Ok so since i have checked the basics on my truck trying to figure out what i can only get 10 mpg, i am entertaing the idea of addinga cold air intake. I dont want to fork out over 250 for one though. I got on ebay and found this kit, now i can pretty well figure that the filter that comes with the kit is junk so id have to guy a new kn but what about the plumbing for it? from the pics it looks like the kn kit, but i dont know... let me know what you all think.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...=p4506.c0.m245

 

To me it looks like a HAI - Hot Air Intake. It may be more free flowing than stock, but you're using hot air in the engine compartment. It would probably lower HP and cause knocking.

This like kinda proves it's crap:
" A 3" diameter T-306 heat-resisting Chrome Polished Aluminum Intake Tube"

Aluminum is not heat resistant. It is actually a great conductor of heat which is why it's used for computer heatsinks. It would get hot fast and heat up all that already-hot air passing through it.

The stock plastic intake is probably more heat resistant than this one.

 

hmm hadnt thought of it that way might but for 13 bucks it could be modified to run through the opening for the stock air flow

 

That would probably work. For best results wrap the pipe with exhaust header tape. It would look kinda ugly, but it would keep the air cold and dense.

 

Hmm, sounds a lot like the silly 14x3 air cleaner's the kids around here swear about.


Shh don't tell anyone.

 

The point of the 14x3 is to suck in more air, period, not make it colder. That was never the point with it. It does improve HP, did on my 318 Dakota (I had the K&N Gen I air intake kit, but same thing, only overpriced. ).

The best setup is a ram air setup, from the hood or from the front bumper, like the Volant, or probably even better...
http://www.ramairbox.com/index.html

 

Did you put your Dakota on a Dyno? If not, Shens.

 

just use a k&n drop in.i had the drop in before i got the whole intake, and i never seen any gains hp or mpg on the butt dyno. just a big sucking noise. sounds like a 4-barrel. waste of 250$ in my opinion.

 

Both Ford and GM have recently added about 10 modifications
to their pickups to create 'SFE' versions
that get better MPG

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/off-brand-news-concepts-and-rumors/172908-small-tweaks-boost-mpg-say-automakers.html

Notice that neither company
(nor Toyota nor Dodge on the 2009 Ram)
have added a CAI
and publicly written in their advertising
that this CAI helps?

That is because at normal "part-throttle" engine running
whether the air filter is clean/dirty/high flow/restrictive
does not matter at all.

If this shocks your
'better breathing'
idea about how engines operate,
improve your knowledge to current levels, and
study up on how throttles affect engines
as regards fuel economy.

This has been further supported by actual 'real world' tests at Consumer's Reports magazine, and by repected advice columnist Marlan Davis at Hot Rod Magazine.

Don't be another sucker who wastes $60 to $400
on a CAI
especially one who puts this on a credit card that already has a balance.

If reading this upsets you
about something you have already bought,
just be grateful
that you have not fallen for another bit of seriously bad knowledge,
like the tens of millions of men your age in Africa
who believe that having sex with a virgin
will cure then of the HIV virus that causes AIDS

Don't forget that you and a friend can test this for yourself
with a new clean filter
and a seriously dirty filter (or a new one duct taped half closed)
on two Ram trucks run 'convoy style'
in a TMC/SAE type MPG test
similar to what Mythbusters TV does

Spend your money on the dozens of mods that do improve MPG
in careful tests

 

The butt dyno felt it. Many people here with their butt dynos love it. I have no clue whether or not a drop-in K&N in the stock CAI will do as good a job, as I don't think anyone has compared it on the same truck. But I know its usually better than the stock setup.

I never do upgrades for mpg, except for perhaps an economy tune with a tuner.