Cold Air Intake????

well when i did this mod to an 06 matrix, it rough ideled for like 10 minuetes at a stop sign then it corrected itself. so toyota must have put them in all their vehicles after 05 for emissions standards

 

The OEM system IS a CAI.

 

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 think the biggest thing a Ram air intake for our trucks mainly provides is a better breathing filter element and thats where the bigger tubes and such are for, easier air induction.
Also these intakes do show gains on a dyno, yes they are on the top end way up the rpm range but gains are received

I think that even though the air that the stock box gets in our trucks is from the wheel well, the air filter is in a box sitting in the engine compartment
So the cold air has to run through a hot air filter before entering the engine

thats just how i feel

 

i know how u feel about CAI chris, but my K&N filter def. has a larger intake tube....

and when i get on it be it sound or actual gains my butt dyno thinks its better, so butt dyno FTW

 

There are only 2x things you can really do to the V6 intake as its already a pretty solid cai. Replace the filter element with something that flows better like a TRD, Green filter,or a K&N. Another thing that hasn't been done that would help would be to replace the ribbed hose that goes into the fender with a smooth aluminum tube. The ribs on the hose create air turbulence which will affect flow rate.

 

so out of the drop in air filters, is there a better one, or are the all pretty much equal? I really only know about K&N because i hear more about them

 

the afe stage 2 for the 2.7 will give you better top end and a lot more noise. i have one for sale mint w/ an unopened afe filter cleaning kit.

 

the pro dry S filter doesnot require oiling and therefore doenst give you a chance to screw up the MAF sensor with over oiling. its washable.

 

Im a little confused. AFE website claims 13hp gain but there are many comments on here that state they don't do anything? Help?

 

I think these are valid points, however it is good to remember that OEM engineers have to think about a variety of issues when designing an air intake--especially noise and packaging. Their designs are a compromise between flow, silencing, cost, and packaging. Aftermarket manufacturers can safely discard silencing, and often can be more flexible about packaging and less concerned about cost.

In my previous vehicle, one company did engineer a fantastic, well designed CAI that really works. The reason it was so good was that the factory intake drew in under-hood warm air, had lots of bends and turns, and was designed to be as quiet as reasonably possible. There was room for lots of improvement performance-wise. The CAI required a little modification to the engine bay and didn't care about sound--only performance. For those of us that bought them, that's what mattered.

Now, the Tacoma's factory CAI, as far as I can tell, is well-designed from a flow standpoint. Look at the size of the filter area! Look where it draws in the intake air! There is very little performance gain to be had in redesigning the air intake on this vehicle.

 

The intake definitely helps on the 4.0 engine. Now I can't say it gives 13hp, but it definitely made a difference in my truck and I switched from a k&n drop in to the afe cai.
I don't understand why people continue to say they don't add power?

 

you will NOT gain 13 hp with a CAI.

maybe a couple ponies. but not over 3.

 

they increase sound, and alot of times they "feel" like they increase power cause of increased sound. chris 4x4 has done dyno tests with no results

 

Mine isn't loud cause it's in a box. Well just cause one truck didn't see a gain doesn't meen they all won't. All dyno's are different too.