Cold Air Intakes - Worth the $$$?

Cold Air Intakes - Worth the $$$?

I've heard varying reports from dozens of people saying they find massive low-end power losses with a CAI on the IForce. However, I've also heard reports from dozens of people that there was absolutely NO powerloss from this.

Thoughts?

Trying to determine if a CAI would be a worthwhile investment on my truck.

Thats the Dyno Sheet for Horsepower and Torque respectively for the AEM Brute Force Intake System for the 4.7 iForce V8. It is a SRI instead of a CAI though.

http://trucks.aempower.com/pdf/dyno/21-8401D_2001_Toyota_Tundra_V8_HP.pdf
http://trucks.aempower.com/pdf/dyno/21-8401D_2001_Toyota_Tundra_V8_TQ.pdf

I guess I'm qualified to respond here, having the 4.7 V8 and all...

I put a Volant CAI on about 3 months ago and have had nothing but positive experiences with it. I found it didn't really effect low end torque, but seems like it had an effect on midrange torque and high end HP. Plus it sounds MEAN!!! I need to get it dynoed again to see what the intake gave me...

Andy, I promise I'll make it up sometime and you can check out my rig

Do you ever do any moderate towing where you can really see if it hurt the Low-end? I do alot of towing. Fort Collins, Canon City, Nebraska, etc.

And I want to man, I wanna see if your Runner and my truck sound the same, since we have the same exhaust set-up.

I kno a guy who owns a shop and he has people come in to install a bypass valve on their cold air intakes....that kinda defeats the purpose of the CAI and all that money spend, wasted.....

by cutting the pipe in half, putting the bypass valvue in and reconnecting both halves of the pipe around the valve...it no longer sucks only cold air in but also the heated air from the engine...and because the bypass valve is less permeable and mounted closer to the intake manifold, its gonna suck in alot of air from there first...might as well be runnig an sri..

the kind he sells are just basically another filter...it looks almost exactly like this...



it doesnt have a flange that closes n opens..its essentially just a simple filter. Sadly, its really not all that high-tech, lol. The change in pressure resulting from, for example, driving through a flood and the main filter gets submersed, would just inadvertantly cause more air than usual to get sucked in from the bypass valve. But yes, I agree, it is a good investment to save ur engine from getting flooded...

I've towed both with and without the intake. Before the intake I towed my girlfriends POS Grand Am to the dealership because it wouldn't start. We put it on a two wheel trailer and I pulled it with the Runner. It seemed to tow the load fine (3500 lbs, maybe?). About a month ago, after I got the intake, I pulled a UHaul 6x12 filled with a couple of couches and tables, maybe 800 lbs total inside the trailer, I forget how much the trailer weighs, and pulled it from Vail to Denver. I was able to go 60 mph up the backside of Vail pass, I was passing cars that couldn't go that fast unloaded, but thats all high end around redline. As far as starting from a stop and cruising in 5th gear at low rpm I didn't notice any difference with the intake. It didn't get any better low end, but I know it didn't get any worse. It would pull just fine on level ground going 60 mph in 5th gear, doesn't require a downshift to gain speed during those conditions. Keep in mind however that I have the 4.7 with the VVT-i and ACIS (Acoustic Control Induction System, basically a variable length intake runner system). Hope this helps...

ACIS?

Yep, on all VVT-i enabled (read: '05+) 2uz-fe (4.7 V8) engines.

Still a little lost. What's the function of the Acoustic Control Induction System?

Google it, or research it at Tundrasolutions. It is a set of vanes in the intake manifold that varies the runner length of the intake tract to each cylinder. It is based on the theory that fast moving air can act to supercharge a cylinder by virtue of its kinetic energy. the longer the intake tract, the more air that is flowing to that specific cylinder and has kind of a ram-air effect so the engine doesn't have to rely on its vacuum to draw air into the cylinder at lower rpm. At high rpms, this runner opens, shortening the length allowing the air to reach the cylinder faster and more direct. Its more of a sound/emissions/fuel economy thing, versus a performance thing, although many high performance sports cars have this type of setup too...

Lol, no time to google it at work. Have enough time to post quick replies and then I disappear back to the lift.

Sound cool, I'm still researching the idea of purchasing the GlassWorks Supercharger hood for my Tundra and converting to functional Ram Air.

I have no complaints about my intake, and i loved the price $90 shipped!! It did make my flowmaster louder when I get into it, but thats a good thing!

In response to the original question in the title, yes, it is worth the $$$. You get increased looks with the air filter usually looking aggressive from the outside and a cleaner look under the engine bay. You get a better sound projected out of the vehicle thanks to the placing of the filter. You get increased performance by collecting cooler, denser air into the combustion chamber and a increased velocity thanks to the longer intake tubing. A trifecta.