Are cold intake systems worth the money and do they help?

Unless you're boosted (supercharger and/or turbo) the gains are probably not worth the cost. Your best bet is the drop in as mentioned before. However, if you just want the sound and the awesome looking intake pop'n out when you pop the hood... then it might be worth it to you. From a shear technical/performance aspect on a stock truck... best bang for the buck is an AFE drop in. I use the K&N drop in myself... thinking about selling it for an AFE to save $ on recharger kits.

Note, I haven't had issues with my MAF... though I've been using K&N for years and know how to oil them right.

 

I just installed an afe CAI yesterday. Yea the stock one is cold air but ive noticed some HP increase and throttle response is better. The only sucky thing is when i get it smogged i have to put my stock one back in...

 

Honestly I have heard mixed stories about aftermarket intakes and honestly, I dont really care cause it makes the truck sound sick!!! I got the TRD CAI because chris4x4 had some good info on them and said that they were one of the few that gave some gain to the truck.

 

This is because there are less restrictions.

 

If youre going to do anything at all go with urd or trd. I had a really bad experience with my K&N kit. For the money,however, youre better off purchasing a K&N drop in air filter. It helps just as much as the kit I think.

 

What issues did you have? I mean, I wouldn't buy one. I got my K&N for free... it seems to work fine.

 

Throtle respone went down, overall performance went down, and the idling was off. However, it did sound really nice. Especially with my magnaflow catback exhaust.

 

"I just installed an afe CAI yesterday. Yea the stock one is cold air but ive noticed some HP increase and throttle response is better"

AKA, a placebo effect

 

Yep. Rpms go higher before the truck shifts which may fell like better throtle response but infact it is not.

 

Love my AFE. I think AFE makes TRD intakes if I am not mistaken. Gives you extra HP for sure, but the sound is what makes it worth while.

 

You could always do the deck mod, you get the same sound and performance for like 20 bucks.

 

I have not heard of the deck mod. Is there a link to it. I could not find one.

 

drop in afe pro dry is the way to go. then take out the secondary

 

Wheres everyone getting the afe drop in?

 

Autoanything.com or I got mine off ebay 30 bucks shipped ( close to 2 years ago)

 

Sounds like it was oiled improperly and too much, which then contaminated the MAF. My idle actually came down slightly and it got even quieter. Butt dyno says it pulls slightly harder too... That said I do have the TRD cat back so I do have some better breathing both ends.

 

What is this deck mod you speak of?

 

Here's an interesting read....................

The OEM intake it came with is (in most cases) going to be the best - sounds crazy but here's the real deal -

The reasons anyone makes a "cold air intake" are:
1) To sell you something that "looks cool" and makes noise (keywords - sell you something).
2) Because "Fast & Furious" was just such a cool movie and "you gotta be like them, dawg".
3) You'll think your ride is that much better than the next one just like it (they made thousands of em).

Now back to the real deal -

Most "cold air intakes" are misleading to begin with. If the filter is an open element (you can see the filter) and it's under the hood, it is actually a "hot air intake" (in other words - they lie and sell you something). When was the last time you ever felt a cool breeze under the hood of a car/ truck? A true cold air intake has to take in air from an ambient source - aka outside the engine bay. If you want one that bad for the "cool factor", or if your car/ truck doesn't breathe from outside the engine bay, find one that fits that description.

The air that the OEM (the one it came with from the factory, or Original Equipment Manufactured) air intake breathes in is usually from just behind the grille itself, or sometimes from a fenderwell. This "air charge" is actually cold (or ambient temperature air), as hot air will just drop your ignition timing (because of pre-ignition or detonation) as the temperature of the intake air increases, and take all your HP with it.

Let common sense help some on deciding just how good an aftermarket part or system is:
1) Why would the Manufacturer short you on the performance it could have for an extra $100?
2) If you gained MPG with a simple piece of tubing and a "one size fits all" air filter element - wouldn't they do that at the factory that built the vehicle?
3) Who do you think has more money and resources for Research and Development - the company that designed and built the entire vehicle, or the company that made that "cold air intake"?
4) If something you could buy and install yourself would actually add HorsePower and MPG, why would any vehicle manufacturer waste millions designing it the way they did (and lose the edge on the competition)?

Add to that the water protection that a stock OEM air box is designed to provide. Water intrusion is a HUGE concern to prevent damage, and here's the reason, air compresses and water doesn't. If an engine breathes in water, and tries to compress it, it will break in a big way.

Some "cold air intake" kits have a water intrusion valve that is basically a ping-pong ball in a sleeve - good luck trusting an engine to that. I know where they got the R&D on that design, just open up a wet/ dry shopvac and you'll see the same thing. Amazing how brilliant these things are when you dig.

 

I can only find 1st gen stuff...you might be right

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68169-elbow-deck-mod.html