I've had my AIRAID on for about 20K miles now, and I'm happy with it. I did notice some "throttle response" increase after installing it, and personally, I think it makes the engine sound great - not sure what the folks whining about the noise are complaining about.

The increase I experiences was definitely subtle, but the engine really woke up once it was nicely broken in... and later, when I added Hypertech, it was great. I've since regeared and thrown on big tires, so I don't even remember what "stock" felt like.

As I've stated above, I'm really happy with my AIRAID, but if you do any wheeling that involves deep-ish water, you may wish to go with a snorkle instead, and eliminate the CHANCE that you'd hydrolock... just something to consider, and hope this helps.

 

Speaking from experience, I have noticed power and throttle response gains as a result of putting in my Airraid CAI, and also have Hydrolocked going through water (with a new engine as a result).

The WATER DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DEEP, Mine resulted in water that was less than 18" deep. It has alot to do with how the water gets thrown around by the accessories and also any "waves" created by entry coming back to the Jeep.

So if you live in a dry climate and do sand & rock climbing then your fine. In the east where there are puddles, I'd stay away.

 

I like mine but I don't do water. It improved throttle response some. Not really a noticable increase in mileage..

 

I don't disagree, but the biggest factor (and one that you didn't mention, hence this response) is the speed at which you travel through the water... you want to create as little wake or "wash back" as you can, to prevent water from reaching the filter.

As far as depth, you're absolutely right - someone on here literally hydrolocked their engine going through what they described as a mere puddle.

 

I have the TruFlow Air intake. It cost me about $250. At the time when I bought it gas was almost $4/gal and one thing that I have definitely noticed is that I get about 1-2 mpg more after installing it. When I bought it I figured that with gas prices going up it would pay for itself in a couple years, Now it looks like it may take a bit longer to pay for itself but I'm not complaining. The horsepower increase may be there but it wasn't really noticeable. One thing that was also very noticeable was the new deeper note coming out from under the hood when I lay on the gas. Also this CAI comes in a canister and I don't have to worry about splashing water on the filter. All in all I don't have any regrets.

 

Just don't do what they show the JK doing in the commercials and you'll be fine.

 

Combined with other mods like exhaust and chips, I think CAIs are probably worth something. If the CAI is going to be your only mod though, I would think twice. Not to mention the fact of opening up your engine to an increased possibility for water injestion. That's never a good thing.

 

I think if you look at most of the posts on this thread, and the number of CAI's for sale in the classifieds herein you can draw your own conclusion. There are a lot of prior threads that cover this and most (if not all) come to the same conclusion. The additional air coming in (if any) will be off-set by the computer usually. Maybe if you had a true "ram-air" intake you might see some difference.

 

Like mentioned above...if water crossings or even mud puddles are in your Jeeps future, I would avoid the CAI's. You'd be surprised at how easy they get covered.

I just sold my Airaid. It gave me better throttle response and awesome sound in conjunction with my Gibson exhaust but I lost about 50 to 60 miles to a tank of gas. Probably because my left foot was heavier. Going to back to the stock intake showed a noticeable gain in low end torque.

 

What if your someone that travels to the dunes a lot? I can only really see a problem if you are following someone real close or going through water at the dunes but just wondering.