I would like to hear anything anyone can tell me about CAI sooound. For example:
1. Does it effect the exhaust sound or create a sound of its own?
2. Is the effect different for the GXP vs a NA engine.
3. If it effects exhaust (or other), how? Deep tones? High frequency?
4. Other than sound, I have been told that water (rain, puddles) can foul them up. Serious problem?
Save your money, they do nothing but make noise...Want more power, do something useful with the money and reprogram your ECM. Standard air box works fine with a LIGHTLY oiled K&N filter.
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2006 Envious base car loaded w/manual trans, limited slip, black/charcoal interior, custom Solo "Storm" single outlet exhaust with 4" tip. Vector tune, Dashhawk, K&N flat panel air filter, Dunlop Direzza Z1 tires, black GM splashguards, 2" machined aluminum stubby antenna and 1/4" tinted Windjammer wind restrictor.
I have the GM one and like it a lot. Great sound and looks and fits well. Easy to install.
I have it as well. Open the hood and it looks SWEET!!!!!!!!! Never tested to see
it if gained any power, but with my flowmaster 40 muffler the overall sound makes
the stock car sound like a piece of crap.
Tests that were done by several of us last summer showed that the CAIs are primarily a cosmetic accessory.
They do provide colder air than the stock intake in one very specific circumstance. When you are sitting still with the engine running (as you would at a traffic light) the CAI will reduce the intake temperature by an amount that increases with the time at idle. Once you start moving the temperature differential decreases, and by the time you reach about 35 MPH even the stock intake is ingesting air that is within a degree or two of outside ambient.
From a performance perspective, the stock intakes are apparently very well designed. No one has yet documented significant power gains from any of the CAIs. Or if they have, I haven't seen the results.
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John
Lexington, KY
Sky VIN 00252
5-Sp Manual
Midnight Blue
I have to agree with envious 06 on this one, unless you just want the eye candy save your money and get a K and N.
Honestly, I think the CAI is a bit overrated any way. I wonder how the exposed aluminum tube getting hit by all of that engine heat makes the air colder?
It would seem to me that the stock rubber tube or wrapping your CAI would be a better insulator.
66cat389 : I have to agree with envious 06 on this one, unless you just want the eye candy save your money and get a K and N.
Honestly, I think the CAI is a bit overrated any way. I wonder how the exposed aluminum tube getting hit by all of that engine heat makes the air colder?
It would seem to me that the stock rubber tube or wrapping your CAI would be a better insulator.
The idea behind a CAI is to draw cooler air from outside the engine bay. The stock intake already does a pretty good job in that aspect.
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John
Lexington, KY
Sky VIN 00252
5-Sp Manual
Midnight Blue
Exactly. But my point is that with aluminum's high rate of heat transfer and the engine's high heat output, how effective is the CAI at keeping the air cold?
I would think that the hotter the engine gets, the hotter the air intake tube would get and the hotter the air entering the throttle body would be.
I might be wrong (probably) on this one, but it just seems like common sense to me that rubber is a better insulator than aluminum and would delay the time it takes for the incoming air to reach ambient temps in the engine bay. Which would make the stock setup as good as or better (cheaper too) than an all aluminum intake tube.
66cat389 : Exactly. But my point is that with aluminum's high rate of heat transfer and the engine's high heat output, how effective is the CAI at keeping the air cold?
I would think that the hotter the engine gets, the hotter the air intake tube would get and the hotter the air entering the throttle body would be.
I might be wrong (probably) on this one, but it just seems like common sense to me that rubber is a better insulator than aluminum and would delay the time it takes for the incoming air to reach ambient temps in the engine bay. Which would make the stock setup as good as or better (cheaper too) than an all aluminum intake tube.
First, I agree that the stock intake is as good as the CAIs that are available. For modern cars I think that CAIs are mostly about appearance.
Aluminum is a much better conductor of heat than plastic or rubber, but with the design of the CAI it isn't really a factor. A round tube is not a very efficient heat exchanger, and the intake air spends very little time in it, so the amount of heat gain is minimal. Also, GM did a pretty good job of design, and the underhood temperatures, while the car is is motion, are pretty close to ambient.
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John
Lexington, KY
Sky VIN 00252
5-Sp Manual
Midnight Blue
We have done extensive R&D on this and you won't see any real performance gains with out tuning your ECM to take advantage of the colder air....
We offer ECM tuning for $250 and it's a far better investment than buying a CAI.
Martin-GMR
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We have done extensive R&D on this and you won't see any real performance gains with out tuning your ECM to take advantage of the colder air....
We offer ECM tuning for $250 and it's a far better investment than buying a CAI.
Martin-GMR
I agree, for the money, a tune is a better investment in drivability and power. As for the CAI, it is mostly cosmetic. I will say that my AEM came with a dyno sheet that showed .4 peak hp gain but as much as 4hp in the middle of the curve. Not a lot but it's something. Did I notice a difference. Not really, but I got what I thought was great deal on a brand new one shipped to my door for $203. And it definitely made the engine compartment look a lot sharper. For that price, I thought it was worth it just for the cosmetics . And I never had any problems with the filter getting wet. The other thing I like about the AEM is it uses a dry filter. No messy oiling or risk of over oiling. As for sound difference, I didn't notice any, but I seem to be in the minority on that point. I did already have the Solo exhaust, so maybe I just couldn't hear it
. And I never had any problems with the filter getting wet. The other thing I like about the AEM is it uses a dry filter. No messy oiling or risk of over oiling. As for sound difference, I didn't notice any, but I seem to be in the minority on that point. I did already have the Solo exhaust, so maybe I just couldn't hear it