Hi Guys,

Can I get some your opinions on air boxes/intakes? Do they work as advertised in lowering EGT's? Or should I just get a drop in filter and open up the bottom of the stock box?

Thanks for any insight or opinions.

J.R. Osborne
Denver, CO

 

I think the first response from most will be "do a search!" It's true you'll be able to find a lot of info on this subject, but I'll still add some of my personal thoughts.

The main concern for me is that higher flow air intakes usually give you a higher silica level in your engine oil which wears the engine a lot faster. The dirt getting through the air filter turns into silica in the motor. On the other hand, the Scotty Ram Air III is supposed to offer higher flow and good filtration and I have seen oil analysis papers posted here to back that up. The AFE Proguard 7 filter is also supposed to offer good flow and filtration too.

I havn't gotten anything myself because they all seem so expensive, whether you go with a complete intake setup or just a drop in filter.

To me, the best option seems to be a stock paper filter (for good filtration) combined with some kind of high pressure or "ram" air intake. This just wouldn't work when it's wet outside because you don't want to get a paper filter wet.

 

I have the AFE w/Pro-Guard 7 filter and Torque Tube. I also have an AFE Pre-Filter to keep water and mud off of the filter element. I don't really think by itself that there is much gain. You need to also open up the exhaust to match higher air intake. I have the Banks Monster exhaust. These are the high end options. The Scotty III and MBRP or a Donaldson muffler are less expensive and I am sure would do the same. This combo does lower EGTs across the board about 75-100*. It also lets the turbo spool a little quicker and with the torque tube you can hear it better.

 

I put on a AFE w/PG-7 filter and TQ tube on my truck before everything else, just to see if it DID do anything. I did notice a little more power down low, but nothing really major. Personally I see them as personal preference.

 

Some of us have done our own airbox mods. I drilled a 4" hole in the bottom of the stock airbox and installed a 90 degree 4" drain pipe elbow. Replaced the silencer tube with a piece of 5.5" aluminum tubing from Air Flow Systems and removed the silencer ring on the turbo. Plenty of turbo noise now. Still running the stock paper element.
Can't say it made a difference in performance or EGTs but it sure does sound good now! Cost less than $20 for the mods.

MikeyB

 

i put in a K&N FIPK. one guy on here did oil analysis, no change in his silica levels, so bought one.

no change. no MPG. no noticable SOTP gain, other than a thinner wallet.
got a straight pipe too.
EGT's prolly lower.

exhaust louder, turbo louder. good or bad?
sure fun sometimes..

if you are 4wd, i think you need a box to increase MPG.
i get frustated every so often and read every thread on here, trying to get over 17mpg.

i don't think you can without dropping ~500 on some sort of box.

 

I am running a stock airbox with a 4" hole in the bottom with a TruFlow foam drop-in filter and a few other goodies as in my autosignature. At WOT from 70 mph pushing 32 pounds of boost I'm not drawing the filter minder down much; maybe 20%. A good cleaning will probably reduce the draw down. Running at normal towing speeds here in hot, humid South Texas I don't draw the filter minder down at all. That says alot. Ask yourself, "Is it worth the cost of an aftermarket intake system?" Go from there.

L8r,...........dogger

 

I put a Scotty III on, it was my first mod and I was not dissapointed at all. I am not going to fill this post up with a bunch of bs but it seemed to me the turbo spooled up noticeably quicker and the engine just breathed a little easier and had a bit better SOTP feel. I bought the RAIII because of the superior filtration of the UNI oiled foam filter AND pre-filter. I work in very dusty conditions every day and I can attest to the fact that this filter is awesome - after 5,000 miles in BAD conditions I removed the filter and checked the air tube behind the filter for any dirt or oil with a clean white towel - it was as clean as if it was brand new - then I went to clean the filter and the pre-filter was VERY dirty so I removed it and the actual filter was clean as new so I did a thorough cleaning to the pre-filter and reinstalled - My opinion is you cant go wrong with the Scotty RA-III but, every body has their opinions -
As far as EGT's go mine are very low but, I cant attest to the difference by just adding the intake because I did not add my pyro until later. I added intake first, then exhaust, then pyro, then box - I can say I have no problems with EGT's with my combo but, I have heard each truck responds differently. I have also heard that other people have had even lower EGT's by removing the back "cup" of the RA-III but, I havent tried it because I havent needed to yet (maybe Scotty will chime in on this)
Long winded I know, sorry, hope I helped and didnt confuse you more

 

I have the AFE Stage II w/proguard7 filter. I think it may have lowered my EGTs a bit, and may be worth a few HP? It does filter pretty good, but I should have gotten the pre-filter because it is pretty dirty with only 6,000 miles on it. In my opinion, unless you are going to upgrade everything, it probbably isn't worth the $400+ cost. It does make the turbo much louder which can be good or bad depending on if you like the sound or not.
I currently have the AFE filter and Edge removed because I blew-up the intercooler, and had it replaced.
The AFE Stage II is a nice (and very large) setup, but they could have made it easier to install.
Before I put it back in the truck, I am going to make some airbox studs that slide into the stock rubber gromets (currently you have to remove the rubber gromets and install some bolts), and get a "hump" hose for connecting the turbo to the air tube (the stock hose sucks.)

For the cost, I would probbably suggest the BHAF (Big Honkin Air Filter) setup to start with.

So far, the best (and easiest) upgrade I have done was the Edge Juice w/Attitude. It wasn't cheap, but it performs as advertised and doubles as gauges.

Currently I am installing more gauges, and plan to upgrade the transmission this summer.

I still haven't decided on an exhaust, but I am leaning towards the Donaldson muffler replacement using the stock exhaust.

 

I'm in full agreement with Alltimelow1 on the Scotty Ram Air III. That thing is just awsome, and easy to maintain.

Jamie

 

Im new to the whole Diesel thing, whats "SOTP" mean??

 

"SOTP" = "Seat Of The Pants" meter.

This is a meter that is used for every performance mod, it's accuracy is at times questionable. The accuracy is tied to the "opinion" of the driver and therefore requires the same calibration as the "IMO".

 

Thanks "RamWheels", I thought it meant something like that!! LOL

Any more Abbreviations I should know about??

 

There are a lot of good choices on the market. Thats what makes it so nice for us Ram owners...we don't have to buy the same thing to get results. Each has their limitations. pros and cons.

We have found that removing the end cap on the Scotty 3 allows even better air flow at highway speeds due to its RAM AIR design...its literally getting air rammed into it from the front of the truck. So much air that it can work against itself and I have proof that the factory fender inlet actually became the relief valve for too much air that the engine could not take.

Several people tried their Scotty 3 without the end cap and noticed 25-50 better egt reduction on the highway. Some reported it had a different sound. The two stage UNI filter for the Scotty 3 does a very good job by itself to seal off the back end of the housing just enough to not grab a lot of under hood heat in traffic as well as an outlet to let excessive forced air pass over the filter and out the back. I will be deleting the end cap on the next round of manufacturing of units. We will be able to absord some of the sky rocketing platics prices by doing this...for now.

Thanks for the good comments.

Scotty

 

I'll just list a few I have learned here and can think of right now...

BOMB = better off modified baby
WOT = wide open throttle
EGT = exhaust gas temperature
NV5600 = New Venture 5600