They wouldnt change the name lol Its a Poll for CAIs to see what everyone has lol we have just Hijacked it big time

 

great in depth read drew, thanks. That makes a lot of sense. Now whenever someone has an exhaust question, we will all paste this link...

 

thanks fellas, but to be honest there is a LOT more to it than that, it's just easier to explain when certain factors are ignored..

an engine has a peak HP and Torque, usually below it's rev limit, for one.. an engine doesn't rely on back pressure, ever.. or shouldn't.. it relies on valve events to clear the air or pull air in by design.. back pressure hurts an engine because it hampers it's designed function based on it's valve event timing.. it's the opening size or velocity of air allowed by the valves that SHOULD determine how much air, and when the air arrives, and how much air and when air is released.. smaller valves have greater velocity of air traffic, while larger valves have less velocity at a given RPM.. the air volume is dang near the same.. larger valves are found in engines built for top end, or where the velocity of air at higher RPM's matches the velocity of air movement found at lower RPM's with the smaller valves.. the smaller valves will never be able to produce the volume of flow of the bigger ones if the velocity is matched.. the smaller ones allow the velocity of air to be the restriction, creating that vacuum, which sucks the piston back up in assistance to the mechanical rotation, which in turn allows the revs to happen faster.. hence, bottom end.. the bigger valves allow the same thing to happen, but much higher in the RPM range (to match velocity), which is why they produce the bulk of their power on the high end..

anyway, back to CAI...

I have a real one.. yes, I'm bragging.. but I'm going to tell you why it can be a bad thing, too...

I run a goodhood scooped hood, which chambers ambient air to a box, which is insulated.. yes, I insulated it just 'to see'.. The tube running to the hat is also insulated, and has the AIT in it right in the hat.. Shoot me, I was bored one day..

I see intake temps around 10* hotter than ambient temperatures while sitting still.. at highway speeds, I see them as much as 40* cooler.. I hooked up Torque (the android app) and away I went.. I've recorded engine temperatures around 182~185* consistently, and intake temperatures as low as 20*.. you'd think that would translate to more power, no?

what it translated to was stupid high short term fuel trims, which in turn translated to stupid high long term fuel trims.. like, +15~20% depending on environmental conditions of the particular day.. the wideband a/f records near stoich burn, but the injectors are working overtime to supply fuel.. results: PCM monitors kick back down to twitchy open/closed loop functions..

So, in the summer, I use a tune that pulls 8% duty cycle (how long the injectors are open) from the fuel tables.. and I run stoich and keep decent fuel trims (single digit %'s).. in the winter I run a tune that doesn't reduce injector pulse.. I run stoich and keep decent fuel trims..

the fuel trims are important, but not as important as the a/f ratio.. it's more important to run soich (14.7:1), but if your injectors are stressed out to maintain that, then your parameters for maintaining it is reduced.. that isn't good.. you want that buffer, which is expressed in fuel trims..

if you could run 0% STFT and LTFT, and be at 14.7:1 a/f, then you are a deity that should be working for nascar.. perfection, in other words..

if you have less restricted air intake, you'll improve economy because the engine doesn't have to work so hard to get that air.. that is what a commercial CAI actually is attempting to do, damn what the name implies.. . If you have true cold air (but non-forced) intake, you'll have more power because of denser air- but you'll impact your economy in a negative way, because more volume of air needs more fuel- you'll have more power, though, because the volume of air going through your engine has increased.. slightly more, not a whole lot, but more nonetheless.. if you have a true cold air intake with little restriction, you may want to monitor your fuel trims- because you may be taxing the injectors (which can trip a code if above +20%, or below -20%) and making your engine make huge adjustments too often to actually maintain stoich..

moral of the story: in this instance, trust mother mopar and the engineers.. you're not going to make a big difference with cold air intakes (unless you go to an extreme like I did), and you're not going to decrease intake restrictions enough to make a difference either (unless you go to extremes like I did).. and if you do, you're going to open a can of worms with fuel trims and engine monitoring/fuel delivery that you are likely going to start loathing in short order- and all for a handful of ponies that don't impact everyday driving..

wanna REALLY have fun? force air induction.. as in boost.. either turbo or s/c.. then provide super cool air to it via insulated and isolated intake port (outside vehicle), and watch an exponential increase in needed catalyst (fuel)..... at least you'll be smiling at the gas station whilst you're pumping, though, right?

 

Interesting.

I noticed when I removed my Hat that I had a definite difference in performance (e.g. less downshifting on highway hills, etc). I haven't measured my actual MPG, but my overhead display went from a solid 14.1 to a new high of 14.8 (I didn't change my driving habits - just about 60MPH with cruise control).

I kept the stock filter box and just ran a direct line from the filter box to the throttle body. No more air swirling around in the hat and more noise. I kinda like the noise, too

 

yessir.. sounds like you eliminated restrictions, which allows the motor access to that air without a fight.. which increases economy.. now, if you truly cool that air down a substantial amount, you'll further increase power, but you'll lose the economy you created by eliminating restriction.. denser air is more compact and 'more' air in the same volume as hot air occupying the same space; and it needs more fuel to maintain stoich..

we're back to that dang balance thing, again.. no?

 

Makes sense to me.

 

I own a Spectre HPR CAI. It does actually increase your miles per gallon and horsepower.

 

Some people will see MPG gains along with Power gains, if you would really like to perfect that CAI a Programmer should be in your future.
But be happy you got MPGs and power

 

Just got my Volant put in today...Haven't been able to gauge difference in fuel economy yet, of course, but she's definitely snappier right out of the driveway. I do like the looks of the volant, and that it's completely enclosed.

 

Unfortunately you basically threw about 250 down the drain with the Volant as you could have created a similar set up with the stock air box, K&N drop in filter and an AirRaid Jr. tube from the box directly to the TB. And you would have seen about the same gains as well but for a fraction of the cost. It amazes me that people still want to go out and pay 300+ dollars for a dang CAI