Well it sounds like the K&N has cracking issues and is a room hog. AEM has nice looks going for it, but has low h/p ratings. Can someone find me links to a Airmax or a AFE cold air intake for me? I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.9L v8. I just want to make sure I pick the best cold air intake, one that will not "crack", or take up a lot of room, and one that is going to produce the most horsepower! Thanks!

 

It is a very common trick
in the magazine reviews
for the paper filter to be old,
and even have the vehicle run on a dusty road
behind another vehicle to clog up the paper filter
before it is 'before' dyno tested
and compared 'after' to the new CAI.

The people 'rigging' the dyno tests this way
can even read the MAP sensor on the vehicle to be tested
and keep clogging the paper filter with road dust
and use the MAP sensor reading to predict what horsepower
the new CAI will show when it is tested.

For the 2nd Gen Ram you have two air intake options:
...if on the cheap find an air box from a 1994-1996 Ram 15 passenger Van.
This is a different design with a round 'old fashioned' filter that is easy to modify to double inlet hose.

If you are willing to pay more
this expensive unit is similar:

http://ramairbox.com/

With any air intake modification
you can always find out whether it improved anything
by reading your IAT (intake air temperature)
and MAP (manifold absolute pressure).
If the IAT does not go down
and the MAP does not go up....nothing was improved.

Page 415 of the Bosch Automotive Handbook, 5th edition

http://tinyurl.com/yplr3d

has the two equations you need
to see how horsepower and torque change
when either temperature or pressure change.

For temperature the offical equation
used by Americans (SAE) Europeans (ISO) and Japanese (JIN)
is:

{ Temperature Before + 460/Temperature After +460} raised to exponent 0.6

you need a scientific calculator to do this
but there is one built into every Windows computer
under Start...Accessories

As an example,
say that your re-locate your air inlet to a spot where the air temperature
drops to 80 degrees
when before the air coming in had been 100 degrees.

{100 +460 divided by 80 + 460} raised to exponent 0.6

={560/540} raised to exponent 0.6

= {1.037} raised to exponent 0.6

= 1.022

You mulitply this number times your horsepower or torque
so if your engine.
If your engine makes 230 hp at peak
1.022 times 230 = 235 horsepower with the 20 degree lower air temperature.

You may have heard the 'Rule of Thumb' that each 10 degree F reduction in air
temperature improves horsepower by 'about' 1% and the equation above is where
that comes from, but is more accurate

For corrections when the pressure changes
the following equation is used:

{absolute pressure after/absolute pressure before} raised to exponent 1.2

As an example
say that the weather is changing where you live
and one day the weatherman says the pressure is
29.5 inches of Mercury as a stormy "Low" passes over
then the next day a clear sky "High Pressure Area" passes over
and the pressure rises to 30 inches of Mercury

{30/29.5} raised to exponent 1.2
{1.0169} raised to exponent 1.2
= 1.0204

Pressure is measured many ways.
14.7 psi is the same as
404 inches of water
29.9 inches of mercury
1013 millibar

You can use any of the pressures in the above equation.

For example, say you are driving around on a dusty road
and find that your nearly clogged paper air filter is creating
20 inches of water restriction
{this is the upper line on the Cummins Ram 'filter minder'}

How much horsepower would be shown as a gain if you
put on a fresh clean aftermarket CAI that had 4 inches water restriction?

[ (404-4)/(404-20) ] raised to exponent 1.2

[400/384] raised to exponent 1.2

[1.0417] raised to exponent 1.2

= 1.05
or a 5% gain,
which on a 245 hp engine would be
1.05 times 245 = 257 hp
or a 12 hp gain