It should run WAY better at that temp range because now, your A/F mix, your injector pulse width, your coil pulse, and your timing are all being controlled and constantly fine-tuned in real time. You will be seeing good gas mileage as well vs. running in open loop mode 100%. In that mode, your fuel use goes way up, the timing is not being controlled, your injectors are not being controlled by the ECU and your coil on / off pulses are not going to be fine tuned and in sync over the RPM range as your driving thus resulting in a gas hog and running so-so.

 

This is all great information to know. Thank-you. I install the K&N back just to see if it was just a fluke. Sure enough runs like crap and temps went to mid. I hope when I get my new 14x3 it doesn't do this.

 

guess that show's how much cooler and more air flow you get with the k&n filter.(otherwaise I diont understand how it could make any difference?).... .... mines running like **** when I first start it lately with it being so cold out....and I have a cai too....hmmm

 

IDK maybe K&N=crap in cold weather. I gave it to the kid down the street for his truck but he got an 14x3 instead. If the 14x3 causes any problems, I'll stick with the stock. It is just weird how CA would causes my engine to run like crap and my temps run at 165. I am going with what cmckenna explained, make sense to me.

It was just by chance when I remove the CA to sell on ebay, which lead to better temp. AND got better engine performance with stock air setup.

 

Let me just state for the record here that K&N's CAI did not work on my truck either. It ran like total junk. I did not measure the air flow but, I suspect a air flow mismatch of incoming air resistance. Same thing happens when I ran with a 14" air hat- it simply did not work on my truck at all. I also had the same symptoms when running the OEM intake w/o a filter. I was in a hurry one day and forgot to include a filter. Started up rough and ran rough. I couldn't figure it out at first. Until, I saw the filter on the bench. Sure enough, that was the root cause.

Now, I am no expert on incoming air flow vs the exhaust output but, usually, input and output relationships have a co-dependence to one another and, there's a balancing out that must be maintained to provide proper working conditions.

Now, I suspect that there's just not enough resistance with K&N filters or, it was just a high flow filter intended to be used with larger engines requiring more air flow. More output needs more airflow vs a smaller engine which requires less flow at the intake.

Now, I had no issues when using a K&N in the OEM intake. That worked out fine for me so long as it was well oiled. It was only with their CAI with the heat shield - (short length pipe) that gave me troubles. To be honest, I still have no idea why. I just dumped it and got another from a different company. I never looked into what the root cause of that was.

 

how you liking that volant anyways? when i get some spare cash i want to get either one of those or a AEM Brute force

 

I really like it to be honest. I never liked CAIs and was used to old school air hats. The truck ran fine with the OEM intake and, with this one, it runs great as well. I was impressed with the design overall and the quality of the composite materials. It's really solid as a rock. There's a large filter basket that's really solid and heavy duty. The fit was excellent. The filter basket alignment was fine as was the alignment location for the mechanical retention fastener that is used to secure it to the fender. Whoever did the design work really went through to ensure form fit and function. I personally like a product that is well designed and well made. Highly recommended. The one I went with has the ram air feature. They have a couple models. I don't have the one with the see through box or a square filter box. The one I have is an oval shaped filter enclosure that has a ram air port facing the front of the vehicle. It's also smog legal in all 50 states which makes it a non issue at time of inspection.

 

i think you have just sold me on it, ive talked to more than one person about the volant and theyve all said how well it was designed, i like the AEM system though without oiling the filter, but i could just get a filter though

 

It still makes no sense that the k&n cai could have an effect on the temp and the running rough.(unless it was restricting airflow somehow which it unlikely) Maybe if you have a modded opened up throttle body an its too large for you engine setup? The goal of the air filter is to provide the least restricted clean air flow of the coolest air possible...The throttle body should be the regulating restriction in the system. like a venturi in a carb system...It just makes no sense?
and if that is the case that our truck required restricted air flow from the filter why are people installing higher flow throttle bodies and doing kegger mods and such?
I guess maybe if you exhaust is half plugged and really restrictive?

 

The thing is, that, one just doesn't go out and change out the TB bore size to a larger size for no reason. There's a spec for those sizes and, if and when you order a TB they will ask you some questions about your engine to determine the PROPER TB size. It's not just a matter of buying a larger size just because you can. Sure, you can stick on a six pack of 57s, but, your going to have major problems if it's not matched to what your putting out.

Same with fuel lines. Sure, you can stick a -12 AN line on but, your going to have a flow rate issue as a result.

Same with exhaust systems. Sure, it's possible to put on a huge, diesel-sized setup on a stock 318 setup but, it's not going to work very well. Again, there's a mismatch.

The same is to be had for airhats. This is why those filters are rated for certain flows and why they have listings for flow rates. By using the wrong flow rated filter, there is a chance of creating a mismatch.

The art of minimizing resistance is applied to those parts that are spec'd out to a certain setup. But, to change the TB bore size from a 50MM to a 58MM and apply that to a stock 318, there's going to be an air flow mismatch.

What you'll end up with is too much air thus leaning out the fuel mix. Now, the ECU has to dump way more fuel into the mix to balance that out or your going to end up running way too lean for too long thus causing a misfire condition. So, if it's running leaner due to more airflow, it's not burning as much fuel, thus, the engine does not run as hot as it's not burning as hot. This is where that comes into lowering the engine temp.

Any modification / deviation from OEM affects something else and, one must be aware of this and look ahead and think about the impact it will have on the others system/s involved.