Stock vs AFE vs Volant - if you don't like don't bother

First let me get this out of the way, if you think CAI's are stupid and useless great, but please don't post here. The main reason I'm making this thread is because I was fortunate enough to be able to try a volant and an afe stage 2 si back to back. I bought a volant used for a decent price and then my neighbor wrecked his tacoma and just gave me his afe (I did end up giving him $100 plus my lawn mower). I drove about 400 miles with the volant ( 2 tanks of gas), put the factory intake back on and drove another 1 and 1/2 tanks with that and finally I have the afe on right now and have gone only 1/2 a tank with it.

The volant was nice, it sounds good and there is a definite bump in power on the highway. Around town it's no louder than stock, and it was close to stock in mileage. The LTFT was higher than stock though and it did decrease mileage by 1-2 mpg's with an overall mile reduction of maybe 30 miles per tank. If you really wanted the full benefit with this I'd say get the ram air scoop and the urd calibration unit, then you'd get the mileage back and probably have even better power.

With tHe stock back on after the volant the throttle felt lazy, like it had to think about things a bit before it did anything. Passing on the highway especially felt a little harder but the mpg's did increase. I have to admit I did miss the intake sound a little.

Now the afe, if I was going to bu a new intake I'd go with this over the volant and anything else I've seen. I haven't driven it enough to give y'all a mileage report yet, but the throttle response is just as good as the volant if not better, and its much better than stock. It's better made, with a post for the engine cover and a better platform for the MAF sensor to sit on. The volant doesn't seal as well and also doesn't allow for the engine cover to be attachd at both sides. Also, the air seems like its funneled better, with a gradual cone until it gets to the throttle body, the volant is just a straight tube from filter to throttle.

Volume with both was fine, neither was obnoxious IMO but that's a personal thing. I somehow deleted my volant pictures and yu all know what the stock looks like, but here are a couple of afe pics. If you can find a sale on this I'd say its worth it but I don't think I'd pay the full $350+ price I've seen on a lot of websites. Somebody said that auto anything has a sale on these right now, and there is also afe intake.com if you think you want to buy one. The volant is less expensive but if you add in the urd calibrate unit it ends up being more expensive.

Finally, if you have a 1st gen TRD intake the afe is nearly the exact same thing. I say nearly because the air box on the trd has only 1 air inlet, but the afe has an optional front intake section that yu can seal with a rubber plug. I've been driving with the plug removed and the intake temp is still a little lower or equal to stock, around 5 degrees higher than ambient. I plan on testing it with the plug in after a couple tanks to compare.

 

Enjoy!

 

Good write-up OP. I've got a Jerry rigged volant that I'd like to upgrade to the AFE. This confirms that desire. Plan on trying to figure out how to plumb a snorkel into the inlet.

 

It's too bad the companies don't sell the parts separately, the volant air box is nearly the same as the afe, it just has a smaller outlet from the box to throttle body. I think the best of both would be the volant ram scoop with the afe dry filter and tube.

 

A small update - I still don't have enough data to give a long term report but for the short term the AFE is giving me the same fuel trims (both banks) as stock and in general about a 1-2 mpg increase in mpg's according to real time data from Torque. I think the most noticeable difference from stock is for the same speed I am at lower rpm's and less pedal travel. It'll be another couple weeks before I can see for sure if my mpg's have changed, this past week threw things off as I did a good amount of driving in 4x4 mode so it's going to be lower miles for the tank.

 

Then you have a problem with your torque converter lock-up, not a CAI improvement.

 

I got the Trd 1gen And its great mileage wise no gains just better throttle response

 

x3

 

I've been running a Volant with the ram air scoop for about a year now. I still average about 18-21 mpg. Other than sound, the only difference between it and the stock is improved throttle response. No real HP gains or mpg gains

 

Saw your ebay add for the Volant. You did ok on price it seems.

FWIW, I have run several intakes on my truck.

Stock
Stock with a Volant scoop into the airbox.
Volant Scoop with Volant CAI.

Next is getting the URD MAF blackbox hooked up. Have the map and just need time to splice it in.

So far they all work well. Yes the oem setup does seem to lag.

OEM airbox with the scoop ran crisp.

Volant / Volant Scoop does run real well.

I was planning to get the AFE and make the setup like Murderface did on XRu.

I am very tempted to do the mod where the intake grabs air from the cowl and just run a stock airbox again.

FWIW, there is a good read on running dry filters. It's over on BITOG forum. Long read but a guy tested a lot of different filters on his Mazda.

I would not run a dry aftermarket if you drive anywhere dusty. My setup is the Volant filter with the secondary sock covering it.

PK

 

I would agree with this, may not have more HP to be noticed but it certainly pulls a lot harder through the bottom and mid range.

My average mileage is the same.

PK

 

This is probably the most informative thread I've read on cai's but it doesn't have any numbers for the volant. I think this is about as unbiased a test as you'll find.

http://www.xr-underground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35406&page=4

Like I said, I think with the volant the ram air scoop is the best way to go, and then to maximize the benefits get the urd calibration unit. The volant w/o scoop vs the afe - I think the afe is better.

 

I get what you are saying, but I'm telling you from back to back driving you actually CAN feel a difference. Is 12 hp gain worth $200+, that's really up to the individual. Like I said originally, I was lucky and was given a chance to try 2 different intakes along with the stock. Having said all that, I just hate seeing people get so down on those who choose to buy and install an aftermarket intake. How many people on here bought a new muffler because of the sound? So what makes buying an intake so bad?

Back to the performance aspect, look at the dyno chart Gadget posted in his thread I referenced, there is a gain across the entire power band with both the old style and the new style TRD intakes, the major difference being that the new style leans the engine out a significant amount.

I'm not trying to influence anybody one way or the other, just trying to give people some credible (or at least semi-credible) info.

 

I drive WOT most of the time. Hence 12.3 and dropping mpg's

"It's because of the lovely sound my volant makes officer!"

 

Chris, I'm not arguing with you or saying you are wrong, and in general I didn't intend and don't want this thread to become one of the endless arguments over whether to buy an intake or leave it stock. Some people decide to buy an intake, and if you are one of those people I'd like to give you some info about the 2 I've tried. it's as simple as that, so if you are one of the "leave it stock" people that's great, you haven't wasted your money and you can be happy.

Also, I'm repeating myself here but some people don't give a rats ass about performance and want an intake for the sound alone. I'm also willing to bet some people like what they look like when you open the hood. Intakes are like brush guards, bed caps, wheels, tires, and any other mod people on here make. Just look at the lt vs p rated tire debate thread, some people have very definitive opinions and will never change.

Oh yeah, I like spiders!

 

Still funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI