cold air options/suggestions

[kobie907]

hello I'm new here and I have a 2019 classic tradesman with the 5.7 and I know that it's not going to get the best gas mileage in the world but I'm getting 12 to 14 on a good day. with that being said I was going to start with cold air intake but I don't know what to go with I live in Alaska and I see a lot of controversy about k&n and vararam so I'm just trying to figure out what would be the best to go with for better gas mileage and maybe a little better performance

 

[Tray Burge]

Vararam is the only way to imo.
Mine came with the K&N system and I threw it in the trash after I took it off, it's just a noise maker and more restrictive than stock.
The Vararam is a different story though.

 

[nlambert182]

I have no experience with Vararam but if K&N is in the conversation, I'd leave it stock. The intake on these engines flows about as well as one could short of doing a tune. The sensors on these trucks don't play well with oiled filters. You "might" eek out 0.5 HP and maybe 0.10 mpg by changing it to a K&N or similar but likely won't see a thing but a lighter wallet.

 

[Dean2]

Save your money, no Cold Air intake is going to pay for itself in the gas you could save over the whole life of the Pickup. You can improve the mileage on a pickup that is highway driven. If it is used mostly in stop and go, nothing you do will help except being VERY gentle of the Go and Stop Pedals.

So for comparison, my wife's 2020 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 will do between 28 and 33 MPG over a full tank, hand calculated on the highway. Around town, it averages about 19-20. Stop and go reduces it by over a third. Your pickup is not going to do as well due to weight and aerodynamics.

My 2500 with the 6.4 will do as high as 19 on the highway, around town, 12-14 mpg, so a similar 1/3 penalty. Neither gets driven gently so could probably improve the around town, but I really don't care.

2021 2500 gas Pickup mileage

 

[mikeru]

Unless you're looking to change the intake sound or for looks, save your money and stick with the stock intake. Changing your driving habits will have a bigger effect on fuel economy than anything you can bolt onto your truck. Research hypermiling for tips on how to improve your mpg...

10 Tips To Help You Hypermile Like A Boss

Want to maximize your fuel efficiency? Here are some ways to make your tank go further.

carbuzz.com

 

[Harley Harrold]

 

[Papa Red]

Welcome to the forum.

Red

 

[DILLIGAF]

CAI are useless, 6.4L intake swap is the only real answer on these trucks

 

[Tray Burge]

All true, you really don't get any performance to speak of out of a CAI alone, but sometimes they're just too "effen" cool to pass up.

 

[NCRaineman]

The stock airbox flows as much air as the engine can use in stock form. If you like some eye candy under the hood and a little more sound you can get an aftermarket intake, but don't expect any gains.

The days of significant performance improvements from simple bolt-ons are over.

 

[Intense-Dakota]

The stock air box is already a cold air intake. From experience, just use a K&N drop in filter. I love my vararam, but it will drop mpg because you will always want your foot in the throttle for that bad a$$ sound.

 

[Tominator223]

you may be able to add ,just a air tube to the stock air box. I did this from the fog light opening to the air box before. But ended up removing it , when the high water came. (Flooding) is common here . I did get 1/2 a mpg better . There was a company called fitch I believe that had a fuel line kit that was supposed to help get better mpg. But I’ve not tried it. My 04 5.7 always at 14mpg avg. now if I get between 2 semis at 70mph on the frwy. I can get 18-20. But they usually don’t like that much. Loud doesn’t equal fast or better mpg. Especially if you like the sound it makes. A lil less of the right foot symphony usually is the best bet for better mpg.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Op, besides the vararam, this is a great cold air intake. It's extremely expensive but I buy them used for cheap as most people try to sell them when getting rid of their truck.

Ma Mopar approved

 

[Geawiel]

I went with S&B for mine. However, I also put on a ported throttle body, long tube headers, better flowing cats and a good cat back. Tune will come after I can get an upgraded cam.

 

[nlambert182]

The stock air box is already a cold air intake. From experience, just use a K&N drop in filter. I love my vararam, but it will drop mpg because you will always want your foot in the throttle for that bad a$$ sound.

Hope you're using a dry filter. The MAF sensor hates the oiled filters.

I did run an S&B on my first 6.7 and didn't notice any gains from it, so I've stuck with the stock airbox and filter for my last 2. Aside from not having the extra engine noise they seem to perform the same.

 

[kobie907]

thanks everyone appreciate all the info just going to leave it stock!!

 

[Intense-Dakota]

Hope you're using a dry filter. The MAF sensor hates the oiled filters.

I have run Oiled filters for over 40K miles on my Rebel, 30K on my previous 2500 w/ 5.7 and many other vehicles with no issues. That included K&N filters and the vararam. Maybe an over-oiled filter could cause an issue, but I've never seen it.

 

[CanRebel]

I have S&B with oiled filter on my Rebel. Over 95K. No issues.

But I put it on for the sound. They don't actually make any improvements with everything else stock.

Vararam isn't any better by the way. Mopar version same.

Above it was mentioned to add intake. That will make a difference.