CAI Or simply cone filter?
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Teching In
Joined: Nov 2017
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CAI Or simply cone filter? have a 5.3 lm7 motor in my truck. ive just now begun modifying the thing so i start off with the basics. dual exhaust, CAI, and i just received some lowering shackles i need to make time to put in. however, upon installing the CAI i noticed something that i havent been able to get out of my head. the material the actual tubing is made of is both thinner and made of some kind of aluminum. now the issue comes in when the stock air box, and now the after market air box, runs right ontop of one of the the radiator hoses. it doesnt take a genius to know that metal retains heat extremely well. and the after market tubing is noticeably hotter than the thick rubber counterpart which seems to be counter productive for a COLD air intake as the physical temperature of the housing would affect the temperature of the air flow. so because of this ive thought about simply replacing the stock paper box filter with a good aftermarket KNN cone filter to achieve the desired effects. now am i correct in my assumption or am i just some weirdo overthinking the most minute things? any advice for dealing with this type of engine would be greatly appreciated aswell. im not expecting to make any type of serious power with any type of CAI system. maybe a couple horses, its mostly a sound modification but i dont want to LOSE any power because of it.
If your truck is a 99+ gm truck, the guys on performancetrucks.net have shown the stock airbox to be the best available option in terms of both air intake temps as well as flow. If you have a clutch fan setup you could change it to e-fans and then do an airraid intake tube and better filter but most of the few hp you would gain there is from the fans because changed. Most don't see any differences other than sound with the airraid tube either. GM got the air intake tract right on the trucks. Intake manifold is a different story as there are some decent gains there with different options.
