air intake
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: lake tahoe,nv
air intake
I have an 03 3500 H.O. and am looking to get an aftermarket air intake setup. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what brands/styles are good. Any advice would greatly appreciated.
Chapter President
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 272
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From: Savannah, TN
I've been on the list for the Ram Air III for some time now. It was supposed to ship last week, but no sign of it. I hear it is the way to go, but won't be able to tell you until I get it...
Registered User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,274
Likes: 20
From: Sand Gap, KY.
I've been extremely happy with my AFE Magnum Force Intake with Pro-Guard*7 filter. Dropped my EGT's by about 125 to 150 degrees or so and fuel economy picked up some. Pics are in my gallery.
Greg
Greg
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 338
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From: Utah
I am currenly building / testing an intake sysyem for our trucks. It will use a AFE or K&N cone filter and be made out of 18 gauge steel then powdercoated. It will use all the stock mounting points and will be very affordable at under 200.00......
The units should be ready to ship in a week or two tops. Once the prototype has been powdercoated, pics will placed at http://ColdAir-Intakes.com
Rich
The units should be ready to ship in a week or two tops. Once the prototype has been powdercoated, pics will placed at http://ColdAir-Intakes.com
Rich
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,915
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From: Beaverton, Oregon
K&N has released theirs. Take a look at it you may like it.
Myself I'll just stick with my AMSOIL drop-in because i'm running their Dual Gaurd Oil Filteration system. It should allow me to go atleast 1 year before I may have to do an oil change
Myself I'll just stick with my AMSOIL drop-in because i'm running their Dual Gaurd Oil Filteration system. It should allow me to go atleast 1 year before I may have to do an oil change
Chapter President
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 272
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From: Ft Bragg, NC (originally Philly, Go EAGLES!)
I just got a Volant cold air intake. Part number is #16759. It is a real nice set up. It replaced the tube to the turbo. Has a port for the sensor but none for the air minder...Thank God! The air minder is crap any way and it is a P.I.T.A. to get off the stock air box. The Volant air box it self is enclosed like the stock one except it has an opening in the front like the Ram Air III. One opening on the side to match the factory air intake in the fender. And in addition, it has a 4-5 inch diameter hole in the bottom to run a ram air tube. You can fab one up like many guys on the site has for their stock box or Volant should have one out. I'm still checking on this with Volant. It shows in the diagram that came with the kit that the opening is for an optional ram air tube. Volant makes this tube for the Hemi and other motors so I believe they should have one out for ours. To finish the product off, they have an access panal that screws down to the top of the box to get to your filter. The panal itself is made of a sharp carbon fiber material. The filter is a large oval type oiled filter. It is blue in color and I heard it is made by AFE, but I'm not sure of that so don't quote me. Also, Volant told me they will have a pre-filter wrap out in a month for this filter. I like this set up because it is the only kit that has three separate openings for air intake and one can be hooked up to a ram air tube. Overall I am very pleased with the workmanship. Now I just got to hook it up this weekend and see how she runs with it. I had the K&N before on my 2000 and wasn't too pleased. From the looks of this alone, I'm sure I'll be much happier. Good luck on whatever set up you get.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 45
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From: San Diego, CA
I have the RAM AIR III. Rod's having a hard time keeping up with demand, so I had to wait a while to get it, but I'm very happy with it. I don't have any gauges yet, so I don't know if it's reduced my EGTs any or not. It does seem like I can hear the turbo sing a lot better now.
F11Engineer
F11Engineer
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,681
Likes: 1
From: Moved.......now Sumter, SC
I have the AFE Mega Cannon as well with PG7 and the water shedding pre-filter. It really does a number on EGTs. My only complaint would be the noise it makes. You can really hear that thing sucking air. Kind-a sounds cool, but may get on your nerves after a while. I have a home made intake tube as well. Check my member pics.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 783
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From: Post Falls, Idaho
I installed an AirAid and water shedding pre-filter, and then made my own 4" Torque Tube and removed the phoney intake piping! I don't know if the AirAid contributed to my mileage on my last fill-up or not. But my mileage was up by 1 mile per gallon. It could have been that the engine is getting broke-in also. I have 8400 miles on it now.
Has anyone looked at the 5" plastic vane thing Dodge has in the middle of the intake hose? What an Engineering feat! With the baffles in it and the holes in the vanes, I would think it is more restrictive that anything. Anyone know the logic behind this? Anyway mine is gone with a nice clean 4" intake installed tonight!
Has anyone looked at the 5" plastic vane thing Dodge has in the middle of the intake hose? What an Engineering feat! With the baffles in it and the holes in the vanes, I would think it is more restrictive that anything. Anyone know the logic behind this? Anyway mine is gone with a nice clean 4" intake installed tonight!
Banned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,268
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From: Nashvile Tennessee
Air Filtering performance Information
ricky3,
Here's some info regarding the filtering "quality" of they performance intake fitlers themselves, this was done by a customer of ours and he got some pretty interesting results! His testing and our previous use of oiled foam filters is the reason we ONLY sell Pro Guard 7 filters and system!
Here's what Dan Montegari of Precision Diesel Services says about advanced FLOW engineering's Pro-GUARD 7 filter media:
HIGH FLOW AIR INTAKE SYSTEMS
WHO IS THE BEST & WHY!
We received many letters asking which high flow air intake system to use. We decided to test a number of manufacturers’ systems to determine which system was superior. We tested each system and found systems manufactured by AFE (Advanced Flow Engineering) were the best by far.
Diesel engines use seven times more air than gasoline engines of equivalent size so clean cool air is a must for extended engine life, better fuel economy and additional power. A higher flow of intake air coupled with a high flow exhaust system allows for more power, a better fuel economy, extended engine life and reduced exhaust temperatures. On the other hand ingested dirt through the air intake system becomes Silicon in the engine oil, which is a harsh cutting agent and can damage your engine quickly.
We tested three very popular systems. I will not mention the names of the other systems as a courtesy but I will explain what problems we found with them. We evaluated the systems by a number of criteria, filtration protection, flow, and design, easy of installation and cost. Almost in the beginning of the tests we realized in most instances a new intake system was necessary to achieve our goals. We needed a kit that used mostly outside air and not hot engine compartment air. We decided to use systems designed to use mostly outside air.
Two manufacturers claimed their systems delivered cleaner air at a higher flow but this was far from the truth. We did not believe any of the manufacturers’ claims and tested each system by operating the vehicle 3,000 miles and performing an engine oil analysis to determine Silicon levels in the engine oil. The vehicle we used has an engine oil analysis performed at every oil change so we had a Silicon number of three (3) to base our tests on.
The first manufacturer’s system was fairly easy to install but we had problems with the oil used to coat the filter also coated the Mass Air Flow Sensor causing a service engine lamp to come on. I called the manufacturer but they had no explanation as to why this should happen but they had this complaint before. Through the three thousand mile test I had to clean the sensor three times to stop the service engine lamp from coming on. When the oil analysis results came back, it was discouraging with Silicon levels at eleven (11). I almost could not believe the result so we changed the oil and filter and repeated the test. The results were almost the same eliminating this manufacturer quickly. I contacted the manufacturer to discuss the results and they were not helpful and basically said, “what you see is what you get”!
We installed the second manufacturer’s system again changing the engine oil and operating the vehicle for three thousand miles. The first problem we encountered was the service engine lamp coming on and I thought the oil they used was coating the sensor again. I removed the sensor and found some oil on it which I cleaned off and reinstalled the sensor. Within ten miles the lamp was on again. I removed the sensor but there was no coating of oil on it. I then placed our scan tool on the engine and quickly discovered the airflow rate was too high for the sensor. I then realized the manufacturer had moved the position of the sensor into a higher airflow and velocity position trying to squeak a little more power from their system. I continued the test having to deal with the service engine lamp throughout the test period. The engine oil analysis gave a Silicon reading of eight (8 and along with the engine lamp problem did not give the manufacturer high mark but I felt if I discussed the problems with them maybe we could overcome them. I placed four calls to the manufacturer and I am still waiting for a call back! This surely eliminated this manufacturer.
The third manufacturer we tested was AFE (Advanced Flow Engineering). We used their Magnum Force air intake system. We operated the vehicle for 3000 miles and when the oil analysis came back it was promising with a Silicon reading of five (5). While five was the best Silicon result we had, it was not good enough. I called AFE and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered they were truly concerned. I spoke with a Mr. Paul Hardley who suggested I try their Pro-Guard 7 media they were about to release. He explained the new Pro-Guard 7 media was five layers of progressively finer mesh medical grade cotton gauze with micro fibers that attract smaller and smaller particles as air passes through. Combined with the five layers of medical [gauze] media, there are two layers of non-woven synthetic polyester fabric with random porosity. The filter media is sandwiched between two layers of aluminum wire mesh. He agreed to send two Pro-Guard 7 filters for a new test. I installed the Pro-Guard 7 filter, changed the engine oil and operated the vehicle for three thousand miles. The engine oil analysis was excellent with a Silicon reading of below three (3). Finally we found an air intake system that gave us a higher flow rate and better filtration. The AFE Magnum Force air intake system is a well designed system, easily installed and uses about 90% outside air. The filter is cleanable and the oil used to coat the filter is patented because it is formulated not to affect the airflow sensor.
Another positive factor of the high flow system was the fuel economy increased about ½ MPG in mixed driving and 1 MPG during highway tests. The filter media used by AFE will not collapse if it gets wet or subject to high boost pressures. They also offer pre-filters for most of their applications for very dusty or dirty operating conditions. We carry a full line of AFE products with Pro-GUARD 7 media. If you order an AFE system from another source, make sure it has a Pro-GUARD 7 media.
A very important factor in this test was the manufacturer was willing to discuss problems with their products and help to overcome them. My hat is off to Paul Hardley and all the people at AFE!
Dan Montegari
President
Precision Diesel Services
Call us if you have any questions, we'll be glad to help youon them.
Mark @ DPPI
Here's some info regarding the filtering "quality" of they performance intake fitlers themselves, this was done by a customer of ours and he got some pretty interesting results! His testing and our previous use of oiled foam filters is the reason we ONLY sell Pro Guard 7 filters and system!
Here's what Dan Montegari of Precision Diesel Services says about advanced FLOW engineering's Pro-GUARD 7 filter media:
HIGH FLOW AIR INTAKE SYSTEMS
WHO IS THE BEST & WHY!
We received many letters asking which high flow air intake system to use. We decided to test a number of manufacturers’ systems to determine which system was superior. We tested each system and found systems manufactured by AFE (Advanced Flow Engineering) were the best by far.
Diesel engines use seven times more air than gasoline engines of equivalent size so clean cool air is a must for extended engine life, better fuel economy and additional power. A higher flow of intake air coupled with a high flow exhaust system allows for more power, a better fuel economy, extended engine life and reduced exhaust temperatures. On the other hand ingested dirt through the air intake system becomes Silicon in the engine oil, which is a harsh cutting agent and can damage your engine quickly.
We tested three very popular systems. I will not mention the names of the other systems as a courtesy but I will explain what problems we found with them. We evaluated the systems by a number of criteria, filtration protection, flow, and design, easy of installation and cost. Almost in the beginning of the tests we realized in most instances a new intake system was necessary to achieve our goals. We needed a kit that used mostly outside air and not hot engine compartment air. We decided to use systems designed to use mostly outside air.
Two manufacturers claimed their systems delivered cleaner air at a higher flow but this was far from the truth. We did not believe any of the manufacturers’ claims and tested each system by operating the vehicle 3,000 miles and performing an engine oil analysis to determine Silicon levels in the engine oil. The vehicle we used has an engine oil analysis performed at every oil change so we had a Silicon number of three (3) to base our tests on.
The first manufacturer’s system was fairly easy to install but we had problems with the oil used to coat the filter also coated the Mass Air Flow Sensor causing a service engine lamp to come on. I called the manufacturer but they had no explanation as to why this should happen but they had this complaint before. Through the three thousand mile test I had to clean the sensor three times to stop the service engine lamp from coming on. When the oil analysis results came back, it was discouraging with Silicon levels at eleven (11). I almost could not believe the result so we changed the oil and filter and repeated the test. The results were almost the same eliminating this manufacturer quickly. I contacted the manufacturer to discuss the results and they were not helpful and basically said, “what you see is what you get”!
We installed the second manufacturer’s system again changing the engine oil and operating the vehicle for three thousand miles. The first problem we encountered was the service engine lamp coming on and I thought the oil they used was coating the sensor again. I removed the sensor and found some oil on it which I cleaned off and reinstalled the sensor. Within ten miles the lamp was on again. I removed the sensor but there was no coating of oil on it. I then placed our scan tool on the engine and quickly discovered the airflow rate was too high for the sensor. I then realized the manufacturer had moved the position of the sensor into a higher airflow and velocity position trying to squeak a little more power from their system. I continued the test having to deal with the service engine lamp throughout the test period. The engine oil analysis gave a Silicon reading of eight (8 and along with the engine lamp problem did not give the manufacturer high mark but I felt if I discussed the problems with them maybe we could overcome them. I placed four calls to the manufacturer and I am still waiting for a call back! This surely eliminated this manufacturer.
The third manufacturer we tested was AFE (Advanced Flow Engineering). We used their Magnum Force air intake system. We operated the vehicle for 3000 miles and when the oil analysis came back it was promising with a Silicon reading of five (5). While five was the best Silicon result we had, it was not good enough. I called AFE and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered they were truly concerned. I spoke with a Mr. Paul Hardley who suggested I try their Pro-Guard 7 media they were about to release. He explained the new Pro-Guard 7 media was five layers of progressively finer mesh medical grade cotton gauze with micro fibers that attract smaller and smaller particles as air passes through. Combined with the five layers of medical [gauze] media, there are two layers of non-woven synthetic polyester fabric with random porosity. The filter media is sandwiched between two layers of aluminum wire mesh. He agreed to send two Pro-Guard 7 filters for a new test. I installed the Pro-Guard 7 filter, changed the engine oil and operated the vehicle for three thousand miles. The engine oil analysis was excellent with a Silicon reading of below three (3). Finally we found an air intake system that gave us a higher flow rate and better filtration. The AFE Magnum Force air intake system is a well designed system, easily installed and uses about 90% outside air. The filter is cleanable and the oil used to coat the filter is patented because it is formulated not to affect the airflow sensor.
Another positive factor of the high flow system was the fuel economy increased about ½ MPG in mixed driving and 1 MPG during highway tests. The filter media used by AFE will not collapse if it gets wet or subject to high boost pressures. They also offer pre-filters for most of their applications for very dusty or dirty operating conditions. We carry a full line of AFE products with Pro-GUARD 7 media. If you order an AFE system from another source, make sure it has a Pro-GUARD 7 media.
A very important factor in this test was the manufacturer was willing to discuss problems with their products and help to overcome them. My hat is off to Paul Hardley and all the people at AFE!
Dan Montegari
President
Precision Diesel Services
Call us if you have any questions, we'll be glad to help youon them.
Mark @ DPPI
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 620
Likes: 0
From: Alberta, Canada
Another positive factor of the high flow system was the fuel economy increased about ½ MPG in mixed driving and 1 MPG during highway tests. The filter media used by AFE will not collapse if it gets wet or subject to high boost pressures.
Maybe I'm missing something here, how does the filter media become exposed to high boost pressures?
Brian
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 509
Likes: 2
From: Desert Northwest (Pasco WA)
I think he is implying that under high boost situation, the high vacuum created on the filter side will not collapse the element. That is something that happened frequently with BHAFs on high-HP Rams.
Big Bob how is the sound of your turbo? The one there at Rob's Bomb Party (tsi on NW Bombers) had a lot of turbo whistle, more than I think I could tolerate.
Vaughn
Big Bob how is the sound of your turbo? The one there at Rob's Bomb Party (tsi on NW Bombers) had a lot of turbo whistle, more than I think I could tolerate.
Vaughn
