OK. What is the deal with the CAI? I am speaking to a mechanic who races Off Road Vehicles, and he is saying that with the current design of the Air Intake, a CAI System might actually get hotter air to the engine, not cooler. The stock air box is preventing heated air from the hood compartment from entering the engine, by pulling it from the bottom outside. An open box seems useless for cool air without a hood scoop supplying fresh air from outside. The stock design looks very similar to the CAI. Aftermarket Air Filter vs. CAI. Which has more HP for the buck? $39.00 and no labor vs. $179.00 and $$ labor. Seems to me that if a K&N Filter gives you 10 more HP, why bother with 12 HP from a CAI?

 

Thats a fairly good train of thought!. Maybe someone who is in the process of putting on a CAI can get one of them cheapo remote thermometer stick it in the stock box and then stick it in the CAI "heat shield" and do a comparison. To make it a good test, need to make sure that at both times the engine is at operating temp. I have always wondered that since the addon CAI or filter only increase airflow, does the computer automatically add more fuel or is it not as smart as I think and just it lean out. If I am not mistaked there is a Mass Airflow sensor just prior to the throttlebody. IMO you need to adjust the computer to take advantage of the intake changes. Maybe thats why there are 2 versions of the Jet piggyback module (1 for no mods and 1 for modded). Along with the original topic of temps, if the CAI is truly cooler, the computer has an inlet air temp sensor and will adjust for it. I would think that in both cases the injector duration will be longer to add more fuel, thus more HP, lower MPG. And a final thought, the CAI generally have metal tubes that get hotter than a stick composite tube. I have seen this personally on my '02 ram where I would almost leave burnt finger prints on the metal tube of the CAI I installed. I have seen a company that sells a CAI that comes with an insulated wrap for the tube. Whew and I thought this was gonna be a quick response hahaha.

 

I went with the AirRaid setup that sits on top of the stock filter bottom.
You don't have to replace the intake tube with the sensors and it adds a sweet sound.
I noticed an increase in pickup and torque gain.

 

Sorry Man. No Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) on our Magnums. I personally wish there was since I believe a MAF system would increase performance and mileage. The Magnum has a speed density system using the MAP sensor.

Other members have proven Performance increases of a CAI on a Dyno. Since the stock system does a good job of bring in ambient air I think the increases are mostly due to better air flow from the free flowing air filters along with more laminar air movement provided by the piping. The stock system is compromised as far as performance by the engineering requirement to baffle noise.

 

Farhawk,
I realize that the CAI will provide more HP, but how much more than a better Air Filter? I too noticed a gain in HP and Torque after the K&N Filter was installed. I just don't have a dyno to do specs with. Anyone out there can compare the two?

 

I did a series of road tests on the K&N, and done did one for the stock box. I tested at the point of intake, inside the elbow and at various surface points to see how hot the outside was getting.

Interesting thing about the K&N is it came out as a cai, feeding in ambient air. Probably the reason being that the aluminum tube is directly exposed to the blast of ambient air coming in from the grille, which prevents heat soak over time. Plus the filter is not kept in a box, so air gets to it from the front as well.

I added a prefilter onto it to keep out the grit. Supposedly only necessary in dusty environments but I thought it a good precaution.

http://foohbar.com/page_49.cfm

There's a link to done's tests as well.

 

As far as replacing the stock filter with a free flowing filter-Don't bother.
Not worth it.
https://dodgeforum.com/m_185709/tm.htm
There was a K&N filter installed on my car before the Dyno runs. 278 with stock air box and K&N filter, 296 after removing the air box completely.
My brothers LS1 picked up 5 hp after removing the air box. He to had a K&N filter.
The filter may be worth 2-3 hp in an after market system but just replacing the stock filter is not worth it.

 

it was for me. I noticed a big increase in hp (more after adding the hood scoop that feeds it) and I'm titally diggin the sound.
Stock sounds like a station wagon to me now.

 

I copied dyno numbers from another forum that members posted. I can't find the threads at the moment but here are the numbers.
Stock 278 RWHP 318 torque
CAI 296.5 RWHP 328 torque
CAI w/improved exhaust 301 RWHP 340 torque
CAI dynatech + exhaust 314 RWHP 356 torque