TRD Cold Air Intake - initial thoughts & review

I've had the TRD cold air intake installed on my 2017 DCSB for about 24 hrs now. I've not seen too many threads on this, so I thought I'd start a new one.

Why did I buy it? Because. I like to tweak things, and learn by doing. This was assuredly a want purchase, and not a 'need' like the sliders or skid plates.

Install

Pros -
Super easy! I printed out the 17 page PDF install guide, and it took around 60-70 minutes. If I had to do it again I think it could be done in 30-40 minutes.

Cons -

• Air intake horn had to be reseated to ensure a good fit with the air intake on the lower air filter box, which meant I had to take the lower air filter box out a 2nd time, which added 10+ minutes.
• Removing the clips that hold the air sensor thingie wire so they could be re-used was frustrating, as I did not want to damage them. For a few hundred $$ one would think they could include new clips
• The two philips head screws that hold the air sensor started to strip when installing the sensor on the new TRD upper air filter box. If I need to remove that sensor again I will need to buy new screws.

Initial driving around review

One of the things I do not like about the tacoma is that at times it feels a bit sluggish accelerating, but what is a bit more frustrating is that I also sometimes have a pause from hitting the gas & feeling the truck respond. The sluggishness doesn't bother me that much - if I wanted to accelerate faster I would have bought a tesla, but the pause does, esp. at a red light. Hitting the magic ECT button makes this go away. 15 minute, city driving commute showcases this, especially when I hit all red lights. Much less noticeable on the highway or when off pavement.

So far, and I realize this could be the computer re-learning, with the TRD cold air intake installed, some of the sluggishness is gone. More important, however, is that the pause issue seems to be completely gone. If this continues, I feel like I will be much less likely to hit the ECT button.

This is an initial review, however, and I will wait another week or two to see how the truck behaves after the computer has finished doing whatever it needs to do.

I will add that I only had the engine up past 3500 RPM's twice, and the engine definitely sounds throatier at that point.

Not going to pay attention to any MPG changes.... I bought the truck to be a truck.

Would I do it again?

Assuming the truck continues to be a bit more responsive, then yes. If not, then a maybe. Taking the assembly apart & re-assembling meant I learned more about the truck, and I've spent money on far less practical 60 minute experiences (ex. machine guns in vegas, going out to eat,etc).

 

Toyota does not advertise the actual increase in both HP & torque the cold air intake would add. I would love to know the hard numbers. I've heard it adds about 12-14 HP but it's unconfirmed. I would personally like to hit the 300 HP mark if I add both the cat-back exhaust and the cold air intake. Going from 278-300 seems plausible with both mods. Any one have both and know for sure they have 300 ponies?!

 

Update - I've had the CAI on for almost two weeks now, and still feel that the truck is more responsive than before. Still happy with the purchase.

In hindsight I kinda wish I had hooked up something to the OBD port to see what/if any car metrics changed from before to after the install.

 

Getting mine this week hopefully

 

@torsf_tw
I've been looking into the intake myself even if it's just a noise maker.
Would you say the throttle hesitates after installing this?

I've seen similar situations on Honda cars with recently installed CAI. Supposedly it's the ECU trying to learn the new air ratio. Most guys would reflash and get a retune. BUT I don't think we can do that on these trucks.

 

Keep the updates coming!

 

how much added cabin sound would you say it creates? I'm thinking of getting it, and my reason is just for the sound inside to help me shift. on my last car i could feel the vibration and know, but not here. do you think it adds enough sound to justify buying?

 

From my understanding for a stock engine the increase is minimal even with Cat-Back exhaust.
The only time to really notice a difference from getting a cold air intake is when you get a supercharger or some sort of forced induction.

Otherwise its noise and the truck can breath a little better.

 

What he said

 

For the "air sensor" screws, did you use the right size screwdriver? It can make a big difference

 

I have both the TRD intake and cat back and you will not reach 300HP with them. The TRDUSA web site claims 5-8 HP for the gen 2 cat back and give no numbers for the intake but expect 2-4 HP which is probably within the margin of error on most dynos. If you want to get to over 300HP without going the forced induction route then consider the URD y pipe. The 4.0 engine gained 28-29 HP and I would expect our 3.5 engine to have the same increase. The removal of the rear 2 cats is responsible for most of the increase but you may not be able to if you live in Ca. Check out the 5th dyno an the link below.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/n-a-power-gains-dynos-w-mods.229882/

 

Would removal of the rear 2 cats make it super loud?

 

For reference there's a lengthy review/discussion about the 2016+ TRD CAI.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trd-intake-review-2016.469911/

With that said, I have had the same experiences as you. I'm about two month with it installed and I still like the benefits. It also looks great under the hood.

 

thanks for all the infos! i ordered mine last night and will be picking it up in Dallas later today, install maybe later today or tomorrow. looking forward to a bit more sound.

anyone know if there's a dyno of the Y-pipe for the 2GR? has anyone claimed any specific gains from it on the 2016 motor?

 

Correct even though apples to oranges, it's still the similar concept. I have a 2012 Honda Civic Si Sedan and it's not worth modding anything unless you invest into Hondata to tune your car. The engineering built into the stock performance is good (not great) enough as is. Throwing on aftermarket intake, downpipe and exhaust in some cases lose hp/tq due to the stock ecu relearning itself. There were the same weekend warriors who drag race their cars and after they installed a cold air intake (no Hondata), they were actually running slower than when they were stock. So they took it off, ran stock and again was getting their normal times.

 

Not at all. It is controlled by the TRD exhaust in my case which is a nice low growl. Others who have added the URD y pipe have said that it is very loud but that is a result of their after market muffler and not a result of the y pipe. Some who have added the y pipe have added a resonator to tone down the sound. Hope this helps.

 

Mine will arrive on Thursday to put it on my PRO 2017.

 

Just made an appointment to get mine installed Saturday morning...

 

Hey all. New to the site. I've got a 2016 dcsb inferno tacoma. Figured I'd jump in on this thread. I ordered and had the dealer install my TRD CAI and TRD exhaust. I absolutely love them both. I agree with the original poster, seems like the lag is gone when you give it gas. The exhaust sounds great in my opinion. Nice and deep rumble. You can definitely tell from the inside with the indies rolled up. Haven't noticed any real difference in miles per gallon. All in all I couldn't be happier with my investment.
I also ordered. Custom decals from Coner. Waiting for some warm weather so that I can install them.

 

just installed my TRD CAI today, just for the sound as a helper to hear my shift points. i only put a few miles on after, but it does feel a tick more responsive on the throttle, i'll know more later. sound in the cabin increased about 15% or so. i could use more but this is fine. looks cool as well. nice having a non-bay air feed rolling toward the Texas summer.