I've been contemplatjng putting on a cai on my 4.7l thinking it might help gain a few ponies but after looking at the stock setup, I cannot see what a cai could gain. The air intake is as about as cold as you can get, filter box and throttle body boxes are plenty big for air. Is it simply that you're directing more of the air?

please, I'm not trying to start a flame war here, just asking about the benefits of dropping ducks for ponies and if it's worth it. Did anybody honestly notice any gains, particularly lower rpm (2000 rpm)?

 

Slight increase in throttle response and maybe horsepower just not enough to really be like WOW but I would say it did gain a few and as for MPG I didn't notice a change because I drive really aggressive and never paid attention before I put my CAI on so maybe someone can answer that one

Plus it looks awesome when you open the hood hahaha

 

Been asked and answered a thousand times at least but...

A CAI by itself doesn't do much, as you only benefit as much as your most restrictive part's CFM is. It is a mod however that can make other mods "come to life". You start adding things like a ported TB, heads, cam, headers and other components that can actually use the added CFM and then you start talking positive power gains.

Alone, a standard Air Raid or K&N type CAI will net you about 3-5 HP at the rear wheels, maybe 8-10 at the crank. Now a Vararam type that truly takes air from outside the vehicle can net over 20 HP at the rear wheels. BUT they cost considerably more and can suck water into the engine in certain conditions.

My advice, build one for about $20 plus the cone filter cost. A bunch of DIYs on here on how to do it and they get roughly the same gains that the $200-300 store bought ones do...

 

that all makes sense. I just thought I'd ask in case I was missing something. Not to dog on CAI's ... trust me, for the right price, I'll still consider it.

 

I switched my truck back to a stock airbox, and didn't see any drop in performance compared to the CAI that was installed by previous owner. I don't have the "hemi hat" on the throttle body, I left that removed . I did notice a huge reduction in interior engine noise, which is why I did the swap back. With a CAI I had the muffler off for a couple days, and couldn't tell the difference in noise from when I had the muffler on (or the new replacement muffler).

You can get the similar "power" by putting a drop in K&N or similar, and keep the noise down. Unless you drive with the foot on the floor, and rpm high you won't see much improvement on a stock truck though. You might actually lose bottom end torque. (bad for towing and city driving)

 

Yeah, to get more air in you need to be able to get it out also.

 

ive got a vararam and it only costed me 400 with shipping across the ENTIRE US lol and i live in canada drive that bitch through blizzards and havnt had a problem since i got it over a year ago. they come with drains... this intake is nucking futs!!!! sick gains

 

WOW gib_son911! That is a nice looking setup! I spent about $300 on my K&N CAI, and I think for the money I spent, I got a few ponies, but I like the sound from under the hood. I put a Jet Chip in and I noticed the difference with that. I can be an aggressive driver at times, so I didn't notice it right away. Still looks nice under the hood. And I keep the engine clean and that CAI tube of mine is the Chrome one.. so it stays looking pretty.. I get compliments on it when I take it in for oil changes (which isn't very often because I prefer to do the oil myself).

 

Is the front scoop of that vararam designed to fit around the tow hooks in the front bumper?

 

I built my own cai intake, I cut out the top portion of the stock air box and fabed up a filter from a v 10 dodge, the rest I kept as is..so im running two air filters..out of the stock air box.

Ambiant air temp is what you get, thiers no way a cai cools air, my set up apears to help mpg, and all it cost was a 2nd stock air box from a guy who went to a xai