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CAI Evaluation

316K views 644 replies 235 participants last post by  guy65 
#1 · (Edited)
I see a lot of posts and questions about CAI's, so I thought I'd do a little checking and do some comparisons. Everything is based on my Ram, 2010 with the Hemi. I'm sure there are other CAI's out there but these are the more common ones.

BFI $329.00 not enclosed and not out in the cold air.
K&N $322.00 partially enclosed and not in the cold air.
Airaid $365.00 partially enclosed and uses some cold air from fender connection, would use full cold air if it was fully enclosed

AFE Stage 1 $336.00 fully enclosed and uses cold air from the fender connection.
Volant $405.00 fully enclosed but has hole in bottom for scoop attachment which would be easy to block. Uses outside air connection on fender.

For my money were I to buy a CAI, I'd go for the fully enclosed CAI's hands down. CAI means "Cold" Air Intake. In my mind any CAI that does not get its air from outside the engine compartment is not a true CAI.
 
#473 ·
anybody have opinions on cai's for 2nd gen rams with the 5.9L? ive been looking at spectre which i can get for $125 or i keep hearing how good volant is but that one with the scoop will run about $250. I also have a 3" body lift so will that throw these off by much? this is my first truck so any advice would be helpful :)
 
#475 ·
If you just got a cheap cold air intake with a cone k&n and made something to seal it from the engine compartment and scoop only from the wheel well wouldn't that be considered cai? If ya don't like how the aftermarket is do it yourself I say!
 
#477 ·
Just installed a K&N #63-1561 CAI on my 2011 5.7HEMI. I bought it off Amazon for 200.00 Free shipping!
Took 30 mins to install, I have installed a dozen of these, 4 on my own vehicles and the rest for family and friends.
Overall, I believe that K&N does what it claims to do. On my Avalanche it gave me 2mpg gains and noticeable throttle response and hp, they claimed 9 on site but I know I felt a difference as I did with my wifes Suburban.
This is my second HEMI, first is a 2007 Grand Cherokee which, freakin' rips with series 40 flowmaster and K&N CAI.

Now, for my RAM.

Noticeable difference in throttle response in all areas, off the line, rolling start and highway acceleration. She jumps when I put my foot in her now, not so much pre-K&N install. Site claims 15hp gain with this CAI. We will see what the MPG does if I can put my overweight foot on a diet.

The sound, well yes there is a difference, I dont hear sucking of air as much as I do growl from under the hood. From the exhaust, there is a slight difference but I know from experience that I will not be truly happy until I have a 22" Flowmaster on!

Anyhow, just thought I'd share, just some guy from Boston doing the work on his own with a limited budget looking for the best bang for his buck not sponsored or paid by anyone to use their stuff, sell there stuff or talk about their stuff. Not knocking guys who do but they do have a vested interest in giving props to the one who puts goodies in their hands whether product or cash.

My two cents, about what its worth.
 
#478 ·
This forum is great and the info shared by all is very helpful. I just picked up a very gently used 2012 RAM 1500 and looks like I am catching the mod bug. I thought at first that I would start simple with a CAI, maybe a ported throttle-body, then go from there, but reading through this forum, I guess it's not as simple as that. Here's what I gather:
-The stock air box is great, so any modification is a risk to swapping out good for negligible or negative difference.
-Just making your engine "inhale" better may not do much because you also need to make the engine "exhale" better. I rarely see anyone who has done a CAI on this forum without also doing something to exhaust.
-It's unclear how much the ECU will automatically adjust to these changes versus a need to be tuned.

My question is, has anyone done a CAI without an exhaust modification and gotten great results? Other advice welcome on a logical "ordering of mods". If you had to do one component at a time, which would you do first, second, third, etc?
 
#479 ·
Just yesterday I installed an S&B CAI on my 2013 Ram. The truck is completely stock with no exhaust mods. I would say that I absolutely noticed a performance gain. It seems to be a little bit more responsive and is able to spin the tires more easily while punching it. The gain is very slight, but it is there for sure. I'm gonna have to say the S&B CAI works...
 
#481 ·
I bought a aFe stage 2 CAI for my 09 Ram off of carID.com and I am thoroughly impressed. Installation was a little bit of a pain. Had to get the position of everything just right and it took a little bit longer than expected. But I noticed responsiveness instantly, but as for hp and tq I honestly dont know.

 
#485 ·
Anyone using a Varramm Air grabber and pulling a trailer? I see that the scoop portion drops down in from of the rad quite a bit and obviously would take away some of the cooling air flow from the rad! Just curious before I drop $500 on something and then find I got a hot running truck when pullin trailer!!
 
#487 ·
yes and no...the drop has less area to pull in air then say a cone/conical setup... I went that route.. 1st cai was a k an n drop in, then drilled holes in the bottom of box to allow more air in, then made a larger home made pvc tube (4") from box to tb for it, then bought an ebay cai and then the ramhammer...each mod was better then the predecessor...
 
#490 ·
its going to be hard to actually delegate one intake as the "best"

they all have their benefits in their own way. they all work a little different, pull air from different areas... basically, you just have to do some research, find what YOU want (not what people say is the best) and find the right price point.
 
#495 ·
Questions for those in the know.

1) I've got a 2014 Longhorn 1500 4X4 HEMI w/ 3.92s on order. I've read through the posts but am not concerned with potentially voiding my warranty and for that reason I'm only inclined to go with the Mopar CAI (AFE Stage 1 I believe?) so I'm wondering what the gains are? It's priced at $481 MSRP but I can get it for $360.75 shipped.

2) Does anyone have the Mopar Cat-Back Exhaust (Is it actually a Borla?)? From what I can tell, part number P5155280 is what I need for my truck. MSRP is $1175 and I can get it for $934 shipped. I'm wondering what I can expect with those two mods in terms of exhaust note vs. stock, acceleration, MPGs, HPs?

Thanks in advance for the replies!
 
#496 ·
gains purely from intake and/or exhaust are minimal at best. the butt dyno will be the best tell!

unless you get a tuner with custom tuning done to get the most out of the intake and exhaust...

as for warranty, i wouldnt worry about getting an aftermarket one. Mopar is going to nickel and dime for anything. you wont have any issues with a CAI or exhaust.. even if something went wrong, they have to prove that your intake/exhaust was the problem.. ex. your rear diff blows up, they cant blame CAI. however, if you hydrolock from driving in a flood or something, they can blame the CAI.

as for the tone from the exhaust, I can't attest to this. I have the 14' magnaflow muffler and I love it! its got a great growl at idle and really nice aggressive sound under acceleration.

i would try to find some clips on youtube of sounds for the mods you seek, thats what I did, and its helpful!!

good luck with mods, and dont forget to add pics when you get the truck!
 
#498 ·
Can someone weigh in on the sound of the S&B over stock. I had a K&N on my 2005 and hated how loud it was. I'm leaning towards an S&B but the I'm trying to keep my cab as quiet as possible due to the 10 month old.
 
#502 ·
Anybody out there using a "cool can" setup? I used it on an old 440 Charger back in the day and it really helped with colder fuel vapor and also prevented "vapor lock", a problem common to HP engines in the summer time. I am toying with the idea of incorporating dry ice in a cool can setup. Comments?
 
#504 ·
I'm not sure if the "Active Intake Manifolds" have been brought up in this forum before, but I was wondering if anyone knows how/if a CAI affects how these intakes work? I understand the concepts behind active intake manifolds, but I'm unsure how the increased volume and turbulent air coming from a CAI affects it.
 
#505 ·
i have never understood why many of the "CAI's" are open at the top. I haven't looked at one with the hood closed and maybe they're designed to somehow draw additional cool air from a gap in the side of the hood. It does look at first sight though, that it just lets in hot air from under the hood. Puzzled
 
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