Which will benefit me more, the CAI or an exhaust system? Going to do both, but can't afford both at this time.

 

Neither will give you much benefit for the money. Unless you really want the sound of exhaust, which many people are dissatisfied with. Listen to the sound clip library and decide which sound you like because you won't really gain horsepower or mpg.

 

I went with volant cold air and was pleased with deep growl it produced. Not much in power gains, maybe a little. Also purchased MBRP exhaust and no real difference. Atleast it sounds good now :-)

 

I bought an AFE CAI first...used off a member of this forums. I noticed a slight gain and it does give the engine a nice growl. But its not something real noticeable. Im hoping that once I get an exhaust I'll be able to take advantage of both. I got an '11 6 speed with 32's.

 

Agree. Get a tuner instead

 

His profile says he already has one....

 

Which tuner gives the best bang for the buck?

 

None. I don’t think they do anything useful. You’re not going to notice a 2hp difference and by leaning out the fuel mapping you’re just hurting your engine. The factory sets the stoichiometric ratio for longevity of the engine and performance.

If you feel sluggish because you added tires, regear your diffs. If you feel sluggish and haven’t done anything, do a tune up.

 

I have no CAI or non-stock exhaust. However, from what I've read on here over the past 9 years is that neither gives a noticeable performance boost. This topic comes up a lot. With all due respect, some that say they feel a boost may simply be trying to feel better about the $$ they've dumped into the Jeep.

 

On my 08 JKU (3.8) I bought an over the counter universal Flowmaster 1in 1out and welded my own axle back. I tucked the tailpipe behind bumper with a turn down. Literally couldn’t see any exhaust. It sounded great. Not high pitch or whiny like a ricer. But a nice throaty sound. However absolutely no performance gains. The only plus was the factory heat shield above stock exhaust no longer rattled.
On my 16 JKU (3.6). I’ve done nothing because it sounds fine. Both Jeeps run a FlahCal primarily for shift point tuning.