which air intake system

Hey guys and gals...
just curious on everyone's preferred air intake systems. I'm trying to decide what I'd like to put on my truck (06 prerunner). I've been looking at a k&n 63 series, and have read good things, but I've also briefly looked at the afe power magnumforce stage 2 system. Anyone have any good info on either? The afe says it will give you more of a power gain (18hp), but I don't know if that's just a general number from them or if they actually tested it on the trucks. K&n seems to be much more specific with their numbers concerning power gains, which makes me think it's more accurate. Anyways, any input would be awesome! Thanks y'all!

 

I like aFe's system, but for my money, traditional cold air intakes really aren't worth it anymore. You're much better off just popping a TRD drop in filter in the stock box. BUT! Better yet... if you wanna spend the coin, since you have a pre 2012 truck, just go for the TRD cold air intake system. People will call it junk, but its actually rather good and a smart design, it also offers maximum engine protection with the best gains .... the afe is a nice and all but with mine when I had one, right in between the lid and the filter element would always clog up with a lot of strange filth ... and I didn't even ever take the truck off road. Just my 2 cents tho. Its your money my friend

 

Stock system is a Cold air intake... cruising down the highway your going to see intake temps at <5* above ambient like any aftermarket intake.

Like stated time and time again... the ONLY time you see any real gains is when you are running a supercharger and have the mods to need more air... (smaller pully and bigger fuel pump)

 

I just installed a K&N cold air intake onto my 2011 Tacoma in the hopes that it would improve fuel economy. I was also bored.

I was very skeptical that it would improve my performance.

I was amazed by how much extra torque it gave my truck, especially when you "get into the accelerator" at 2-3000 RPM while in 2nd or 3rd. I don't even have to drop out of 6th gear on some select hills that used to necessitate 5th.

 

your butt dyno is just hearing more power....

 

Hehe, probably.

 

Never had much luck with "noticeable" HP gains with a cold air intake- but I love the sound of hearing the intake under full throttle. I would do it for that reason alone. One exception we had a Nissan Quest mini van that I did a DIY CAI, made it much more fun to drive and gain 1 MPG average on the highway. I never did better than 22 mpg before and I could get 23 mpg after.

Enjoy!

Dan

 

I have the trd CAI with the EGR delete... it helped even out my low end a lot.

 

No. Not only am I almost deaf, I drive a stick and am extremely perceptive of what my vehicle is doing. I would tend to agree with you had I not installed one myself, as I am probably one of the world's biggest skeptics when it comes to any sort of vehicular aftermarket addition, but this intake truly surprised me.

 

k&n is hot air.... look it up. its an open air charger intake, not a sealed Cold air box style.

 

-/+ 3 hp meh. buy bonds.

 

Tip.

On any 'power adder' if the ad says 'up to xx hp', remember, that's a range of 0 to xx hp.

Guess which end of the scale it's usually closer to? And they haven't lied.

Learn how to calculate $/hp, and decide what something is worth to you.

And never forget, 100# equals 10HP. Which is usually easier and cheaper than air intakes and mufflers.

 

i was into imports hard back in the 90's. intakes would yeild 10%(at best) on a good motor with proper porting. I had a good dyno to test on. 10% was crank so less than 5% at wheels. not worth it. Butt dyno is wallet sayin it's good. Intakes alone on a Hondo lost Hp and Tq, they are tuned that good at factory.

 

I suppose I should have mentioned that I do ha e the trd sport package. Part of why I was thinking of doing an intake was to get a better sound out of the truck. It already has a super 44 muffler though.
Guess I still have some thinking to do!

 

Go with the TRD cold air intake, you'll like it, im sure. I tried to retrofit one onto my truck but since im a 2012 the a/c lines were in the way, otherwise its an awesome system.

 

I agree with this 1000%

Cold Air Intakes are a waste of money unless supercharged

 

OP, the K&N I got is in a relatively sealed box, so I'm not sure what our above motivator is referring to.

Next note for OP is had I known what sort of performance gains I would get, I would have installed this product four years ago. Simple fluid mechanics should tell you that performance gains (ie more energy efficient which is why I purchased the item) can be made by reducing the resistivity to flow. Having worked with centrifugal pumps for a time, I would have to suggest that saying that no performance gains are made by reducing resistance to fluid flow (air is a fluid) is an ill informed statement.

I think some of the above bitchers and moaners possibly did not reset their computer upon installation. I am no automotive wizard, but I do know that the system needs to be aware of a new mass flow rate. I also know that I see a marked increase in torque when shifting. I have a manual, so I make the decision when to shift, therefore, I would imagine I would be more likely to notice gains in the 2-3.5k rpm range than our fellow automatic drivers.

Bottom line is, I would suggest to you that you look into a cold air intake. I would not imagine it would be worth more than 250 dollars, but that's just me. (Translation, I wouldn't waste money on aluminum tubing)

 

k&n is not fully sealed, so its a hot air intake. hot air= less air being shoved into the throttle body. colder, less dense air- more air being pumped in.... k&n may or may not have better air flow, but the hot air means less of it. the "partial seal" for a k&n is just a mirage, it doesn't protect it from engine heat.

 

Afe Pro Dry S. Volant can cause check engine light, TRD uses K&N filter with oil. K&N is known to not protect against small particles and can be easily over oiled, causing Maf damage.

 

Thanks! I prefer to look at it as the voice of experience rather than discontent. Just trying to give reasonable food for thought to the OP.

Here's some more.

In this era of max efficiency that the OEs seek, straining for every ounce of fuel economy across fleet averages, while meeting other vehicular goals, why on earth do you think they'd ignore the shape of a simple piece of plastic and leave power or efficiency on the table?

Why do you think there is 'untapped' potential within the way the cylinder head/combustion chamber/exhaust is built? I mean if all you are doing is putting in more air, and the computer steps up to keep stoichiometric balanced with more fuel, how does that help if this new mixture can't be effectively burnt and discharged?

Your theory would say that the motor was built for greater capacity, right from the factory, and they forgot to effectively design a $2 piece of plastic.

I'm glad you are happy with your choice. But w/o pre and post mod dyno numbers, I'm not a believer.