DanW
Well-Known Member
I don't think they make any horsepower claims on their own CAI. They do it because it sounds better and because there is a market for it. From the engineer: "With CAFE rules, we didn't leave anything on the table. If we could get more power or fuel efficiency out of an air intake, we absolutely would have."If we are talking Chrysler/Stellantis engineers, they too design the Mopar Performance CAI. Seems to me if you all say the stock was designed to be the best, why in the world would they go and design a Performance CAI too?I'm sure it's all too do with a "fool and his money".
I personally like the Mopar Performance the best. Still has the stock lower box. Larger and smoother box lid. Keeps stock filter (easily find a filter at local auto parts). Removes the hemorrhoid looking air boxes on the inlet tubing. Increase the tubing diameter.
I've offered this up a long time ago, probably in this very thread. If any vendor or manufacturer wants to send me a demo CAI, I'll get true dyno results and will post them up. I've heard nothing but crickets. My nephew owns 4Piston Racing and has a DynoMax. He has offered to baseline the Jeep and then run it again with the intake. It takes about 20 min to install one, so we'd run it in identical conditions. And his dyno is not one you can easily cheat, like many shops that sell and install these things do. The Pentastar engineer told me their budget for developing the air intake on that engine was many times what any of these aftermarket folks could ever afford and that they have nothing like the R&D tools they used. He totally scoffs at some of the claims out there. If I dyno one and see he's wrong, I'd be quick to show him. But I doubt he is.
Btw, I love Banks and his company and have no doubt they are getting the air flow they claim. But I don't believe it would translate into any significant HP gain, at all. I'm also not a fan of cloth filters in the dusty off-road conditions in which I often drive. One very nice feature of the Mopar CAI is that you can run a regular paper air filter in it when going off-road or if in a dusty environment. None of the others have that flexibility. It also is the only one with a hood cutout that directly feeds cold air. One other company (S&B?) has a hood scoop that can be made to feed directly into the air box. It's actually a pretty neat idea, but it has rain covers, so you'd have to put those on whenever it rains. No thanks.
Interestingly, Banks advertises more dirt holding capacity than others. Again, probably true. But that does not say anything about filtration efficiency. There isn't a cloth filter made, oiled or not, that filters well enough for dusty conditions, IMO. They can be ok for street Jeeps, though. But mine isn't always a street Jeep.
One thing they all probably do is make the engine sound great. I'd love to hear one with a manual/3.6. I've heard the people say the AEM sounds VERY good.
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