TRD Intake Review (2016+)

Ok, first off, lets get a few things out of the way...

1.) Yes, I just paid for sound...
2.) Thanks for telling me I overpaid for a TRD Pro when I could've just bought an OR and customized it.

That should pretty much take care of the negative comments that are bound to show up in this thread.

Ok, now that we're done with that, here's my review of the TRD Intake for the 2016+ Tacoma's. This was installed on my 2017 M/T Trd Pro.

Kit Part #: PTR03-35160

Diagram:


Parts List:
1: PTR03-34140 (TRD Panel Air Filter)
2: PTR03-35160-AA (Upper Airbox)
3: PTR03-35160-AB (Intake Tube) & PTR03-35160-AC (Throttle Body Coupler Kit)
4: 341032 (Coupler)
5: #52 (Hose Clamp)
6: #48 (Hose Clamp) & PTR03-35160-AD (Airbox Bellows Kit)
7: 341033 (Bellows)
8: PTR03-35160-AE (Intake Flow Accelerator/Horn)

People have found that you can get this kit cheaper if you piece together the parts. The link below was posted by another member who pieced this out. Maybe this will save some people some money. Link does not include the TRD filter (total before shipping with the filter is around $328):
https://www.oempartworld.com/?p=catalog&mode=search&search_in=all&search_str=ptr03-35160

This TRD intake is indeed a cold air intake (CAI). Similar to the stock setup, it pulls cold air from the fender. The TRD, however, is a true CAI as it comes with a part (flow accelerator/horn, part 8 in the diagram above.) to seal the edge of the fender intake hole pulling air exclusively from the fender. Absolutely no warm air from the engine bay is sucked in with this part installed correctly.

I've personally always liked performance intakes as I think they help with throttle response and in my findings, they help the engine rev up while driving meaning rpm ramping is quicker (acceleration is improved). I also do like the sound signature and this TRD intake also makes under the hood look sexy as heck (IMO).

Before


After


Installation
Installation of this intake was a breeze. The instructions from TRD USA are very thorough and lay everything out for you (bottom of this page: http://www.trdusa.com/parts-detail.html?p=PTR03-35160).

The kit comes with everything you need including a TRD oiled air filter. You end up re-using the bottom half of the stock filter box and some of the clamps and clips as well. The stock air filter is also quite a bit taller than the TRD filter. I'm assuming the TRD air filter will increase airflow as it doesn't have as much material and I'm assuming the oil makes up for capturing more debris.



Performance, sound, and final thoughts
Due to the fact that there are plenty arguments about HP and intakes, I won't go there. I will tell you that the throttle is more responsive and rpm's seem to ramp up quicker. This makes the truck feel more punchy which is nice as I felt like it dragged just a tad in lower RPM ranges.

The sound signature with the intake is a bit louder under the hood but not obnoxious. I would say at WOT, it gives it that "whaa" sound however, it's not horrible in the cabin and there is no to little drone. Compared to other intakes I've had on vehicles, I would say the sound signature is on the milder side. Still, at WOT, you get the nice roar sound you would expect... just probably not quite as loud as some other options out there. I'm assuming this is because there is still a resonator on the intake. The resonator and the connection between it and the intake are smaller than stock. All-in-all, I'm fine with the sound but I guess I would've been fine if it was maybe a tad louder? Regardless, makes everyday driving easy on the ears while still making a roar when needed. Sound clips below (sorry if it's not too noticeable, go pro sometimes doesn't do the greatest job picking up the sound):
Stock Intake with TRD Cat-back exhaust installed


TRD Intake with TRD Cat-back exhaust installed


About 2 years after the installation. Truck has about 15k miles on it and is broken in. This set of two clips is from a dead stop to WOT in 1st and then WOT in 2nd. Someone requested this so here it is. The camera used in this one is my dash cam (not the go pro)


I really had hoped the TRD Pro would've came stock with the intake as it would've "completed" the build adding something performance related under the hood. I ended up getting a good deal on this intake and loved the look of it so I bit the bullet. I'm happy with the results and it's made my TRD Pro that much more enjoyable to drive. I would definitely recommend this intake. However, if you don't care for the looks of the intake, take a look at what afe has to offer with their GT intake (with air scoop). Otherwise, the TRD intake is nice little addition to an already kick ass truck.

Also, to be clear, this intake isn't simply a TRD stamped box with a TRD high flow airfilter. The upgrades are as follows:

1.) The portion of the intake that goes into the fender is different. The stock box has an elbow type plastic fitting that slips into the fender opening. This is where colder air is pulled. The TRD intake kit comes with an air horn/flow accelerator (#8 in the diagram) made of rubber. It's larger in diameter (better air flow) and fully seals around the fender opening forcing the intake to only pull the colder air from within the fender. It also doesn't have any angles or bends and basically dumps right into the fender.

2.) The intake "plumbing" is also less restrictive. There is still a resonator but it's smaller than stock and the piping that connects the resonator to the intake tube is much smaller in diameter meaning less air restriction compared to stock (less places for the air to travel on its way to the throttle body). I'm assuming the TRD engineers thought a resonator was still needed as to not make the sound obnoxious. They designed it as minimal as they could from my point of view.

3.) And lastly, the TRD air filter is about 2/3 the height of the stock filter. It also has a different construction and material that allows higher flow. It uses oil and is reusable.

4.) The only part of this kit that is all show is the top portion of the air box. This has the TRD lettering stamped into it. Apparently there are some differences between the top lids. In the picture below, on the TRD version (left side), you can see that not only is the intake hole material thicker but it also removes the plastic grid that you can see on the stock unit (right side). The TRD lid's intake hole is also angled to be more straight so the entire path of airflow is more of a straight shot as opposed to the stock system that is more curved. It's ALSO a nice cosmetic addition that brings it all together.


NOTE: It's very easy to forget to install the flow accelerator/air horn in the fender. Don't forget to do this as this is an integral part of this intake kit. It's the rubber horn looking thing (actually, I believe they refer to it as a horn in the instructions. Also, everything lined up and came together very seamlessly. There are notches and grooves on the couplers and pipes to make installation guess free. Nice job, Toyota!

 

Great post. I like The trd intake. See if anyone wants to record you doing a "fly by". See what it sounds like from outside.

 

Just curious.....if this reuses the stock intake box then how is it a "cold air" intake?

 

I just installed the following parts on my OR truck:

TRD Performance Air Intake System
TRD Performance Cat-Back Exhaust System

Too bad this was not done at the factory, I have noticed:

Better throttle response
Less downshifts while cruising on a graded highway

The combination was a little pricey but for me, money well spent.

 

stock is a cold air intake as well, as it pull outside air from within the wheel well.

 

Cool....so the main performance increase is going to come from the new "hi flow" oiled filter then? Hmmm

 

Main difference is toyota is Sucking out $400 for a lid with some red letters and painted the ribbed part red. This has got to be one the most ripoff products I have seen from about any manufacture. I could see $100 but not $400

 

It looks like the same airbox with a different lid, some red trim and a reusable oil element filter. What exactly is the difference? It sounds like $49 at Autozone for a K&N element would essentially be it's equivalent if that is all it really is.

 

It's not called a cold cold air intake....or CAI ... it's called a "performance" intake.

@poopshute nice truck buddy.. is that a MT tranny?

I agree with you assessment.... you want even more get a magnaflow exhaust.

 

Oiled filter yo.....big hp

 

no, my boat is big HP

 

But can you fish off it?

 

wait a minute... it doesn't have an oiled air filter, it must be slow

 

LOL...

 

I am more surprised the pro didn't come with this.

Some one mentions the K&M, any way we can get you to compare the TRD and K&M OP?

 

How much less down shifts? If breathing a little better help this I'm in! I would try a oiled drop in k&n filter first

 

I'd like to see some dynos of this but will likely never happen. My concern is the placebo affect.

Great truck and great write up though.

 

My sport came with trd air filter, wish it was dry element filtration like afe dry, that's what i use on m3, maf don't like oiled filters(if done correctly it's ok, but still would take dry filter over this)

 

Fist off... why. Why do some people on TW have to continue to be jerks. If you don't have anything positive to add, please just ignore this thread and move on. It's not required that you HAVE to put you .02 in every thread. It's ok to not like or agree with something. Simply ignore and move on. You'll be happier at the end of the day. Sheesh.

Ok, let's get on to some replies...

Good idea! I might be able to setup a tripod or something. Maybe sometime in the near future I'll try to get this done.

Agreed. Or as a package deal or something. I'm liking this combo as well.

Manual indeed! I had a magnaflow on my 2000 Taco and loved it. Loved the straight through design and sound signature. My TRD Pro came stock with the TRD cat-back so I'll probably just stick with it for now.

Yeah, the TRD Pro not coming with this was a bummer as it really fit the bill with the other TRD parts included in the build.

I'm not the biggest fan of K&N filters based on some past experience of their filters not doing a great job of filtering out dust and dirt. Probably just going to stick with this TRD filter. Sorry!

There are some other companies out there that made/make higher flow filters that do a better job of trapping dust dirt while still providing better airflow. Amsoil and Trueflo come to mind. Used both on my past truck and liked the results. They were both foam based.

I THINK Toyota posted some dyno results on the TRD USA sight? Not sure. But you're right, don't expect a dyno reading from me! Aside from placebo and hp, I can tell you with confidence that it makes the truck feel more snappier at higher rpm's and WOT. Better throttle response is what I can sum this up as.

Agreed, have to oil it right. Use the right amount and blot out the excess. Also important to let the filter dry after the cleaning process before adding oil. If you throw a code, some MAF cleaner on the MAF fixes it right up (remove MAF first obviously).

Thanks to everyone who stayed positive in this thread and asked/answered questions like adults.