Injen CAI

Please excuse the dirty engine bay.

Back on 02/13/12, I dropped off my baby at Injen in Pamona to get the CAI set up for the I4 2012. I picked it up on 02/17/12.

On the way home from Injen on the 17th. I had to run it to see how she would do. Absolutely amazing. The sound, more power & the great feeling of my baby coming to life.

So, after a few tanks of gas since getting the CAI from Injen & testing the power & the MPG, here is the outcome.

Before Injen CAI
All over the gas pedal 16-18 MPG
Taking it easy on the pedal Best was 24 MPG

After Injen CAI
All over the gas pedal 15-17 MPG
Taking it easy on the pedal best was 27 MPG

It's hard for me not to hit the pedal though due to the nice deep throaty sound & the looks I get. I am usually the type of driver that goes a bit faster than most. On the way to work in Hollywood Ca from Canyon Country Ca (33 miles one way) go to work at 3:45 am & head home at 2:30 pm. Both ways usually no traffic to contend with, so I usually hold between 75 - 80. Work days usually only 2.5 miles of street, rest is highway miles.

My opinion, if I can ease up on the gas a bit, the Injen CAI will save me a bit of fuel & $. I think it's a great looking system.

Almost forgot, while just cruising the highway or taking it easy on the streets, it's actually quieter than the stock intake system. The Wife likes that, but my sons & I both like the sound of stepping on it.

Adrian at Injen definitely took care of me on this. The crew at Injen definitely know what they are doing.

One last thing about the CAI on the I4. Cruising on the highway, taking it a bit easy, I am no longer between gears climbing some of the hills. Definite power gain. If I understood correctly from Injen, it's a 7HP gain.

Thanks to everyone at Injen. I am definitely a happy customer.

Just waiting on the Cat Back System now. I want my baby to be able to breath out as good as she breaths in.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Air intake tract begins thru the fenderwell? Drawing in outside air? I'm missing the point of a Cold Air Intake ( CAI) if the intake inlet point is in the hot engine bay....

On a side note, ya its shinny....I bet it sounds like it could go Mach1

 

I like what you have done to your tacoma, i want more info, also i am wanting to buy a 2013 tacoma next year when i retire. i want to find a after market store that could build and install "heated -leather -electic adjustable seats"???
Any idea how, and if its possible????

 

Hey SoCalTaco. This was the design that they said would work best for the 4 cyl. Don't know why they did not put it through the fender. I am assuming is because the little motor in the big bay is not producing much heat at the filter location & the heat shield on the filter works rather well. Don't have any temp. readings, but by touch & feel, it's not bad & it definitely does sound like it can go Mach1. I am trying to get some vid of the sound. It did give the truck more get up & go & better MPG. Adrian at Injen definitely knows his stuff & if he said it's good to go the way it is, I have no problems with that. Injen was lucky when they brough him in house. He has a lot of knowledge on the CAI's. If you really look at the pic, the tube is actually higher off the motor than most CAI's. Also the tapers in the tube were mathmatically figured for best results. All sorts of scientific stuff went in to that. I am just waiting for a Injen Cat back now. Can't wait to have it breath out as well as it breaths in with the knowledge put in to the cat back as well.

 

Are you gunna get a dust cover for it and we gotta do a Gorman trip soon haha your truck mobs.

 

shoulda just got a stock drop in filter.It looks like too much hot air is getting mixed in.It sounds good but thats about all it is now,just sound.Sell it OP and get a K&N

 

Alright, I guess it's kind of tuff to tell by the pic, but there is quite a bit of space between the tube & the top of the motor. It is actually quite a bit higher than the older models. I am also going to put some of the reflective paded tape on the under side of the tube just to see if it will help a bit. But for the most part, it's not just for sound. There is a noticible power difference & a decent MPG difference as well. I am on my 4th tank since I've gotten it, I am sitting just under 1/2 tank since my fill up Monday morning. I live in Santa Clarita Valley & drive to Hollywood & back everyday. I am taking it a bit easy in my opinion but the Wife is still saying I am driving too fast. So, the MPG is definitely helping. The MPG has gotten better with each fill up.

As for going out desert runnig or Gorman bouncing, I will definitely get a dust cover.

As for the "They will tell you anything to make the sale" They used my truck as the model for the unit. So, it didn't cost me anything. They just want to have me let all of you know what I am noticing with it. I am quite pleased with it.

I am not a machanic, but I do know how to get around a vehicle & do just about anything to a vehicle. So, I do have some automotive knowledge. I am not just J.A. that is trying to blow smoke up corn holes trying to make sales. I have nothing to do with Injen except for the CAI that is on my truck. My findings are unbiased.

 

I doubt his IATs are going up that much in normal use. My 6 puts out more heat and I run with the intake elbow off a lot of the time. That puts the end of my intake tract pretty well behind the radiator. I know there's a big mpg gain in the winter time because the warm air helps vaporize the fuel so much better. Haven't run this way in the heat of summer yet.

Going down the road the IAT is usually ambient until the t-stat opens, then it'll go to maybe 30F over. In town it'll climb a little bit. Once I was in a traffic jam, it climbed to about 105F when it was 45F outside.

Probably the best thing the OP can do is run premium gas if it's over 70 degrees outside; that way if he's stuck in traffic on a hot sunny day and the IAT goes north of 160 degrees the engine won't be pinging under load.

 

I am amazed that your getting such good gas mileage. I live up in the bay area in Redwood city. I am only 15 months from my retirement, as a civil servant in San Francisco. I intend to buy the most over loaded 4x4 Tacoma, 2013 new, short bed, that i can find.
I want the same system, that you installed. I also want to hold out and find a shop that can install "heated, leather, electrically adjusted seats"???
I don't want a full size tundra.. i lnow that they have all the options that i am looking for, but?
I would be interested in hearing your opinion,
thanks Brian Danker 415 602-8124

 

Note the OP has a 4x2 5-lug.

27mpg is easy with those with or without a warm air intake.

Those mpg are just shot from the hip wishful thinking, there is no way anyone gets a 3mpg improvement from an intake. Accurately measured testing yield zero gain.

 

I concede. I assumed underhood temps on the 6 could be a little warmer even though the thermostats regulate to the same temperature. Assumption was based upon more fuel consumed on average yielding more heat released, thermostat more open on average, thus average temperature of the radiator slightly higher. Statement was to exhibit that my intake temperature should never be lower than OPs.

 

If anyone out there has any doubts about the system, the mpg, power or anything else that I have posted, get a stock 12 2.7 & lets put them through the tests.

As for the "easy to get the 27 mpg in the 4x2", come on out & check the driving that has to be done daily & you tell me it's easy to get the 27 with or with out. I live in Canyon Country & the name says it all. Even the freeways are going thorugh Canyons. This means a lot of hills that have to be climbed every day both ways. Ask anyone that runs the 14 freeway every day. We all suffer a major loss on MPG due to those hills. I know that if I lived in Az AGAIN, I would be getting even better MPG.

 

I'll post this one again.

Absolute proof that with closed loop fuel injection it simply doesn't matter what filter or air intake you have or whether it is nearly completely plugged, the feedback loop just adjust the throttle and mpg remains unaffected. Horsepower somewhat, MPG not.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/air_filter_effects_02_26_2009.pdf

It's a myth that if something increases power but you don't use it it will use less gas.

http://www.fuelsaving.info/power_economy.htm

 

Not in California with the shit they sell us and tell us is "gasoline"

I average 24 to 25.

 

Steve... Does Injen have a CARB EO number on this one?

 

Awesome paper there worthywads. I'm gonna read that one real thoroughly. Amazing the mileage didn't change when it was so plugged the filter darn near tore itself apart.

Something I was wondering though. The VVT might have something in the cards here. Does Toyota set cam timing with the MAF, the TPS, or both? Just a little conjecture: the lower restriction of the cotton filter / no carbon trap would result in a slightly more closed throttle plate at the same airflow level in part-throttle condition, but if the VVT is TPS-based the computer would retard the cam timing a wee bit relative to the other intake option. That could potentially lower pumping losses enough to be measurable.

If it's initially set with TPS for responsiveness and then corrected with readings from the MAF, of course that goes out the window.


Now I can reference a situation when this affected my Honda Fit, although in a more dramatic way. That engine shut down one intake valve per cylinder under specific conditions. It was always 12v under 2400 rpm, always 16v above 3400 rpm, and could run either way in that 1000 rpm window based solely on throttle position.

That car in top gear would spin 3400 rpm at 68 mph. I found that if I had a K&N drop-in, at 65 mph it would go to 12v operation on anything up to a slight incline. With a good Toyo Roki filter from Honda, I couldn't get it to stay in 12v mode at any speed over 60 mph because of that slight difference in throttle position for the same power output. For that rare instance, in that ~7mph window of speed, I can 100% guarantee the filter made an 8 mpg difference.

Anything over 68 mph was the same mileage with either filter; under 60 mph it still got marginally better with the K&N because it would disable the intake valves on steeper uphill climbs.

 

Iroh

I don't doubt with the right engineering there can be situations where the broad statement that intake doesn't matter isn't true. It sounds like with valve/cylinder shutoff that could apply.

There seems to be the potential for situations where an automatic transmission may not downshift under certain loads if making more power with an unclogged filter or "intake".