Cold Air Intake Mod...Yay or Nay?

Hi Everyone, new to the forum. I am a new 1st Gen Tacoma owner (2003 V6 4WD Auto Xtra Cab) and several people have told me that adding an aftermarket cold air intake is well worth it while others have said, not so much. Any real use case thumbs up or thumbs down input? Appreciate it!

Here's what I look like under the hood.

 

The factory intake is cold air.

 

Thanks, yes the factory one is a Cold Air Intake, I was told the aftermarket ones allow for more air "Volume" intake than the factory intake and thus better performance.

 

What increases in Throttle body size and intake valves are you planning to use the extra air ??

Then you need to get rid of the extra air as well

Then cam timing to use the extra air more fuel to combine with extra air

 

It does. The 2nd upgrade would be replace the engine with one that needs more air. Because the taco doesnt.

 

I have the K&N CAI along with the TRD headers and TRD cat-back exhaust.

 

K&N (or similar, I have the Spectre) drop in filter and an AirAid intake tube.

 

Who are these people that told you adding an aftermarket cold air intake is well worth it ??? 1... the guy at Autozone ?? O'Reillys ? 2... Chevy, Dodge or a Ford owner ?? 3... Bubba at the truck stop ? Just make sure the box is clean with a fresh filter and enjoy the drive ...

 

I love this my favorite !!

 

The egr valve kinda defeats the whole “COI” argument

 

the '04 3.4 L has an EGR valve?

 

A bigger volume intake doesn't force more air into to the engine, only way to do that is with a turbo or supercharger.

Most cold air intakes actually pull in warmer air than the stock intake. If you want an intake that pulls in 'cooler' air then get a snorkel. Snorkels pull air from well outside the engine bay and high up from the ground so it's actually ambient temperature. Rather than warmer air from closer to the ground or from inside the engine bay

 

you wont notice much difference and most of these aftermarket intake air cleaners you are constantly cleaning them if they are out in the open unless they are in the original housing , the kn replacement is a good choice and you will never have to buy another air cleaner

 

When I had a first gen I just did the deck plate mod with an AFe drop in filter for the stock air box.

Just don’t do a short ram or open ‘cold air intake’ that’s just a filter in the engine bay, nothing about it would be ‘cold’ air.

 

Probably not but even if you were drawing cool air from the rain forest of Peru you won’t notice a difference.

 

x2. When I bought my truck, it had a K&N on it. The filter pulled hot air directly from under the hood, no gain of power at all. Anything like that isn't a true CAI. It also sounded absolutely awful, especially at highway speed (high pitched sucking!), had to drive slower just to hear myself think. Put the factory box back on and I am perfectly happy.

I know that Underdog Racing Development makes a "true" CAI that pulls air from in front of the radiator, they claim that when driving the air is 30°F cooler than the stock intake. Might check to see if they have one that fits your truck, but I've heard that they require cutting for fitment, not a bolt-on mod.

 

URD only makes that CAI for 2nd gens I believe, or at least they're the only ones I've seen it on

 

Thanks for the input everyone, if it's not going to help the engine run better or use less fuel I'll probably stick with the stock setup. Some people have said they notice a sound difference.

 

10 years ago I removed the gasket that seals the back of the hood to let heat escape.