AFE intake

That is a great question. I am an old Mustang guy, and I remember the CAI helping a lot on the old cars. There was so much aftermarket business for those Mustangs that you could find a lot of back to back, non biased, dyno comparisons.

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of that with our pickup trucks, as they are not popular on the hotrodding lists. Magazines talk more about adventure kits and lift kits. Rightfully so, as that's what these trucks are for. They are not drag trucks.

Over my many years of hot rod building, I learned dyno result can be tweaked to make dog sh!t look like a promising product. Be careful. In the days of the early Mustangs, these CAIs worked because the 1990 Mustang had a horribly restricted intake tract. Our Tacomas, on the other hand, have a very nice intake tract, and it is a cold air intake. Thus, there is not much to be gained, in the usable RPM range. Yes, there may be 10 horsepower gained at 6500 RPMs, but that virtually won't do anything for your 1/4 mile times, because your camshaft signed off by then, and your shift return point just wasted 30% of your next sequential gear.

I am sure someone can produce a nice dyno sheet, but I wouldn't trust it unless is is a VERY reputable dyno, and that the operator is 100% unbiased. Why do I say this??? If I was crooked, and I wanted to make a CAI intake look good, I could make sure the intake air temperature, intake manifold heat soak temperatures, and engine coolant temperatures are more favorable for the CAI dyno pull than the stock dyno pull. Voila! I gained 15 hp with my brand X CAI. And by the way, maybe the vendor is paying for the dyno time!!

I know when people see a dyno sheet they consider that authoritative. Just be careful as there are a lot of crooks out there whose motives are purely for profit. I mean, really, $450 for a pipe, a box, and a cloth filter??? $35 in China.

 

Perfectly said, again it's Snake Oil but let people waste their money, as it is their's to waste.

 

Okay gotta ask cause I don't get it. What is with the pod on the back of the intake tube the same one you see on the OEM? most after market don't have them except this one it seems. whats it for, whats it do, why is it there?????

 

Why do you keep saying this when dyno numbers were presented to you showing that you are wrong?

 

I agree with you for the most part. The Tacoma has a good induction system. I don't think the dyno numbers show much "real world" gain. There are too many variables as well. I would think a 1/4 mile comparison would be helpful by a reliable, 3rd party.

 

That's a resonator, it tweaks the sound. My aFe intake sounds awesome!

 

Huh how about that, I learned something new today thanks!

 

I bet the Helmholtz resonator actually attenuates some of the Sound

 

I only briefly glanced at the replies, but why is it a "waste" when the OP (or other people) know it's mostly for sound? Whether or not it actually has any gains are negligble at best, but is it not "allowed" someone spend their money for an aesthetic or sound reason?

 

Op asked for insight, which, without scope, would include performance. A lot of insight will have attatched opinions. Also, you assume that other people want a CAI mostly for sound. That may or may not be true.

 

I know this. I'm just saying if someone wants to buy something for sound or aesthetic reasons, why are you trying to ingrain the "performance" aspect (which is negligible, at best, especially on this motor) into his reason(s) for purchase or not?

A purchase for aesthetics and/or sound is just as legitimate as one with "performance" or "functionality"

 

Your question is not relevant to the op's question. The op asked for insight. The op did not limit the scope of the question to sound and looks, like you are. Thus, seeing as this question is the op's, and not yours, people responded appropriately.

 

That's why I said "other people" in the thread as well. Not only specifically the OP.

 

Fair enough.

 

I personally think they look nice and have a sweet sound when coupled with a mild exhaust

 

Dyno numbers from whom? The manufacturer or an independent dyno from a member?

 

Both. You can easily Google for this and you can find numerous tests that all show that there is performance gain. I have to go with the evidence. If you don't believe it if like to see what evidence you're basing your opinion on.

 

Put an aFe on with the front air collector and really like the sound from 3K - 4.5K. "Throaty" is how I would describe it - I don't find that it drones while I drive. I had my LQI (Life Quality Inspector (wife)) in the passenger seat for a good 7 hour drive and she said nothing - that means there's literally no problem at all.

I put the CAI in at 250 miles so I can't compare any before after performance gains - so you can leave me out of the [waste of money] replies.
No issues with the MAF or any other light and it's been installed for 8000 miles.

20 minute install - super easy - buying the scoop air collector as a package from aFe is a good deal.

 

I actually just did this for my own reference. Not a lot of information out there. I did find this on the manufacture's website. Note the dates and temperatures. Thus this dyno sheet can not be trusted. Not to mention the 20 ft lb torque increase at 2600 RPM would never happen. Their website is full of bs marketing. I find nothing dyno related from any independent Dyno. Bottom line, I expect a few hp gain (less than 10) at the top of the gear. The sound will be cool, and they look nice. The price is very, very high, and there is a lot of bs marketing. My $.02

 

Exactly.

Show me a dyno that was done same day, same car from an independent user. I already looked for an independent dyno that showed gains like what the manufacturer posted and did not find any. The previous community I was in was with AMG mercedes and a 1500 intake would net only about 3-5hp on a dyno, no different than what removing the charcoal air filters would do. People actually did their own dyno runs as did I with results. Intakes on N/A cars are generally useless unless you get full I/H/E with a tune.