands down the king of false advertising for our generation of vehicles for both cars and trucks. First and foremost a true CAI draws air from OUTSIDE the engine compartment. That can only be accomplished through intakes in the hood, under the bumper or in the fenderwell. VERY few companies offer true CAI kits because even if a vehicle has an option to engineer one (you need room for ducting) it usually requires a lot of fabrication for brackets, tubing and baffles which means a higher price. It also means typically a lot of labor that can be above the ability of a backyard mechanic. It also can create major issues in heavy rain for obvious reasons. So most of these CAI kits are total nonsense. All they are is a less restrictive tube (in some instances) with a large filter and maybe a piece of sheet metal to give you the illusion that it's keeping heat away from the filter. It's a scam. Your engine compartment gets hot with the hood closed. If the filter is sucking air in from under the hood it's in no way "Cold". The air is not magically cold in one corner of your engine compartment. It's not even cooler. And steer clear of any kit with metal tubing. Plastic has far better insulating properties then metal. All these kits do on modern vehicles is make the sound of your engine more noticeable and that leads to people believing that it's more powerful.

People like to point out that Mopar sells CAI kits now. This is true. But it's not some sort of admission that they really work. They are simply cashing in on what dozens of aftermarket companies are doing. They are trying to take some of that market share back and making a profit off of people who are suckers for advertising. But the Mopar kits are awful. They use metal tubing (metal heats up quickly to engine compartment temps and transmits that heat into the intake air) and they are not true CAI's anyhow because the filters suck air in from the engine compartment. Also take note, the Mopar kits come with a dry filter, not K&N style or oiled filters. Because it's been proven that foam and oiled gauze filters are not as effective at filtering and oiled filters can (not always) cause sensor issues on engines.

Also stop and realize what you drive. You drive a commercially produced truck that was not designed for racing in any way. Not a top fuel dragster or NASCAR racer. In those cases every little minute detail is addressed to squeeze out as much power as possible to give you a competitive edge because winning a race can mean millions of dollars in the long run. And in professional motorsports many engines are completely rebuilt after a few races at most if not after even only one. Your truck (and correct me if i'm wrong) is your daily driver that you will be driving on public roads to and from work and for personal business, right? How much additional power over what your truck has now do you really NEED? I am on my third Ram and am currently driving an 11' Hemi. It is 100% stock engine wise and it has more power then i'll ever need. I commute on the highway daily and other then trying to pass a true sports car who won't let me by i have never felt "Damn!, i need more power". More power (unless your towing) really only opens you up for the following. 1, Lower MPG (If you are adding 20+ HP your fuel economy will not stay the same or get better, simple physics). 2, Increased wear on everything! (Brakes, tires, driveline, etc.) and 3, The potential for speeding tickets and accidents. I have no interest in any of that.

I put a free flow muffler in my 06' Hemi because i wanted it to be louder. Not because i needed more power. And i saw no difference whatsoever in MPG or power with the new muffler. But the truck sure sounded a lot more powerful.

Agreed as well. The current tuners on the market absolutely do make a difference. I have taken rides in plenty of people's trucks and was very impressed by the gains achieved through pressing a few buttons. No tools required, you don't even need to pop the hood. The only reason i have not bought one is A, I don't need any more power and B, I want my truck to last at least 5 more years and close to 200k miles.

But in my opinion a tuner is without question the most bang for your buck. The least amount of labor with by far the biggest performance gain.

 

I mostly agree, but there are situations where it wouldn't be the case that a manufacturer would try to eek out every last HP. You acknowledged it in your paragraph about tuners. Manufacturers design things within the specifications they want, and some of that includes things like longevity and fuel economy. I'd say as many people compare a vehicle's fuel economy as they do its horsepower. So it is a balancing act.

I'm not defending CAIs really, since I have no idea how well they work. I'm just saying that you can't dismiss them outright and think that their mere existence is ridiculous because "if things like fuel line magnets, Throttle body spacers, CAI's, high flow air filters, special exhaust tips and even simple tunes would dramatically raise those numbers then Dodge would be adding them right from the factory". There may be reasons why they would not.

Tuners definitely do offer some improvements for the RAM 1500, at least with the Hemi. I've seen them firsthand, and they are not insignificant. And, perhaps, when using a tuner a CAI (and other things like exhaust mods) may complement them and offer more value than they do for a stock engine.

Rob

 

I'm more interested in getting a bit more Gpm out of it. I already inflated my tires by 5 psi more, and that actually made me hit 14 gpm instead of slightly lower. so basically a .5 gpm difference. I'm thinking I might have to get a tuner. This thing has plenty of power, but I'd like to have the ability to increase the fuel effieceny mon-fri, and have it set up to be more fun for the weekend type of deal. I do have to say I LOVE this damn truck. I'm possibly going to get the magnaflow anyway just due to it sounds so damn good. Not so much louder as deeper more throaty sound. I'm going to install a nav/rear camera for sure further down the line, and i'm looking into picking up some door trim for the inside, and a glove box for the passenger side as well. I'm also planning on installing lighting for the front seat/under dash area since the single light just leaves way too much dim areas in the truck. It's going to be super fun that's for sure.