Poll: Best Intake

[withac]

I've never done a custom tune, but all the guys on another forum I check out swear my Nelson. http://www.nelsonperformance.com/ You tell him the specifics of your ride, wheel size, any other mods, and he programs a pcm for your specific ride, not a generic vehicle. He sends you the new one, you send him your old one so there is no down time. He gives lifetime upgrades if you change something on your truck. They say it's about the same price as a hand held tuner. They also tell me he can tune for performance or economy.

 

[withac]

Back to the intakes... I picked up a 2000 'Ho with a 5.3. I plan on putting in an after market CAI. As I look at the grill, there is a flap that runs verticle along the side of the radiator. If that were removed, and maybe even the solid plate behind the headlight as well, it looks like it would give the air a straight shot in at the filter element, provided it wasn't in something like the SB or whatever it was that had the box. You might need a water sock of some sort to keep moisture off the element but it looks to me like at highway speeds you would something of a ram air effect going on. The 'Ho replaced a 2000 Durango (I know, the "D" word). I put an Airaid in it. The filter element was further back, by the fender well. I took the same type of flap off the side of the radiator and the air had a straight shot in at the filter element and never had problems with the filter.

 

[JPerkMr954]

Where is a good place to get the AEM CAI for online? Stimulus check coming and CAI is an option... Wondering tho, 2005 Yukon... Will the CAI throw a code from the increased Air Flow... I have heard of this happening.

 

[JPerkMr954]

And Boost, you said that the pipe for the cai comes in different colors, which colors are there, I might not want the polished color... and AEMPOWER.com is selling this for 373!!!

 

[JPerkMr954]

I'll sell anybody an aem for $250 shipped, love these things.

when?

 

[EZStreet]

I just got my blackbear pcm today. I can't wait to install it

 

[boostaholic]

Damn not as much love for the aem as I'd hoped. I just painted my tube black and enjoyed the 10 minute cleaning process for the filter, I'd recommend the dry filters to anyone regardless of intake brand

 

[JennaBear]

We did some tests on multiple intakes on a dyno....the K&N FIPK and AEM were the front runners as far as all the levels are concerned.

 

[jpmaniac87]

Wanna share the actual gains???

 

[JennaBear]

 

[tekkitan]

how come you didnt compare volant too?

 

[boggers]

JennaBear

Can you please decifer the values?? What are these numbers telling us compared to a stock intake??

 

[boostaholic]

They're data captured by a scantool during a dyno session, main thing to look at is the IAT (intake air temp) as well as the hp and tq values. All the data is interesting to say the least, mass air sensor and manifold absolute pressure data isn't what I expected either but then again I'm a novice when it comes to this stuff.

 

[boggers]

Thanks Boost for clearing it up..

 

[JennaBear]

Key:
gms/sec is grams of air per second entering the engine.
MAF hz is the frequency the MAF reports. Corresponds with g/sec
IAT F is the intake air temperature in Fahrenheit
MAP is manifold absolute pressure

One needs to look at the highest average airflow which is directly related to torque (subsequently HP). You shouldn't just look at the HP numbers on the test. Manifold pressure is a measurement of restriction, the higher the number the less restriction.

Understanding closed vs. open element

Closed box intakes do better at lower speeds as there won't be as much of a heat soak issue. The open elements use metal shields which absorbs heat (heat soak). The open element intakes drop temperature a lot quicker which in turn creates denser air. The denser air allows for more airflow, which makes more power.

It is probably also worth it to mention the street data that was collected on this same truck a few months prior. There were fewer intakes tested and the results showed that the AEM had the highest manifold pressure (vs Volant and K&N FIPK) and the quickest IAT recovery time.

 

[clp71220]

Wanna share the actual gains???

I agree. Just to say I heard something is good is not saying much. Looking at the search on the web I see that these things actually hurt the fuel mileage unless you retune the engine for the additional air.

 

[RenegadeTahoe]

I agree. Just to say I heard something is good is not saying much. Looking at the search on the web I see that these things actually hurt the fuel mileage unless you retune the engine for the additional air.

Pretty sure she posted the gains in post #50 and explained the numbers in #52... numbers don't lie.

 

[tybardy]

Jenna, did you test the K&N with the steel tube or the Carbon tube?

If you used the steel tube, do you think the carbon tube wouldreduce the air temp?

 

[JennaBear]

It was the steel tube. I doubt that the carbon tube would reduce temps drastically as carbon/plastic still gets pretty hot.

 

[tybardy]

Well I know what I am looking at here and I think with everything you provided I can make an educated deciesion as to what intake is right for me... I have a few small questions left.

If I want low RPM, Low speed performance (basicly around town driving to get better MPG), should i just go with the enlcosed setup as to cut down on heat soak? And if I was to go with an exposed filter unit, would you say the K&N or the AEM in your expert opinion