The need for a better CAI

[Falcon]

We need a better intake for our trucks.....point blank. You can't beat the looks of the JMB...but let's face it...that is all that it is for. The idea of the volant was decent...but it looks like garbage and doesn't provide the gains that it should. So why not have a JMB looking intake but with the cone filter in a sealed box. This box would be ram fed cooler air from the lower grill area. When I had my Hemi....I had the Vararam ("Hemi Under Glass") on it. Hemi Ram Air The design was decent looking and I could actually feel the gains. Better throttle response and more pull from 50+ mph. I never got track/dyno results to back it up. I just noticed more power. Just thought it would be interesting to see if anyone else had any ideas for a better intake.

 

[wesalbert]

Take out your passenger side headlight

 

[Falcon]

Take out your passenger side headlight

Lol.....seen that a few times.....on some daily drivers too. Seen a few take out their fog lights too. Not something I am willing to do. I am probably gonna get a JMB myself...just to clean up the engine bay.

 

[raymondwebb]

I'm making my volant grill fed...trainman did it and said it works awesome..volant has the opening at the bottom on the front side facing the grill once I get mine completed I will post some pics....my only concern will be driving in bad weather don't want her getting a big drink of water

 

[Falcon]

Yeah I saw Jerry's setup. His track numbers don't lie....he is doing something right. I would just rather see a JMB style intake (looks) that actually works like a CAI should.

 

[Slitherbeast]

Design a shorter radiator and get the air directly from the grill! The corner,all intakes have to make,is to damn sharp! The intake manifold plenum is to small as well. The air gets stretched alot in the restrictive runners The new one with the update kit is awesome! Alot less restrictive at WOT

 

[Falcon]

I like your outside of the box thinking....but is there a way to make a smaller radiator without losing cooling efficiency?

 

[NSDQ]

What about some kind of sealed ducting straight from the TB to the grille or some other opening, just completely eliminate that 90* angle that our CAI's make? I would imagine that angle creates turbulence around the bend before it reaches the TB

 

[Falcon]

What about some kind of sealed ducting straight from the TB to the grille or some other opening, just completely eliminate that 90* angle that our CAI's make? I would imagine that angle creates turbulence around the bend before it reaches the TB

I looked into that....but the radiator/radiator bracket prevents any straight forward induction.

 

[wesalbert]

Get a ROE. With the air filter directly on the TB, it is almost directly in the Scoop opening. You'll notice an increase in power as well. :drool:

 

[Falcon]

Get a ROE. With the air filter directly on the TB, it is almost directly in the Scoop opening. You'll notice an increase in power as well. :drool:

Lol....not all of us have that kind of dough.

 

[FastRam]

Mopar CAI...but its pricey for a CAI. Also, the OEM setup is the best bang for the buck, with a K&N drop in. It's ugly but does the job.

 

[Falcon]

Mopar CAI...but its pricey for a CAI. Also, the OEM setup is the best bang for the buck, with a K&N drop in. It's ugly but does the job.

That's why I made this post. I am looking for ideas to make a good looking CAI that actually makes decent gains. All the so called CAIs out there today seem to have an issue with actually heating the air.

 

[wesalbert]

Almost need to do one like this. (this one is for a Challenger. The filter is in front of the drivers tire.). Get it out of the engine bay

 

[Falcon]

Almost need to do one like this. (this one is for a Challenger. The filter is in front of the drivers tire.). Get it out of the engine bay

Yeah....I was thinking the same thing. Maybe inside a ram air fed sealed box.

 

[dodgeram]

legmaker intakes on moesperformance.com probably would make a better one

 

[CHRGEIT]

Well this is what I have been working on for the past couple of months. I haven’t done much with it for awhile. I was to the point of getting some real dimensions and finalizing some numbers. I was also going to look in too the best place to run the outside air inlet. I was thinking of running it from the front grill or from the hood. I also needed to work on the oval TB inlet or look for a rubber one that is preformed to fit the oval TB inlet.

I have all the tools here at work to fully weld the boxes and make them sealed to totally cut out any motor heat. Was going to do this out of sheet metal that way everything could be powder coated. Was also going to make the box to be bolted to the existing intake box holes or use something existing under the hood to bolt it to.

Was doing this because I wanted an intake that could be customized and still worked like a CAI. So was taking the Volant and JBM style intakes and trying to put them together.

 

[Falcon]

Yep.....that is my exact thought. One issue I have heard is with the metal tubing heating up from the engine heat, which then in turn actually heats the incoming air. If a person could come up with a shield/barrier that doesn't look horrible, then that would help.

 

[CHRGEIT]

Wonder how plastic holds up to heat. I ask because here at work we have a thermoform machine. So I could make the intake tubes from plastic instead of metal.

Ask for the metal, I could use nut plates mounted to the bottom of the tubing and then mount a half round shield to keep the intake tube from heating up.

Yep.....that is my exact thought. One issue I have heard is with the metal tubing heating up from the engine heat, which then in turn actually heats the incoming air. If a person could come up with a shield/barrier that doesn't look horrible, then that would help.

 

[505'sFastestViper.]

aluminum