If you are in a warm climate it probably does not matter as much. If you are driving from Minneapolis, MN to Williston, ND in January during a blizzard you better pray you have a Banks instead of a AFE. The AFE will ice over and force you to limp your truck into the next town................. Look at a map and measure the distance between towns in western ND. The Banks has worked perfectly since replacing the AFE with it.

 

Man old thread....since then I traded the AFE Mega Cannon I bought for the Banks, just recently I acquired a AFE Stage 2 and that's what I'm running now.
To be honest I have really not noticed any difference to speak of between all 3 on performance, as mentioned the AFE are definitely louder but if it's noise you want just remove the silencer ring (a friend has a Banks with his out and it's just as loud if not louder) I'm in So Cal so really not worried about the extreme cold.

 

I take my ram off road time to time with a few trucks I would be worried about all the darn dust. I cant decide what I want to run yet.

 

I have been running the AFE on my 2006 for over four years now with no problems whatsoever! And, I have run it north in blizzard conditions this winter with NO PROBLEMS either!

Personally, I wouldn't run anything Banks made!

--------
John_P

 

Old thread, but since it started there is a new OEM filter out..

There is no reason to ditch the OEM in terms of flow or filtration under 450 rwhp. If you want the turbo to scream thats a different story.

But the OEM setup will work better than any of the aftermarket stuff under 450 rwhp (I have done the dyno's to see the proof). There is room for improvement on the stock setup thou.

1) A Home Depot CAI will bring more ambient air into the stock box when boosting hard, this will redice the IAT's and reduce the restriction allowing more, smoother flow.

2) A Airaid MIT will remove the intake baffles from the tube between the filter and the turbo. This mod direct air into the lower elbow and promotes smooth airflow. This will increase low boost throttle responce, and increase turbo spool. It also makes the turbo a little louder, but still passes the wife test. The best part about the MIT on your 06 is that it leaves the OEM lower elbow in place. The lower elbow has directional vanes that smooth the air as it makes the final 90* turn into the turbo. Holset claims this makes the turbo up to 30% more efficient. There is no aftermarket CAI I know of that does this, right off the bat you have lost performance there with a CAI. This is a low-mid range rpm mod.

3) The OEM intake horn is very restricive. It was built with ease of assembly in mind, not performance. A GDP Horn is the best bang for the buck on the intake horns, and it will hold a MK2+ filter kit if you want one. But the intake horn will decrease low end smoke (if you run a tuner), increase throttle responce, and increase turbo spool. I also saw 2-3* lower IAT's with the horn than pre-horn. This is a low-mid range rpm mod.

As for air filters, the OEM is the best on the market now. Be sure it has the OEM 4" pleat version.

 

I'm guessing that shes Oil less right?