i have been paying alot of attention to the cold air intake posts as i really would like to get one. i also would like to keep as much money in my pocket as possible so i can purchase other upgrades like cab lights and a chip. we talk about cheaper brands not as good as k&n, airaid, or others, isn't an intake kit nothing more than a tube that runs from the throttle body to a point in the front of the motor to take advantage of the best fresh air available as long as it doesnt collect water or mud? it seems as long as it is made out of something that does not conduct heat or restrict air what is the difference between name brand or plain label? if your material is chromed looks is what your after, plastic would conduct less heat, so performance would be a plastic one. the size of the opening or restrictions would be a bigger factor as well as placement of anysensors that would be attached to the factory set up. do you think a homemade or plain label will work as good as a name brand, if you agree with my line of thought. sorry for the lengthof this post i told you i was thinking about this for a while. lol

 

only difference is the name and the name brands use better filters like k & n they are great filters, much better then the off brands

 

I don't know.... Looking at the engineering that went into my new Volant verses the ebay intake I had, I guess I can justify spending more for the volant. It's a really welll thought out piece

 

I got a $60 ebay tube and love it. Sure, the main mount by the air filter is in totally the wrong place so it isn't connected to anything but they always break off anyway. The pipe can't move so it doesn't bother me at all that it's just sitting there. Where's it going to go?

It's not rocket science. There's a tube connected to the throttle body on one end and an air filter on the other. A single pipe, 3.5 inch diameter or larger, mandrel bends - you're fine.

 

I have an eBay intake with K&N filter, works well for what I wanted. I had a hard time justifying the extra expense of a name brand intake... Anyway, this is what I got:

 

I agree with the as long as you are getting the best possible air it does not matter what the name is and I would use a K & n filter

 

Just remember you get what you pay for.
B