Do you notice that your car is remarkably faster when it is cold outside?

Probably not.


Do CAI systems work? Probably not the way you hope they will.

Do CAI systems make a different noise? YES!

Do CAI systems often open up air flow? YES!

Do CAI systems reduce fuel efficiency? Sometimes!

Are CAI systems a performance enhancer? Yeah, a little bit - but often your fuel efficiency suffers and the performance increase is very subtle - it is mostly sound and fury, signifying nothing. After paying $150, you will definitely feel something. If the mod is free, you will feel nothing! Try it!

 

first off, did you start this thread to disprove aftermarket intakes? secondly, sound and fury do not always signify the lack of performace gains. are you saying this would apply to the whine of a supercharger? lastly, and most importantly, describe the advantage of your TRD air filter over a CAI, outside of cost. also note, fuel efficiency is not reduced because of an intake, but because of the change in the driving style.

 

i think the point you shuold be addressing is that, unless you're running a boosted car, small output engines like our little N/A's will recieve very little power band increases. however, if you look at cars like evos/sti's/etc. something so much as a drop in filter can produce an amazing outcome. but for those looking for siginificant gains from an N/A you must address everything. new intake + manifold/full cat back exhaust + headers, and a reflash of your ECU. one thing people don't realize is that even when you have all this, power is nothing unless it can be efficiently distributed. tires are extremely important both in amount of grip and the care which must be provided for them.

just thought i'd add a little to it.

 

good point. the power is useless if you cant get it to the ground. another thought is that if you are going to get the most out of a NA engine, ever bottleneck from the air filter to the muffler must be eliminated.

 

heh i lost fuel mpg with a cai but with a SRI (aka hot air intake) it improves my mpg alot

 

Hey guys, I know I'm new in all. I did the Autozone red-neck filter mod and actually feel quite a bit of difference in the XD. I was actually surprised at the difference it made. I am of the opinion though that a CAI mostly sees measurable gains b/c of either a tuned pipe, and or unrestricted airflow, but that's just an opinion formed from my own limited experience.

Here's the pics if anyone's interested. It's temporarily installed for now.

http://www.litnamedia.com/index.html

 

in actuality, there are restrictions to a CAI, in the sense that you have lag of getting air from a lower point to a higher point. in my opinion, to run a CAI to its full potential (as i've stated above) a new manifold is essential. your vacuum must be prime to be able to make up for the extra length of piping. while. yes, the scuba pipe of an OEM intake is rather restrictive, since its thin, velocity is increased, letting the air travel faster. but when you upgrade your piping to a full, single diameter pipe, you sacrifice the velocity necessary to mantain a proper vacuum provided by the intake stroke/drawing air from your manifold. but regardless, even diameter is important to unrestrict airflow...so, thats why you upgrade everything, rather than just one, and expect power from it.

 

thats how i got it, well for now, 3 1/2 coupler is hard to find here apparently. but yea you feel the engine throttle stronger then stock, but thats a short ram intake dude, if you want a cold air, pipe it all down to where the gap with holes is, massive suction!!! btw welcome to scionlife

 

Thanks. Well, I am contemplating trying out a "ram air" concept, with that vent on the bottom. From what I've read, ram air either really works great, or doesn't work at all depending on your set up. I would like to have a sealed intake duct coming from that hole to the intake, but who knows if that would do anything beyond what's already been done.

I don't have a 3 1/2 coupler haha.. I just worked the filter's rubber skirt around the maf housing very carefully with a flat head.

 

interesting
I dont think it makes much or at all difference unless the filter cone is next to the bottom vent but it is possible
but yea I was goin to make my homemade short ram w/ aftermarket tubing but need the couplre, im sure it will improve then the stock tube. But what you have is a good start

 

actually this would be a bit more of an improvement over a short ram, many kits are already out for other cars (MANY. cars.) that have a hot box (idk what its called but supposedly it acts as a heat sink) and a pipe that goes from the box to a source of fresh air. however, they usually port out to the front bumper (grill or a new hole that has to be created) K&N makes an intake along the lines of what youre thinking about doing, where the pipe takes air from the bottom , but the heat sink isn't a full box, but rather a two sided wall that blocks heat from the engine / battery portion of the bay, and leaves openings at the area behind the headlight/next to the quarter panel. maybe you can base your design off this?

 

just thought i'd say this is the most "mechanical" thread i've read lately in the xD section

lol.

 

yeah, I've seen those kits for other cars before. It might be a project worth a weekend. The hardest parts to find I think would be the actual intake duct to fit in that hole, and a solution to get a decent filter somewhere along the pipe.

 

well for intake ducting you could use something as simple as those big aluminum heater tubings (they even sell them in premade packages for automotive use...dont know where though) as for a decent filter, you can buy blitz/injen/aem/virtually any company sells their filters seperately. find one with the right diameter and youre good.

Edit: btw this is the heater tubing thing i was taling about

something similar to that haha