which do you guys prefer? my truck has a k&n air filter on it, and i like it i think the motor breathes better with it, but i find that its slightly louder than the stock one..opinions??

 

I don't think that it'll make a difference, I ran with no air filter for 5 miles(dumb I know but I didn't have a choice) and then dropped in a brand new frame air filter and it didn't make any difference at all.

Sooo... It may be breathing betting but I doubts its helping any. I cut off the tube that goes in to the air box and that made it a little louder but no real gains.

Hope I helped

 

IMO, i would stick to the stock setup and use a k&n replacement filter. I bought my runner with a CAI and I hated it. If i spashed in a puddle too big, water would get in the intake and run like crap for about 5 min. cant go wrong with stock and its not like you would get major power gains from a cold air intake. just my .02

 

I agree with JP stay with the stock box and K&N.
To me a cold air intake is an oxymoron. Most of the CAI's I have seen have an intake that is blocked from the front end by something. Since it is then getting a decent % of air from the engine compartment, that is far from cold air.

 

plus why would u want a cold air intake on a 4wd truck or 4runner? i can see having one in a sport car but its not like we are trying to race these trucks, i also think the best is the stock box with k&n. now with a strait tube then the ribbed sections they have would be good if u ask me... but just my .02

 

The only real thing I can think of that might help is swapping the battery box with the air box.
And the only good thing I can think of about using a K&N is that you don't have to replace them. K&N will actually let more dirt in. And as I said before running no air filter vs a 10$ fram, I didn't notice a difference.

 

K&N were good when they came out as you really had no other choice but a paper element. Like the above post says they do let a larger amount of dirt pass which is never a good thing. I was turned off from K&N when I had one on my built 01 powerstroke, I started to get turbo surge even when it wasn't under a load and it was getting worse by the day. I pulled the intake and found several chips missing out of my compressor wheel. Luckily I already ordered a banks wheel. After looking into it all of the knowledgeable people in the diesel field say stay away from K&N and if you have to get a filter use a S&B. Honestly its kinda hard to beat the paper elements.

 

Stick with paper

 

You can't go wrong with the paper filters and the stock air box location.

Having said that however I did swap my battery and air box locations, add in an aftermarket (Specter I think) oil-able type cone filter, a larger AFM and plumb it to pull cooler air out of the cowl instead of the engine compartment.

Did I feel any gains? Yup.

 

Any pics? I plan on doing something like that pretty soon. Well swapping the battery and stock box location for now and a good cone filter and heat shield later. On down the road I want to do a completely sealed unit with cold air plumbing.

 

The whole intake thing completely depends on what you intend to use your truck for.

If you plan on using your truck mostly off road, then stick with a stock set up or do the afm/batt swap and build a box to protect the new filter from dust and or water/mud. ANY type of filter SUCKS (or doesn't allow the intake to suck) if it is covered in dust or soaked in water.

If you use your truck as a daily driver, (i.e. mostly on the street) installing some sort of better flowing filter set up will help your MPGs by 1-2 miles per gallon, but you wont see noticeable HP gains.

Don't do the swap thinking that you are going to get HUGE HP gains. A lot of people don't understand that HP gains are based on percentages and engine mods are relative to other mods that have already been done. Better induction will not really help an engine that is still being choked by stock exhaust. More spark from an MSD will not help a pure stock engine, etc... But you will notice a big difference once you start combining multiple mods that complement each other. What I mean is, when you combine a better flowing intake, with a better flowing head, that gives the engine more air to exit out of a better flowing exhaust, THEN you should see some real changes.

All of that will still give you small gains in HP in a numbers sense, but 10 more HP out of an engine that gets just over 100hp is a substantial amount, relatively speaking.

I hope this helps.

 

I've got some somewhere, will have to see if they are still on photobucket.

 

I think that 1-2 mpg gain for a "high flow" filter is unlikely as well. I can't give you a source, but there was a study on the effect of a "clogged" standard paper air filter that I read about. As the filter got really clogged, HP went down but mpg was constant because the EFI simply compensated for the restriction.

 

I switched my AFM with one from an 82 supra, the plate inside of it is almost twice the size and it has 3" openings on both ends. If you using it in the mud you can you the supra box or just build a box out of a small trash con and stick a cone in it. Mine has no protection and the cone stays dry even when in mud!
heres a decent write up
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=594281

 

must be out of an 82 supra Part#22250-43110 & 197100-3020 or you have to switch the internals. there cheap at the yards www.car-parts.com

 

id say aftermarket bc i put a spectre on mine and it sounds alot deeper

 

You can put an aftermarket intake tube on it and smooth out the air flow, and you MIGHT get a little better throttle response, but nothing crazy. If you go as far as using an AFM adapter and putting a cone filter on it, you'll get a cool sound when stepping on the throttle and maybe more miles before needing to change or wash the filter since they do have more filtering surface area and will not get as dirty as fast. Personally, I've been down the route of both. I custom fit a full aluminum intake tube, AFM adapter, and cone filter onto my 22re. Like I said it made a cool noise when you got into the throttle, but that's about all it did... I ran it for a few months, and then just put the stock intake back on, but I did put a K&N in the stock box. A few months after that, I stopped using the K&N all together and went right back to paper...

 

Depends on what is already done to your motor. If it is the only mod it will have better sound, thats about it. If you are keeping a car for a long time, the K&N is nice cause you can clean and re-oil, and it pays off after a few times. I just bought a fram stock filter at Walmart and it was $10, I think the K&N is around 30 or 40?

 

i still say 82 supra AFM with no adapters fives you 4-5mpg and maybe a few horses too.
and who doesnt like a sweep sounding truck!