Air Intake Question

[Great Offender]

I have no intention of adding an aftermarket intake but I do have questions about the sock intake on a 3.6 gasser. I went down a rabbit hole and watched an installation video and the installer made remarks about baffles between the intake tube from the box to the throttle body. I have driven many a Cummins and removed the baffles on them for that turbo squeal. I'm not looking for a sound upgrade just knowledge.

For those that have installed Cold Air Intakes can you verify if there are any obstructions in the stock tube? Having watched one video I proceeded to watch more and I find that there are differences in the filter look and type with various box configurations but there is one constant between all of them, the tube. I'm sure there is some science in the development and I am not trying to discourage anyone from using them. I am merely curious about the inners of the OEM tube?

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[ShadowsPapa]

Like a college teacher once told our class - "be careful about blindly modifying intakes, sizes and shapes are there for reasons and you can actually make performance worse".
Air flows similar to a fluid in a tube. Baffles, corners and curves all have an impact - often to the good or betterment of flow.
One thing I've found over time is that you want higher velocity air going in as the faster it enters, the harder it is to slow it down when things start to close - it wants to keep moving.
The whole flow thing goes from the time the air hits the tube from the air box to the time it exist the exhaust.
I'm not going to modify mine because I'm not a kid any more, I outgrew the need to hear squeals and growls a while back) and don't need to hear a growl to make impressions or to make me feel good.
I also don't want to accidentally lower performance or cause issues with the sensors measuring flow, pressures and temperatures. Mine sounds just fine under a load when hauling or towing.

If I feel the need to show off and hear a growl, I'll drive my car. On the other hand, I'm just "this far" from taking that car back in and telling them to try again at a more mellow tone. It always sounds like I'm in the staging lanes getting ready to let it loose in the water before heading to the tree. Fun ride but too danged loud.
I want my truck to be quiet (well, as quiet as a Jeep can be)

I get it there's still a lot of young people who need to hear a V8 type growl to feel good, but I'm now more into reliability (get in and go with no worries), warranty coverage, MPG and reliable power when towing.

All opinions, of course, except for the bits about blindly trying to out-think engineers who spend hours and days trying to squeeze 1 more HP and one more pound/foot of torque out of a tiny motor growing long in tooth.

 

[Great Offender]

I'm way past my "growl" days . In golf terms, and I'm not a golfer, I am closer to the 18th hole than I am to when I teed off.

Having made my own forced air intakes in the past, curiosity gets the better of me. Just cause I'm old(er) doesn't mean I know it all! and there isn't room for more! I have heard many stories and explanations about altering the factory air flow and I am sure some of them were from you. I was more interested in "what's going on inside that tube"?

I wish I had some fabrication experience because I believe I could save a lot of people a lot of $$$.

 

[Mr._Bill]

The stock tube and the stock lid both have baffles in them. The stock tube seems to be a convoluted shape, I'm guessing for noise control. The Mopar CAI replaces the tube and the lid, both clear and smooth.

 

[AmosMoses]

My 95 mustang gt with 5.0 v8 had 210 hp all stock if I remember right. I think chrysler did a pretty good job extracting all they could from the 3.6.

 

[Great Offender]

The stock tube and the stock lid both have baffles in them. The stock tube seems to be a convoluted shape, I'm guessing for noise control

Oooooh Noooo I think we have a winner! Thanks Mr Bill! I have looked at it quite a few times under the hood and agree that it is a very convoluted setup so I was being lazy by asking if someone had taken a minute to examine it. The JT was purchased (used) at the same time I moved so I am still living in a box apocalypse without having much time to investigate. "Maybe" this weekend.

Thanks Again!

 

[Minty JL]

I can tell you firsthand from when I worked with Mishimoto on the JL/JT intakes, those baffles ARE needed or you'll get a check engine light.

There i took the guess work out of it. We tested a intake from S&B which removes them and guess what CEL city

 

[Great Offender]

baffles ARE needed or you'll get a check engine light.

Than that begs the question "how are these working?". From the installation videos and the photos I've seen of almost every CAI I see nothing but a large smooth tube.

 

[Minty JL]

Well there is one way to find out, hack it up and report back

 

[Great Offender]

Well there is one way to find out, hack it up and report back

It was a stupid question to begin with but after seeing all those videos and all of the $$$ required to purchase an aftermarket intake I just thought I'd ask. I searched and found nothing about anyone having ever posted about it.

I never mentioned a desire to cut up anything and made it very clear that I had no intention of adding a CAI. Most upgrades I would do are out of my price range with 2 kids in college and at my age I should be thinking about retirement and not education costs but that's 100% my fault! . "Shoulda worn one of the funny little rubber things".

Perhaps someone else has taken that leap and cut theirs up in which case I would love to hear about the fallout.

 

[Kevin_D]

I can tell you firsthand from when I worked with Mishimoto on the JL/JT intakes, those baffles ARE needed or you'll get a check engine light.

There i took the guess work out of it. We tested a intake from S&B which removes them and guess what CEL city

But...
But...

The stock tube and the stock lid both have baffles in them. The stock tube seems to be a convoluted shape, I'm guessing for noise control. The Mopar CAI replaces the tube and the lid, both clear and smooth.

How can the OEM CAI be smooth and not cause problems?
?

Kevin

 

[Caspien]

As someone who just recently did the Mopar CAI and hood cutout (literally, in the last few weeks), I can provide photos of both, if you'd like.

The stock intake has a ton of resonance chambers and baffles, and a sort of washboard top to the upper intake lid.

The Mopar CAI replaces both the upper housing and the intake tube, and there are NO baffles on either.

Sound wise, the JT actually runs QUIETER with the performance intake, until you get into it.. then you get the nice throaty sound around 4500-5000 rpm.




~ Casp

 

[Great Offender]

No rush but I would love to see photos of the OEM intake pipe.

I know when the motor is built the engineers design the air intake for, what they believe, are the best specifications for the engine. I get it. Is there a way to change the settings in the ECM with a Jscan or Tazer to accommodate the increased air flow? This was always a concern with some of the bikes I've owned. Again, just curiosity and It's probably a good thing I'm not a cat!

 

[Minty JL]

But...
But...

How can the OEM CAI be smooth and not cause problems?
?

Kevin

I wish I could answer that........I'm not that type of engineer.

I could only provide the data points I had

Cheers

 

[Mr._Bill]

I can tell you firsthand from when I worked with Mishimoto on the JL/JT intakes, those baffles ARE needed or you'll get a check engine light.

There i took the guess work out of it. We tested a intake from S&B which removes them and guess what CEL city

Sounds like a design flaw with the S&B Intake, or a problem with the vehicle it was installed on.

I installed the Mopar CAI well over a year ago. No CEL or any other issues with the intake or engine.

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