CAI versus stock air cleaner

Gordon S · Nov 2, 2019

I have a 2017 Ram 5.7, recently added a Diablo Pulsar and Magnaflow cat back system with stock manifolds.
Will a CAI really make much of a difference in performance?

daveray9 · Nov 2, 2019

Not from what Ive read.. and I have the S&B only because of the amount of snow we get.. or vararam would have been my goto. From what Ive read the drop in K&N will give you the same deal for a bolt on. Unless you run a custom tune... thats a different story.

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Pull Ya · Nov 2, 2019

Stock intake does a pretty good job. Unless your going to be adding more mod's and you want optimal performance then I'd leave it alone. If you want an aftermarket CAI the best performing one is a Vararam unless you want a custom race intake and Moe's Performance sells those.
Jay

NevrFinished · Nov 2, 2019

I just installed the Vararam about 5 days ago. I was skeptical but ~55mph and over the truck will hold gears better and with a city mix of 70/30 (city/Hwy)... I was getting 15.2 before and now seeing 16.4mpg.

It’s definitely a different fitment. But there’s obviously a slight gain.

Pull Ya · Nov 2, 2019

Vararam's perform best at WOT and highway speeds.
Jay

Wild one · Nov 2, 2019

NevrFinished said:
I just installed the Vararam about 5 days ago. I was skeptical but ~55mph and over the truck will hold gears better and with a city mix of 70/30 (city/Hwy)... I was getting 15.2 before and now seeing 16.4mpg.

It’s definitely a different fitment. But there’s obviously a slight gain.

1.2 mpg gain with just a Vararam swap,you sure about that.That's really stretching things unless the air filter you replaced was butt ass plugged solid and wasn't letting much air through.

Hemi395 · Nov 2, 2019

The short answer is not really.

The long answer(s). I've obviously ran the stock intake, Vararam, S&B 75-5106 (I HATED that intake for many reasons), the S&B 75-5078 with the lower scoop, the stock intake with a lower box from the Ecodiesel, and now I'm currently running the EcoD lower box with an Airaid Jr tube to replace the corrugated stock tube. The only one that gave me the slightest bit of performance over the stock intake was the Vararam. I love everything about that intake except how the filter kept popping out of the base. No matter what I did or how much I tightened the lid, the filter would find a way to pop out of the base. I'm running a Hemifever 93 tune as well.

At this point I'm sick of dealing with changing intakes and buying/selling them. My current setup of the EcoD lower box with the Airaid tube and a Mopar air filter for the EcoD/6.4 is most likely what I'll be running going forward. Fit and finish, filtration, and ease of working on the truck (one of main reasons why I got rid of the S&B 75-5106) are what's I'm looking for now.

daveray9 · Nov 2, 2019

Hemi395 said:
The short answer is not really.

The long answer(s). I've obviously ran the stock intake, Vararam, S&B 75-5106 (I HATED that intake for many reasons), the S&B 75-5078 with the lower scoop, the stock intake with a lower box from the Ecodiesel, and now I'm currently running the EcoD lower box with an Airaid Jr tube to replace the corrugated stock tube. The only one that gave me the slightest bit of performance over the stock intake was the Vararam. I love everything about that intake except how the filter kept popping out of the base. No matter what I did or how much I tightened the lid, the filter would find a way to pop out of the base. I'm running a Hemifever 93 tune as well.

At this point I'm sick of dealing with changing intakes and buying/selling them. My current setup of the EcoD lower box with the Airaid tube and a Mopar air filter for the EcoD/6.4 is most likely what I'll be running going forward. Fit and finish, filtration, and ease of working on the truck (one of main reasons why I got rid of the S&B 75-5106) are what's I'm looking for now.

Im not a fan of the S&B either. I still have mine and have an extra filter to clean oil and swap to make it quicker and you still have to take the entire damn thing apart to swap it out. Wish I went w vararam but heard about the filter issue you described. That and snow count me out.

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NevrFinished · Nov 2, 2019

Wild one said:
1.2 mpg gain with just a Vararam swap,you sure about that.That's really stretching things unless the air filter you replaced was butt ass plugged solid and wasn't letting much air through.

It’s only been on for 5 days, so it’s anything but CONCLUSIVE. It definitely holds 8th gear better on inclines, however.

And my filter was new, lol. I’m not saying the gas mileage is rock solid, let me be very clear on that. I’m saying so far over 1/2 a tank it’s averaging better. I guess that is clearer.

I only drive about 200 miles a week at most... so it’s going to take at least 3-4 weeks for me to know what it did.

I also removed the 3 rows below the top row from the active shutters. So if anything it should lose mileage based on aerodynamics if we believe Rams increase.

crackerjack1957 · Nov 2, 2019

Wild one said:
unless the air filter you replaced was butt ass plugged solid and wasn't letting much air through.

Never heard a dirty air filter described this way........LoL

Wild one · Nov 2, 2019

crackerjack1957 said:
Never heard a dirty air filter described this way........LoL

I'm a Redneck Canuck,lol

Pull Ya · Nov 2, 2019

crackerjack1957 said:
Never heard a dirty air filter described this way........LoL

Rick's a true "wordsmith" LOL
Jay

Hemi395 · Nov 2, 2019

daveray9 said:
Im not a fan of the S&B either. I still have mine and have an extra filter to clean oil and swap to make it quicker and you still have to take the entire damn thing apart to swap it out. Wish I went w vararam but heard about the filter issue you described. That and snow count me out.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I did the same thing, got a second filter for that reason. The 75-5106 you had to literally disassemble the intake to get the damn filter out. Then when you had to do things like spark plugs it was in the way so you have to take the whole assembly out.

That's why I hunted down a 75-5078 with the downward inlet and available scoop. That one is at least modular and you can take the filter part of the intake out along with the tube out fairly easily. But it's still in the way for working on the truck at all.

If S&B had designed it so it attached to the factory intake mount like a lot of other CAIs do it wouldn't be a big deal. But getting any of the S&Bs out of the truck is a pain in the nuts...

Wild one · Nov 2, 2019

Pull Ya said:
Rick's a true "wordsmith" LOL
Jay

You made my day Jay,lol
Rick

Ramm5.7 · Nov 2, 2019

Gordon S said:
I have a 2017 Ram 5.7, recently added a Diablo Pulsar and Magnaflow cat back system with stock manifolds.
Will a CAI really make much of a difference in performance?

I have same year truck. Started with a pedal commander, went with a drop in green filter, added a 3" tube to bottom of oem box. Installed magnaflow 18". Pulled better with added air intake. Added pulsar. Bought and installed a S&B, it definitely roared, but was on truck for maybe 200 miles!.Truck ran GREAT, but 1 trip to dealer and having to remove S&B to access pulsar to remove made me dump S&B.
Now running 93 tune, same muffler, pc and vararam
Truck runs perfect

Ramm5.7 · Nov 2, 2019

Just for giggles..... the chronology of change
Zoom in and pulsar and add a tube are visible....paint for 10 more hp..lol

S&B with buried pulsar...lol

New setup....
Much more room on passenger side!!

Oh ya, forgot to include fastman tb also!!!

Nick@GotExhaust · Nov 2, 2019

For anyone interested not only do we offer many brands of CAI's but we also offer the Airaid Jr which consists of a new intake tube and panel filter. This kit will retain your factory air box and replace the stock intake tube and panel filter with a better flowing tube and panel filter.

Pull Ya · Nov 2, 2019

Ramm5.7 said:
Just for giggles..... the chronology of change
Zoom in and pulsar and add a tube are visible....paint for 10 more hp..lol

View attachment 185116

S&B with buried pulsar...lol
View attachment 185117

New setup....
Much more room on passenger side!!
View attachment 185118

Oh ya, forgot to include fastman tb also!!!

View attachment 185120

I've been to bars with less room than that---LOL
Jay

Txhemirt · Nov 3, 2019

Nick@GotExhaust said:
For anyone interested not only do we offer many brands of CAI's but we also offer the Airaid Jr which consists of a new intake tube and panel filter. This kit will retain your factory air box and replace the stock intake tube and panel filter with a better flowing tube and panel filter.

Any idea what the difference is between the air aid jr 301-759 and 300-759?

Gordon S · Nov 3, 2019

Thanks for all the input everyone! Think I’m going to stick with the stock. Don’t plan on any custom tune or other mods until the warranty runs out.

CAI versus stock air cleaner

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