$50 cai

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audio1der

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To be completely honest I don't even know if well designed commercial CAIs actually free up THAT much power; I think a lot of it is the sound they make and wishful thinking.(but it was the only way my wife would allow it on the truck , so be it)
If you're trying to save a buck (ain't no shame in that) what about getting the lower half of a stock airbox from the wreckers, cutting a 4" hole in the bottom and running some dryer duct from the hole to down near the splash guard? In my first car I used a stainless floor register to "scoop" air behind my lower grille in to the dryer duct.
Another member had some luck just by drilling the hole in the bottom but again, it will draw warm air from the engine bay at idle/off the line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI for CAI. I know it's on a smaller displacement engine, but I don't see any of the manufacturers posting videos of dyno gains using their systems...
 
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Chewy

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CAI isn't worth a darn without a tune IMO! I don't know if I'll do anything on my RAM. I have a Vararam on my G8 but tuned for it.


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Hemi450hp

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We used to have a local member here named Chaney. He had a 2012 before tuners were available, and he dropped .3 off his 1/4 mile time by switching from a K&N intake to a Vararam. He never got a before run with the same mods and stock intake, but .3 is a very substantial improvement. He was also on stock tuning as the 2012's were not even supported at that time. Vararam knows what they are doing, and there is alot more science behind the design than most people realize when just looking at a picture.
 

smiley

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We used to have a local member here named Chaney. He had a 2012 before tuners were available, and he dropped .3 off his 1/4 mile time by switching from a K&N intake to a Vararam. He never got a before run with the same mods and stock intake, but .3 is a very substantial improvement. He was also on stock tuning as the 2012's were not even supported at that time. Vararam knows what they are doing, and there is alot more science behind the design than most people realize when just looking at a picture.

To be devils advocate it could simply be he got better at reacting and doing the runs this is not very scientific. I think we all want big gains from CAI but I am not sure they are huge but noticeable difference is nice.


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Hemi450hp

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Reaction times dont affect your overall 1/4 mile ET, so that doesnt have any affect on it.

Back when I had my 03 hemi, I was at the track every week, and made over 500 passes down the dragsrtip. I was very consistant, and had the truck dialed in perfectly. Same night, same conditions, I would drop .3 off my 1/4 mile simply by running a homemade cold air scoop that waould take air from under the bumper and route it directly into the intake tube. This same "forced cold air" design is what Vararam uses for the hemi, and that is why it works. Bracket racers know their trucks inside and out and can predict their times as close a .05 seconds. To make that many consistant runs within .05 seconds of each other, and then see an immediate .3 drop on every run after that with the scoop installed is a true as the numbers get. I will never own a vehicle with a factory intake system.

Now I am not saying that all aftermarket intakes are good, but there are a few that will show immediate results. I will never run a K&N on my truck, and I am not a huge fan of AIRAID either. AEM made a decent kit for the 3rd gen hemi, but I dont like their 4th gen setup. Vararam has been the best performing on all hemi trucks from 03-13, and S&B is a close 2nd.
 

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I like CAI I am just saying unless you are doing a Dyno don't see how you could really know for sure. That is what I also would want to see with any mod. Placebo effect happens a lot with mods and there are a lot of numbers being thrown around without dyno it is just estimations. I will be first to admit I don't race and only care about towing and mileage so I guess those are things I hope to improve on when buying mods personally. I felt the K&N was pretty good but it was too loud for me and I can't help but think of all that fine dirt getting in. I really like the Vararam idea.


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Hemi450hp

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Assuming traction isnt an issue, the dragstrip is a great way to measure gains. With an automatic transmission, you can be very consistant by just putting it in drive and going. I have seen dyno numbers vary by as much as 10-12hp on back to back runs on the same truck with the same mods, so I have always used the dragstrip as my basis for how well a part performed. Mileage is something you can obviously check anytime as long as you can keep your foot off the skinny pedal.

I installed an S&B on my cummins last week, and I am seeing about 1-1.5mpg increase in mileage so far. That is a very nice improvement for a $300 part.
 

Ram bo

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wonder how the vararam works w/the active shutters.......
 

Chewy

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I thought the Vararam got its air at bumper level. Shutters are of course behind the grill.


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garner

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I thought the Vararam got its air at bumper level. Shutters are of course behind the grill.


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On 4th gens it gets it from behind the grille. 3rd gens was the bumper
 

Chewy

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Well then, I'm guessing it won't work on 2013 models... Hmmm...


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bloombloom88

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Just out of curiosity, if anyone else can pull their IAT from a programmer and post it with what intake you have and ambient temp I think it be interesting to compare the numbers. Sorry for thread jacking

This I can do. If you make a new thread, ill post a pic of my SC with my results and brand of CAI. This way we can figure how each CAI brings in the coolest air into the motor.


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Hemi450hp

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Well then, I'm guessing it won't work on 2013 models... Hmmm...


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I dont know of any 2013's that have the shutters behind the grille yet, so as of now it does work on 2013 models. Once the shutter design is out and running, then Vararam is going to have to come up with a new design for those models.
 

Chewy

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I dont know of any 2013's that have the shutters behind the grille yet, so as of now it does work on 2013 models. Once the shutter design is out and running, then Vararam is going to have to come up with a new design for those models.

I thought that was part of the A8 trucks, but I may be wrong. If it were me, I'd buy Vararam all day long!! Having one on my G8 is a big reason why. Their customer support ROCKS!


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steadly2004

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Reaction times dont affect your overall 1/4 mile ET, so that doesnt have any affect on it.

Back when I had my 03 hemi, I was at the track every week, and made over 500 passes down the dragsrtip. I was very consistant, and had the truck dialed in perfectly. Same night, same conditions, I would drop .3 off my 1/4 mile simply by running a homemade cold air scoop that waould take air from under the bumper and route it directly into the intake tube. This same "forced cold air" design is what Vararam uses for the hemi, and that is why it works. Bracket racers know their trucks inside and out and can predict their times as close a .05 seconds. To make that many consistant runs within .05 seconds of each other, and then see an immediate .3 drop on every run after that with the scoop installed is a true as the numbers get. I will never own a vehicle with a factory intake system.

Now I am not saying that all aftermarket intakes are good, but there are a few that will show immediate results. I will never run a K&N on my truck, and I am not a huge fan of AIRAID either. AEM made a decent kit for the 3rd gen hemi, but I dont like their 4th gen setup. Vararam has been the best performing on all hemi trucks from 03-13, and S&B is a close 2nd.

You don't like k&n and airaid? Those are the only two brands available for the 4.7 :( I'm thinking airaid is a bit better then k&n, as the price would reflect.

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Bad Habit

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No, you can buy mopar knockoffs. Like the aem, from companies like velocity, koolvue, and others. Buy them with a heat shield, for cheap less than a hundred, then buy a aem dryflow and roll out.

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Hemi450hp

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You don't like k&n and airaid? Those are the only two brands available for the 4.7 :( I'm thinking airaid is a bit better then k&n, as the price would reflect.

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They are both better than stock, but just not as good as S&B or Vararam (On the Hemi motors). Either of those 2 will still be an upgrade for your 4.7.
 

Ram bo

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VR says active shutters a non-issue
 
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