I"m on the verge of purchasing a CAI but i'm not sure which one and I have this hesitation about getting one. I've read here over and over how they work. Could the people that have them, list what kind they have, and what gain's they've seen. I think that'll help me. I'm looking at a Volant Ram Air Intake system. It's in JC Whitney's truck catalog on page 9 if you have the most updated one. It's a volant cai and it has a tube that goes down to where the tow hooks would be and its supposed to shoot air up into the filter and go to the engine. To me it looks good because it pulls cold air right from the bottom and shoots it up top. Please help give me that push over the edge and help me choose. I have a 96, 1500 club cab 5.2L 318CI

if youd like, i can give you general info on the CAI in general, but i dont have a truck. but if you have any specific question, im sure id be able to answer them, because i also work at a dodge dealership.

Awesome, and thank you. I read a lot of what people write on here but still, I just can't decide or get over my worrying that I'm goign to waste money. But I guess i'm wasting money on gas by not having one. I know its not going to give a great boost in mpg but anything helps. What are some standard things that I should look for in a CAI? and what is bad, maybe that is a start, thanks in advance, i really do appreciate it

I personally went with a kit from AIRRAM. I was in the same spot you are and started looking everywhere when I found this kit. I haven't received it yet, but it's one of the best thought out systems I've seen. Here's a link so you can check it out your self

www.airram.com

well, i am ultra anti-name brand CAI. everyone in the import world, which my car basicalyl is, insists that AEM and brands similar are far superior, but think about it. its a fe pieces of mandrel bent pipe, with some brackets, and a filter on the end. i personally bought an off brand CAI, and spent about 70 bucks, and thats WITH going out and buying a K&N filter. some complaints ive heard about the offbrand CAIs..."it doesnt come with a K&N filter" , "the bracket break after a year or so" "AEM will make it in any powdercoated color", "they dont come with all the things oyu need to install them"

my solutions..the AEM piece of my car was like 300 bucks., the one i got was, like i said, 70 after i bought the K&N. if it last me a year, i can buy 4 of them and still not have spent the money that they spent on a AEM, should my brackets break. mine came with al of the rubber brackets, bolts, and even came with a cheaper filter, that was washable, and it came with the rubber conectors, ANd the gaskets for the MAFS. and frankly, as long as its nice and shiney, i dont care if its the same color as my car.
wth mine on, i get about 2-3 mpg increase and i feel that i gained quite a bit of midrange torque, plus i gained alot of sound, sort of a deep throaty sound. there is also the constant rumor of "hydrolock", your engine sucking water in and locking up, but think about how much water youd have to be in for that to happen. my car sits very low, and ive driven through solme Very ahrd rain with no problem.

i strongly suggest getting one, because it is a nice cheap, and easy mod. if you want the name of the place i got mine, let me know. i knwo they make one for the hemi...

Thanks, so why are you anti brand name, other then that people swear up and down by them all the time? I just want something I know will work and also not break down that will leave me stranded somewhere etc. Anything else you can think of that I might need to know?

well, buying one built by your next door neighbor as compared to AEM, wont make your ride break down. so long as it doesnt restrict flow, which is pretty hard to do, it can never hurt. some people just insist on the brand name, or the color of the pipe matching their car. as for the brand name, people buy the brand name becuase its a brand name, not because its any better than an offbrand, but its just my preference really. there is nothing wrong with the expensive ones, dont get me wrong, but id rather give the business to a smaller company, because, if you think about it, AEM was once that small company...who knows.

ive had my CAI since march of so, and ive not had a single problem with the craftsmanship. some people say that the brackets are cheaper on the offbrand, and that they are way too rigid, and break. but the one i bought came with flexible rubber mounting spacers, about an inch long, and it gives the CAI alot of play to fend off vibration. but like i said, im not familiar with CAIs for the trucks. but like i said..think about it. all they are, is a few pieces of pipe, and some rubber connectors. soe guys say the connectors arent as high grade rubber with the offbrand pieces, buti only used one that came with mine, and another from a greddy turbo kit. all in all, they are a good item to have. cheap, easy to install, and like i said, ive had one of my car as lon as ive owned it, because i made one when i first bouht the car, but later bought the one i have now, because it looks nice...:)

I hav e a ram 1500 with the 4.7L engine. I bought a AIRMAX cai intake system for mine.
It sis come with a K&N air filter and was considerably cheaper then alot of the others. I also bought a spiralux throttle body spacer (distributed by the same company) and installed it at the same time. I recieved around a 5hp gain, not to bad. I now get 3-4 more mpg, and some what of a whine around 2000 rpm, the whine does not bother me.
The truck does sound throatier. I noticed a fair amount more mid range, and more low end torque. I pull a trailer with two quads gas and riding gear and the truck acts as if it is not even there. I have had these items on my truck for about a year and have not had any problems at all with them. Good luck on your purchase.

local://upfiles/5617/Db848887617.jpg

once again, i dont want it to sound like brand names arent good! this airraid seems to be the in-thing. what does it cost?

You don't have a clue what your talking about, or talking to. Here's a picture of me and I'm tough, cause I'm grew up in Pittsburgh, PA.[sm=lol.gif]

local://upfiles/1631/Yw677885419.jpg

[sm=smiley2.gif]
Mr. Tom PLatz

mopartodd is also on the Civic SI boards, and his name is 1BAD99SI.

and when he says "coronet" he actually means his lowered, kitted-up civic, that runs 18s.
see? even really big guys,from a city as tough as pittsburgh, can stil drive ricers..[sm=lol.gif]

so the truth finally comes out eh... big guys love ricers.

haha..you know it!

NOT TRUE!!! You wait. I'll see you next time I come home smart guy.[sm=lol.gif]

Smart..i dont know about that...

but fast? yes...:)

hey monro zombie, doesyour name mean that you are a monro muffler employee?

and for the record, here is a link to my "cheap CAI"..second pic down.
http://www.dodgeforum.com/tm.asp?m=44186

What is that sticker under the R/T third brake light?[sm=smiley13.gif]

its a 5 hp gain, thats what.you outta fire one on your SI.;)

I guess you still don't know who your taking to. Here's my picture again. I'll look you up when I come your way. We'll go have a cheezesteak in Philly. Stop makin fun of my rice car. Look at my picture again.

local://upfiles/1631/Om344148236.jpg

I'm going to get you. Aren't you intimidated by my picture.[sm=smiley7.gif]

youre so big, the odds are bad that youll be able to climb out of that little SI in a hurry...

This has been too much fun. I'm not going to forget about the SI jokes though.[sm=lol.gif]

mopartodd's real info (or should i say, 1BAD99SI)
99 Intrepid ES, stock 3.2L
2004 HEMI Ram SLT, 3.92 LSD, 2wd, towing pkg.,Infinity, 272 RWHP/ 290 RWTQ
1999 Honda Civic SI Hatchback. Wild B19cp, Mugen HPSI19 cam, ported stock SI heads,12.5:1 compression, spoon roller rockers, Mugen 88mm TB,Mugen plenum,ported and polished, MSD ignition, NX75 Wetshot, 171 fwhp/98fw#ft, more coming (Mugen heads, Greddy T3 turbo, FM intercooler)

[sm=lol.gif]

The Monro in my name is the for the Monroeville Mall where Dawn of the Dead was filmed, and the Zombi is zombie w/o an e.

Thanks for the info, it helped a lil bit, but i'm going to keep looking and hopefully I see something I like, I do like what i see on the 360intakes site, somebody i read on here got one and they really liked it

hmm..are you from monroeville? and are you a rob zombie fan, or a white zombie fan?

I thought dawn of the dead was filmed in Canonsburg also.

or is the zombie just in reference to being a fan of the movie in general??

I'm not from Monroeville but wish I was. I'm a huge Dawn of the dead fan. www.WGONZombieWatch.com is my website about Dawn of the Dead and I might even be oN VH1 because of it

Night of the living Dead was filmed in Canonsburg. Oops

mopartodd didnt see dawn of the dead because there were no civic SI hatchbacks featured in it.:)

That would be awesome if you got to be on VH1 mopartodd!! Awesome site!!

~Amanda

I've been banned from VH1, MTV, and CMT. Actually MonroZombi said they had the chance to be on VH1.

If I was going to be though, I would definitely plug DF.[sm=smiley20.gif]

Hahaha... goes to show you I should NOT get up eariler to catch up on work, eh? DUH! My bad... hehehe!!

Well then, that would be awesome for Monrozombie!! Hope it happens for you!!!

~Amanda

I'm going to give you one more chance. Go back and look at my picture and realize WHO you are talking to Philly cheezesteak Boy. I'll run you over with my SI. I just got 0.2 HP more at the wheels with my new 12 volt electric turbo. I'll waste ya.

Before you reply, look at my picture again.[sm=lol.gif]

local://upfiles/1631/Bz786842329.jpg

Funny... but I do want to say this... we all know it's in good fun, but don't be doing this everywhere, please... it gives a really, really bad impression of DF to new people reading through it.

~Amanda

[sm=smiley13.gif]

Sorry. But he keeps slam'n my SI.[sm=smiley4.gif]

now kiddies back to the topic

and another opportunity to post a pic of my truck

heres what i did
it cost about $150 for the K&N filter and kevlar pipe which i got from a race car builder down the road and large hose clips.

i am going to change it a we bit though cause i have noticed a small decrease in power on hot days. ill bring another 4" tube from the iairintake, cause i dont have fog lights, and run it up to the air cleaner so its getting more cool air. or i was thinking about putting the aircleaner straight onto the throttle body and putting a sccop on the bonnet so cold air just pours in over the top.

i originally also made my own. K&N and some high heat pvc. but in the long run,it didnt look pretty enough, but worked just aswell

yeah, it was quite a good increase in t and p, but ill have to do something to keep it cool cause i putting headers on. once they are on i think the filter will be exposed to a lot more heat. one thing i havent done is move the sensor that all the manufacturers of CAI go on about, mostly becuase i didnt know where it was, I thought it would have been in one of the air boxes but never saw it.

mass air flow?? or maybe engine air temp>?

cant remember, maybe the second, anyway still worked and thats all that counts,

thats good...and what did it end up costing you? and have you had an SES light issues? that would be the only symptom of the sensor being disrupted.

and do you have a pic of those coddington wheels you ordered?

Dodgeramnz you said you're going to add a pipe to where your fog lights would be. THere is a Volant intake system that has that, i was thinking if that was goign to be effecitve what do you think? I'm not smart enough when it comes to trucks let alone upgrades to do it myself.

BUt overall this has been informative, thanks to everyone, now i just have to figure out which one is right for me.
Thanks

having it exposed to the air, like his ides with the holes from the fog lights, creates some ram effect, as well as the fresher air, and better flow than any factory air box. thats why you may see street cars, such as mustangs, with the RF headlight pulled out when drag racing. it allows for more airflow, and the ram effect.

hey NZ, any pics of this setup?

Thats what I figured, by pulling in the fresh air from down there it'll provide cooler air to the intake. If you don't know the get up i'm talking about from Volant, i'll scan the pic tomorrow, i'mg oing to see if they have them for the Ram with the fog lights, i don't want to remove a fog light, but I don't have a front tow package on my mine and will siee if thats where the tube comes down to

dont waste your time on air intakes or throttkle body spacers etc,just traded in my 2004 1500 qc w/hemi had an airaid intake,spacer and tube and couldent tell any diffrence ,only diffrence that made a big change was exhaust ,had a gibson supertruck ,was too loud when towing ,changed to a gibson swept-side had great sound & power ,dont waste money on cold air intakes ,for the money your better off going with a k&n replacement filter

ORIGINAL: BadStratRT

well, i am ultra anti-name brand CAI. everyone in the import world, which my car basicalyl is, insists that AEM and brands similar are far superior, but think about it. its a fe pieces of mandrel bent pipe, with some brackets, and a filter on the end. i personally bought an off brand CAI, and spent about 70 bucks, and thats WITH going out and buying a K&N filter. some complaints ive heard about the offbrand CAIs..."it doesnt come with a K&N filter" , "the bracket break after a year or so" "AEM will make it in any powdercoated color", "they dont come with all the things oyu need to install them"

my solutions..the AEM piece of my car was like 300 bucks., the one i got was, like i said, 70 after i bought the K&N. if it last me a year, i can buy 4 of them and still not have spent the money that they spent on a AEM, should my brackets break. mine came with al of the rubber brackets, bolts, and even came with a cheaper filter, that was washable, and it came with the rubber conectors, ANd the gaskets for the MAFS. and frankly, as long as its nice and shiney, i dont care if its the same color as my car.
wth mine on, i get about 2-3 mpg increase and i feel that i gained quite a bit of midrange torque, plus i gained alot of sound, sort of a deep throaty sound. there is also the constant rumor of "hydrolock", your engine sucking water in and locking up, but think about how much water youd have to be in for that to happen. my car sits very low, and ive driven through solme Very ahrd rain with no problem.

i strongly suggest getting one, because it is a nice cheap, and easy mod. if you want the name of the place i got mine, let me know. i knwo they make one for the hemi...


Holy **** I agree w/ you 110%! I just purchased a nice CAI and I think I spent no more than $50 for the entire setup. Its mandrel bent and constructed out of aircraft aluminum. It came w/ all the hardware and looks great. I still haven't installed it because I want to dyno my 04 Hemi bone stock so I can get a real before and after comparison. There's another guy on this forum that insist everyone should spend the extra money and buy the more expensive CAI. Thats total bull**** because unlike your more advanced mods all we're talking about is improving the airflow by removing the restrictions, replacing the filter and straigtening the bends. Its not as if you're buying a friggin' MOTEC or Greddy stand-alone computer!

well, gop1, im not flamming, but youre the only person ive ever met who conveys that opinion. ever. any large company who sells CAIs will produce dyno results upon request.

and airbrat, good call!, and whose unit did you buy?
one more thing...im not hijacking..but 13.9 in a 95 talon? tsi im guessing??

ORIGINAL: BadStratRT
.but 13.9 in a 95 talon? tsi im guessing??


you would guess correctly :)

its a mopar, and i demand pics and a mod list..:)

it made a huge difference to my truck, it ended up costing about $100.ooUSD. but if i was to buy one from the states and ship it here, apart from waiting two months, it would cost me at least twice as much.

badtsratt, pic on page two of this thread

Have seen the volant, I just dont see the point in paying for something I can build myself. its hardly rocket science shoving some pipe in, I know it may not look the prettiest now, but i'll tidy it up when I figure out wether to get a bonnett scoop or down to the bumper.

the other reason for grabbing fresh air is it is a lot cooler than air inside the engine bay. The cooler the air the higher the HP you can generate. I saw someone quote numbers like 1 degree up in temp = 1 degree down in HP , seems a bit much to me but maybe someone else knows.

another thing to keep in mind is that its fine to ram air into the engine, but its even finer to let it all out, ive booked into the exhaust shop and headers are going and catalytic converter coming out, should make another huge difference, and also it leads on to other engine mods being more effective.

no..i saw your pic..i want apic of that guys TSI. and if you spent 100, thats great, even if you lived here and bought someones name brand piece, youd be ahead of the game! this same arguement went on in another forum, and i lost badly..no one would side with me that youi didnt have to pay 300 for a CAI...their thing was..

"if it wasnt much better, it wouldnt cost much more, so ours is better than yours"

and thats dumb.