I was going to order a Banks but after reading these stories .... I will pass. I dont care how my jeep sounds, I care if it gets there. I dont want any MORE concerns in mud/water than need be and I cant stand the looks of a snorkel. Good read here, ya'll just saved me a couple hundred

 

Im not sure why, and to be honest, dont really care but I call BS on anyone who thinks stock is always better than aftermarket. Sure there are times where stock is better but intake and exhaust are not necessarily two of those areas. Since the inception of the automobile hot rodders and off roaders alike have swapped out exhaust and intakes for REAL HP gains that have been DYNO AND RACE TRACK PROVEN. Obviously the bigger the displacement, and the more restrictive the OEM set up, the more room for gain. Also, engineering has come a long way over the years so OEMs are getting better and there are sometimes less gains to be had BUT that doesnt mean there arent improvements to be had with CAIs. I too have been in the muscle car world for over 20 years with Corvettes and Camaros, Mustangs and Mopars and never has an OEM set up out performed stock, NEVER. Not even on my old honda. HOWEVER, my current Z06 had PERFROMANCE OEM titanium mufflers that were purposefully designed to flow for performance on the race track as well as the street, obv they flow better than base Corvette mufflers which is part and parcel to the extra hp gains the Z06 has over the base vette along with other OEM upgrades like slightly larger cam etc... I also installed a CAI and noticed significant improvement in throttle response and drive ability on my Z06 over OEM. So here is the key, an intake alone wont net you gobs of hp or tq. IT WILL smooth out the air flow going into the engine thus resulting in REAL WORLD gains you may not see on the dyno or feel in your butt going down the 1/4 mile. OEM intakes have unnecessary bends and baffles that reduce or restrict air flow ON PURPOSE for fuel economy and quietness. Anytime you can smooth out and/or increase the air flow into an engine you WILL notice better shifting and throttle response and can likely hold a gear a little longer as a result. Its not about a Dyno, its about the feel and response after the mod is complete. This actually proves that CAI's work to help improve drivability. Anyone who argues this does not have real world experience with these upgrades and are jumping on the bashing bandwagon. If you have a manual 3.6 you know how finicky the throttle is, try dropping in an CAI and see and feel the diff, then come here and tell people that CAI are worthless. The OEM intake runner is major contributor to the finicky throttle on my manual 3.6 and I have played with it enough times to have figured out that Chrysler did something not entirely correct there. OEMs arent perfect, why do you think they keep coming out with improvements to their lines ups including tweaks resulting in HP/Tq and drivability gains including fuel economy to same the drive trains that have been in place for a few years already? Hello. McFly?

So to summarize this, if you are looking for massive hp/tq gains, CAI's wont accomplish that. If you are looking to improve drivability, throttle response, engine/exhaust note, and just make the commute slightly more pleasurable, CAIs are worth the money all day any day. If you are worried about water ingestion, what do you care? You want a snorkel anyway cause believe the OEM set up isnt going to stop water from entering your engine anyways. And this nonsense argument about how the OEM sits up 2" higher than aftermarket etc... is just that, nonsense. Like nobody has ever ingested water with an OEM set up before, you are arguing over inches? Thats why they make snorkels, for people worried about water ingestion. Most guys running a CAI dont care about that which is why they went CAI in the first place.

Ive noticed that after a year on this forum, many people like to think improvements with CAI are strictly related to dyno proven hp/tq gains. You could not be more wrong. There is much more too it and for those who have CAIs and have said they noticed certain improvements in drivability and have had to take the brunt of someone with no experience call BS on you, they obv did not read you post or care to learn something new about the additional benefits of CAIs which are non dyno related.

And since I have dyno experience I will also say, they dyno isnt perfect either. Why? oh I dunno cause it doesnt exactly replicate the real world? Dynos are more of a tuning device, a measuring stick if anything, once you pull your dyno runs and are satisfied you should be going for a street tune. thats where REAL WORLD stuff comes into play and how you really dial in a tune and where you TRULY see gains in the mods you performed. Thats where the CAI will shine. On the street, not the dyno. But anyone with experience would know this already.

 

banks makes a really nice mostly enclosed cold air kit that supposely gains like 12 horse and 8 tq on 3.6 and more on the 3.8. I know you have a greater risk of water sucking up with cold air kits but most of are 90+% street driving and 10-% offroading our jeep and I think that little extra power on road with all the added weight of bumbers, tires and winches etc. could be nice

 

TB upgrade is a good match for an intake BUT dont forget that the manifold should be ported to match as well otherwise youre leaving additional performance enhancements on the table and not taking full advantage of what the TB can deliver.

 

The reason I don't spend the money on a "cold air" intake is the gains listed, if they actually exist, are at the top of the hp/rpm curve.
Down where we normally drive, the 12 hp/8 tq would be only a couple at most. Not really worth it for me.

 

My airraid was not this way unless your talking a snorkel.

 

I just removed my Airaid from my 2012 after having it on 5 months. Didn't like the fact that I could no longer access my fuse box, plus I didn't notice any difference in performance or MPG aside from an increase in intake noise.

Anyone interested in it, PM me.

 

Put in k/n air box and call it good. Just b/c you can reuse

 

If the engine was really starving for air, wouldn't the air box implode or at least draw inward when you rev it up real high? I call BS on aftermarket intakes. They only seem to make it sound different and I can't see how they make the air any cooler than the stock air box unless the filter is moved much further away from the engine or outside the compartment altogether. You could drill a hole in the air box and get the same effect and save a few hundred dollars. This is my opinion and i'll spend my $$ elsewhere. I can remember dropping my air filter into a pan of used oil with my CJ and driving to the auto store with none (dumb I know) and having no noticeable difference.

 

This is entertaining, more so if I still had my Shelby. Too bad we all drive 4000 pound rigs with 400 pounds of wheels on unsprung solid axels with a center of gravity 3+ feet up in the air.

The air filter I want is what's on the Egytian Military J8: a filter system that can do its job for 4 hours in a sand storm so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face. And the sounds I like to hear are the ticking of a diesel with gobs of low end torque, and the clawing of rubber on a rock ledge. But that's just me.