air intake systems are they worth the money?

[dan54s]

I would like to know what is the best "VALUE" for an air intake system? would it be AIRAIDE, AFE stage 2 or something else. Is the "TORQUE TUBE" needed? Do I need the pro guard 7 filter? I want to get something but I don't want to spend more than I need too and I don't want a lot of noise. Do all of these air intake systems make a lot of noise? And do they really help with more power or just sound like they make more power? and do they help with mileage. I really cant see how they could help vary much with mileage but thought I would ask any way.

 

[XJSuperman]

Pro-guard 7... YES.



Torque tube... not needed BUT take a look at the factory intake tube... those big ribs on the elbows sure don;t help.



As for noise... you'll need to ask here (which you already have) what is the quietest. I can tell you the AFE w/ tq tube is NOT quiet by any means.



Someone has a saying here in relation to intakes and exhaust. . ESPECIALLY concerning diesel motors... I quote... . "AIR in... . AIR out.



Here is where I got mine AFE setup from and they had a great deal and customer service to boot.



www.performancetruckproducts.com

 

[Bouncy]

I have the AFE Pro-guard 7 intake filter on mine and it helped in the power and seems to work great.



I installed the Torque Tube... It is NOISEY now. I can hear the turbo ALL the time. I am not much on high pitch noises. So I am looking to find something to quiet it back down while keeping the tube in place.



Any suggestions would be great on quieting down the torque tube.



I don't dare remove the silencer ring cause it doesn't appear to help HP or TQ... Just Noise.

 

[XcumminsX]

Get a scotty ram air 3. Why do you all like the torque tube so much... Your losing bottom end power... Doesnt make sense at all



Nick

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

If you are running a stock truck with no mods or just an EZ you don't need an intake system. They do not increase HP or TQ. They will help with a mildly bombed truck with high egt's while towing. Some people claim that they saw an increase in HP with a new intake system but it is not possible. Joe Donnely did a compairison a couple of years ago in a TDR issue and found a 4 HP increase on a truck that was making something like 500 HP. You will increase you incab noise level to twice as much turbo noise as before. The main bennifit is lowering EGT's..... On a stock truck you will see a 50* difference.



YOu can drill a hole in your stock airbox on the bottem and install a K&N or AFE drop-in filter and be fine on a truck that makes up to 350 HP. I saw the same results on my wifes truck by changing the filter as I did installing my Volant system on my truck.



Greg

 

[DPelletier]

Good Info Greg,

Do you have any info on how much EGT's would drop with just a 4" exhaust on an otherwise stock truck?



Dave

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

It has been a little while since I installed my 5 inch exhaust. I do know that on my wifes truck I can see about 1250* pre turbo. It is bone stock with a 4" hole drilled in the stock airbox. That is while towing a 5/6 horse GN horse trailer loaded(12,000 lbs). That is flat footed uphill all day. Not bad for stock. Without the hole, it would hit 1300*. On my truck when I installed the 5 inch exhaust, it felt like I lost a little power but egt's were the same. Now add an EZ on level 4. My truck cannot even get close to 1250* with intake and exhaust but Rebecca'x truck will hit 1258 and level out there. I guess what I am getting at here is that there is no bennifit of and AFE kit and 4" exhaust on a stock truck. If you are starting the bombing process, That is the way to go. Do yourself a favor and install a Pyro first!. That way you will get a good baseline of how your truck runs before the bombs are installed. After you have spent your first $1000 on AFE, Exhaust, and guages, you can handle DDII's and an EZ no problem. EGT's will be totally controlable with a lift of the foot. Those two upgrades make a truck into a truck. If you pull hard enough say 14,000 lbs you will need a turbo upgrade to handle the power. I have seen a HO with dd2's and ez put up 400 hp with stock turbo. That is a great upgrade and you can pull all day.



Greg

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Can someone show me a picture of the AFE / torque tube setup?



I've decided to become a filter nazi and I won't use cleanable cloth air filters anymore and I'd like to get an idea to see if this filter will fit on an AFE setup:



http://shop.airflowonline.com/Merch...ode=AFSI&Product_Code=B105006&Category_Code=D

 

[JEly]

I have the AFE Progard 7 and installed the torque tube and did not like it at all-------------I took it off the same day and went back to the stock plumbing for now



JIM

 

[doldenburg]

i can see a k&n or simular upgrade but would need independant dyno proof before i spend the bucks

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Originally posted by JEly

I have the AFE Progard 7 and installed the torque tube and did not like it at all-------------I took it off the same day and went back to the stock plumbing for now



JIM

What did you not like about it?

 

[CLAYTON]

I didn't notice any performance difference with the exhaust and intake. . I did notice that the egt's where down about 100-200 degrees. Big difference when towing. Truck sounds amazing though with the exhaust. When I installed the afe proguard 7 it seemed to smooth out the way the exhaust sounds. Love the set up I have and would do it again the same way.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

argh... What about doing the intake/torque tube and going with a tag? Any noise reduction? Putting an entire intake system on can't hurt. The stock box in mine seems very choked off. Keep the tips coming, getting ready to pick something up.

 

[DLeno]

Originally posted by PatrickCampbell

Can someone show me a picture of the AFE / torque tube setup?



I've decided to become a filter nazi and I won't use cleanable cloth air filters anymore and I'd like to get an idea to see if this filter will fit on an AFE setup:



http://shop.airflowonline.com/Merch...ode=AFSI&Product_Code=B105006&Category_Code=D

be careful when evaluating flow numbers. This filter flows at only about 75 CFM per inch of water (450 CFM at 6 inches of water) . The AFE proguard-7 with torque tube flows at about six times that much -- approximately 450 CFM per inch of water.



A production ISB engine running at 400 HP exhausts at about 2. 7 times the intake flow rate.



consider that a bombed CTD exhausts at about 1900 CFM (std formula, running 1400 EGTs at 3400 RPM).



that means we need around 700 CFM of intake capability to support bombs. the AFE pro-guard 7 will provide 600 CFM at 1. 5 inches of water. thats pretty dern close to what we need. so if we can find a paper filter that can flow that much at that low of restriction, then great!

 

[dan54s]

Any suggestions would be great on quieting down the torque tube.



I don't dare remove the silencer ring cause it doesn't appear to help HP or TQ... Just Noise. [/B][/QUOTE]



what is the silencer ring? do you have to remove it to install a torque tube? but I guess it dont matter because it sounds like to me the torque tube will be too loud for me unless someone has a quite "tube" or at least a way to quiten it down . what about this scotty ram air 3 that xcumminsx is talking about where do you get them are they a better piece or what?

 

[nwjetboat]

I wrapped my Torque Tube with the same foil faced foam they use in marine engine compartments. It's rated to 450F, we will see how long it holds up.

I think most of the sound was turbo noise resonating through the metal tube. You can still hear it sucking air if you roll the windows down, but with them up there is hardly any. It definitely took the shrill whistle out of the intake noise.

I will try to get some pictures posted tomorrow evening.

 

[bchesley]

I wonder if the header wrap they sell at summit would do the same thing!!

 

[Gypsyman]

Doug,



Here we go again. We both know that filters don't increase in flow rate at a set cfm per inch. I have yet to see an independent flow rate test of the oiled filters. I know about the test that Danny ran and have read it over and over but he is also an AFE dealer. What bothers me is how do you flow that much air and still filter it to DC or Cummins requirements. Also, I have looked at the AirAid and had their engineering department send me their flow rates. They seem an awful lot like the AFE in construction and yet they only claim a 20% to 30% increase in flow over the stock setup. Having been a Cummins tech for a few years and seeing the early rebuilds due to the "dusting" of engines by inferior filters I find it hard to believe that AFE can flow their numbers and still filter efficiently. Look at the size of an paper element that it would take to match AFE's numbers. It would have to be huge. I still think any gain over stock without having to go to an oiled filter is worth the trouble. Just my HO. I said it before and I'll say it again. We can figure this out! Even if I have to mount 2 chrome canister filters in the bed.



Now if I could just figure out how to get another 4" pipe out of the engine compartment and back to the bed...

 

[Gypsyman]

Originally posted by dan54s

Any suggestions would be great on quieting down the torque tube.



I don't dare remove the silencer ring cause it doesn't appear to help HP or TQ... Just Noise.

I went with the AirAid MIT and it was alot quiter than the metal eliminator pipe that I had IMHO. Excellent fit and finish, heavy wall plastic like the factory piece and even had the hose retaining ridges molded in. Locks in to the factory hoses nice and tight.

 

[SLinse]

How about filtration percentages on these filters?? How much do they let by?? Just thinking out loud, but like mentioned above, how do you take the same size filter, make it flow better without letting more dirt?