I am looking at buying a cold air intake for my ram 2001 1500, but there seems to be a lot of choices for the truck... I have broken it down to AEM and K&N. Do you guys have a preferance, or experience with one of these two cold air intake options??

 

I hear that putting in a cold air intake, though giving you more power, shortens the life of your engine. Im no expert though.

 

read through this https://dodgeforum.com/m_853431/tm.htmtheres a link in there to another form u may wanna read into also. Personally i went with the 14x3, didnt trya cai kit everyone says open air filter is better. and much cheaper

 

Niether...AEM draws hot engine air, and K&N is prone to cracking, is complex, and takes up space. I have a modified K&N system.
I'd recommend the Air max or the one Maddog racing sells on ebay. Both take in cold air from the factory hole, are well built and don't use a lot of complicated bracketry or space filling baffling.

I have almost 120K on my motor, almost a third of that with the FIPK installed. That's on and offroad driving.

 

If you do go with a CAI, AEM is a far superior setup when compared to the K and N

 

I went with the K&N and I am happy with it so far.
Here is a pic of it installed.
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...t=101_1273.jpg

 

A lot of us have gone this way.
A cleaner look & works well.
https://dodgeforum.com/m_613741/tm.htm

Mine


[IMG]local://upfiles/64457/8CD8185FC0D34890B5146F83F9AF1878.jpg[/IMG]

 

Well firstly, thank you for all your imput everyone, it's all good stuff. This is my standpoint on the cold air intake situation though, I'd like to buy a kit, I really do not want to have to modify anything. Is K&N bad your saying because it takes up a lot of room? Why is AEM superior to K&N as well? Also, for the Airmax, does it have more power because it follows the stock hole? I just want to make sure I pick the right kit that is going to maximize power. I am having a nice exhaust system put in this next coming monday (magnaflow hi-flow cat, flowmaster super 44 muffler, and dual 90 degree sweeps with 22" long magnaflow tips)..so I do expect to pick up a nice gain from the system, but would like a cold air intake that is going to complement the new exhaust system best. What are your opinions on this proposal, for a kit?

 

I have heard rumors about some of the cold air intakes cracking when in extreme cold. I haven't experienced it myself.

I have magnaflow dual exhaust and when I put on my K&N air intake the diffrence was immediately noticeable.

From a performance standpoint the AEM intake is rated at 8.6hp gain and the K&N is rated at 11.83. Not a big diffrence so its just personal preference.

 

aem will give you more power, it is a dry filter, which will allow more air into the engine, and no possiblity of getting oil from the filter(like the k&n). Also you get that sweet bling factor of the polished aluminum. Also the theory of your engine not lasting as long if you add a cia is partially true becuase your allowing more and and more particles of dust into the engine...but honestly it's not going to make or break your engine