As most of you have probably seen in my DIY post, I built my CAI yesterday and have been driving around with it today. I have the 3" PVC pipe with a Spectre cone filter and a thrush muffler dumped over the rear axle. I don't know if my mind is playing tricks on me, my ears are hearing something funny or what, but my truck feels like it is more sluggish than it was with the stock intake off of the line after I installed the CAI. Has anyone else felt this loss of low-end torque or is it in my head?

 

did u reset the pcm?

 

Did you reset your PCM? If not, it usually takes a little bit of time for it to "learn" the difference in air flow. There is no way you've lost backpressure or low end torque from a CAI install...

 

Yes, I did reset the PCM. I disconnected the battery for a few hours while I was working on the truck. So do you think once the computer "learns" what is going on with the intake I should be able to tell an improvement?

 

Well... I don't know if I reset it or not. I disconnected the positive on the battery. Will this work or does it have to be the negative?

 

its the same thing...

 

it makes sense why you feel it sluggish intakes usually give you better hp at higher rpms...

also widening your exhaust is the opposite of what you want to do for more low-end torque. People use larger piping for increased top-end. If you use smaller piping than stock you can gain more low-end while sacrificing top-end power.

 

My exhaust is 3" in/3" single out... Is there anything else I may could do to regain the torque?

 

You did not lose any low end from a CAI, 3-5 HP is simply not gonna do anything to move the torque curve. Get a dyno, then put the stock parts back on and dyno it again, will be a VERY SLIGHT HP gain in the mid to upper RPMs and an almost undetectable change in torque. IMO it's in your head...

 

Its not in your head.

Try, using a 3.5" or 4" pipe instead of the 3" you have. The oem accordion hose is a 3.5" while the elbow in the 5.7 hat is either a 3.25" or larger. And your throttle body I believe is 3.5" for the 5.7? The 3" pipe is just too small you have there.

Yes, it is common to lose low end torque with a cai. Yes, a cai will make a gains of 3-5 hp and so many pounds of torque, but it can also restrict it worse than the oem setup.

Look at the AEM intake who do extensive R&D testing on their intakes. For the 5.7 the tubing is a 3.5". For the 4.7" its a 4" pipe.

ryanbum, try experminting with your intake setup. Do something similar like the Volant since they retained the 5.7 hat on theirs due to low end torque loss from their dyno results. Just connect a smooth 3.5" or 4" pipe between your air filter box and resonator hat.