I have read with interest on this board and others the horsepower gains to be achieved with an addition of a cold air intake. Does someone actually have a dyno sheet of before and after with the Crossfire with only the change of the intake? I am having a hard time believing some of the numbers quoted as gains with this simple change. Documented/ Empirical evidence from many sources show most CAI gains to be minimal at best. I don't want to call B.S. on some of the statements I have read on this site as far as HP gains with the addition of CAI's but would like to see some objective evidence of these claims. I will be delighted if they are actually true. Remember, CAI only, no program changes or mechanical changes to "utilize" the new CAI.
I anxiously await your response(s).
Thanx, Wes

 

this is the single CAI intake on a srt6 versus a bone stock setup

 

So a 30hp and 20 something torque increase with just a CAI? That is impressive. How restrictive and hot is the OE system? If I was a M-B executive I would be firing some engineers. I can personally attest to the dismal results I have seen with every CAI to date. Mostly Asian cars and diesel trucks. The scant gains didn't justify the expense in most cases. A horsepower or two and slight gains in torque is what I have personally witnessed.
I noticed you are using the supercharged engine for your test. How does the N.A. fare?

 

NW beat me to it.

 

when I bought my SRT6 coupe,it had an aftermarket CAI. I took it off and reinstalled the factory CAI.Then I sold the parts. I was lucky to get the original with the car. Along with original wheels and tires. I put those on too. The ones I took off were for a limited. They are now spares. I prefer originality.

 

As to temperature: My N/A's intake temps are almost ALWAYS over 20 degrees F above ambient and often 28 to 32 degrees F above ambient.

As to restriction: I don't know, but look at the design and tell me what you SUSPECT it is like.

As to the engineers: There are many factors that went into the design, I think the engineers delivered what corporate wanted.

 

Fwiw Wes, the diesel engines won't respond in kind to CAI like their gas counterparts because of the way the fuel and air are mixed. In the diesel world, you need more fuel before you need more air. The catch is you might see slightly decreased spool times where turbos are concerned.

Above all, it's always best to rewrite the engine ecu to accommodate for such changes so that your engine will utilize all the available power.

 

I heard great things about NEEDSWINGS intakes but having two , two seat cars , and doing some modding on both, the 400.00 $ is out of my price range,i run K&N drop in filters and had the TUNE done with the sprint booster ,i can tell you it has made my Crossfire come alive , with all that done and the NW CAI you would get more HP ,but it will cost you more money , there is alot NA Crossfire owner here that Running that set up , hope this help , OH i see you are from WY have sister lives in Thermop ,for about 30 yrs, hope this helps you out

 

Most people have never heard of Thermop or the hot springs there.
Thanx for all the good info folks!

 

No one has modded these cars more than I. I would not waste my money on something that didn't produce performance. I truck for a living. So I have owned big rigs, all Cummins engines. Air is important in the diesel world as well, but even more so in the S/C'd engines. Especially cooler air. A tune is necessary to bring it all together, but well worth the investment if you want more performance. On a naturally aspirated car, probably wouldn't waste my money. Just my take...

 

How well an aftermarket CAI works usually comes down to two things.
How restrictive the original factory equiptment is, and how well the aftermarket intake was designed to flow.
That being said, the NeedsWings CAI on an automatic equipped Crossfire will cut nearly 1/2 sec. off its 1/4 mile ET's.
I don't know what that works out to be in Net H.P. But it's a significant performance increase.

 

I like my Needswings CAI but can't tell you about HP gains since I also have a Eurocharged tune.
Together though I got a 18HP gain to the wheels on my na.

 

One thing often not thought of.
Many factory intakes including the factory ones are a balance of flow and noise.
Most performance oriented people like hearing the intake draw in lots of air.
For most factory engineers this is a big no-no. They need to make it quiet with baffles and shape design to appease most customers.

 

actually they build factory air intakes to take all kinds of weather. Open CAI's are great for performance but not always great in really bad weather...

 

Yes, that too.

 

Thought this might be the best place to update but with the stock intake on my N/A here in Guam intake temps with new filters were 150-180F with the Needswings I haven't seen it go over 100 and I'm due for a new filter. I was using Torque Pro to get intake temps. sorry forgot to get a screen shot I'll do that next time I'm out there but it's the rainy season so it will be a few weeks.

 

^^^ Like I was saying, I am amazed at how HOT the factory intake is on an N/A in warmer climates. ^^^

And as to noise, it has been proven that even the baffles in our throttle bodies, (there to keep noise down) steals a bit from performance as it restricts air flow.
And it takes a few HP to make the air flow.

 

....and I thought those baffles were for smoother air flow around corners.

 

That isn't what was being said in GG's thread - I was thinking it was Rob (Needswings) who said that they did that to keep the intake quiet.

But I could be wrong, Dave. When it comes to stuff like that, I only repeat what I have read (here and elsewhere).

 

Come to think of it I guess smoother air flow would make for quieter air intakes.