cold air intake

[kennyglm]

So i am looking at a volant cold air intake and there claiming 1.7 mpg gains for my 3.6 gladiator. i am looking for other peoples input on this, do they do anything at all ? I dont care about the cold air intake noise. For almost 400 bucks i would like to see a difference in mpg or noticeable power response.

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[Sandevino]

I’ve had CAI’s in other Jeeps and they’ve only made marginal differences if any at best in real world application.

 

[kennyglm]

I’ve had CAI’s in other Jeeps and they’ve only made marginal differences if any at best in real world application.

thanks i would be mainly interested in better gas mileage

 

[Sandevino]

thanks i would be mainly interested in better gas mileage

If you’re doing mostly highway driving you might see improvements. The gas engine is an air pump so volume in most equal volume out or you introduce restrictions. If you pick up a CAI you need to open the exhaust up a bit as well to realize any gains. Diesel and forced induction are different but I’m assuming you have the V6.

Off-road, you won’t see any improvements

 

[Gren71]

LOTS of threads on this exact topic floating around the forum.

The consensus:
short term MINOR improvement in performance (anecdotal) and no meaningful improvement in MPG. Over the long term the computer will learn and adjust for the airflow changes and youll be back to square one with $$ our of pocket and all you would have gained is a little more engine growl.

That being said, a lot of us still did a CAI and/or a throttle body spacer...cause...who doesnt like to give it a try!

I have the AFE CAI and the ONLY reason I keep it is because I like the sound during acceleration. But really it means absolutely nothing and im sure at some point Ill get sick of disassembling the dang thing just to clean the filter. AFE makes drop in filters that achieve basically the same thing so i will at some point go back to the OEM intake and use an upgraded filter.

 

[Minty JL]

I will go with Mishmoto on mine. I did beta testing for their 2.0t intake on my JL back in '19; Quality, engineering, testing and product.

 

[Mr._Bill]

The CAI offers nothing substantial, just audio and visual appeal. I added the Mopar CAI. It looks factory, reduces air restriction, and can use OEM filters.

If you want better MPG, adjust your driving habits.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

The best reasons to get a CAI/filter on a stick are: 1. Feels/butt dyno, and 2. Whoosh/sound, which goes back to “feels.”

The amusing thing is that people buy a CAI (in theory can get ~1% better MPG), they like the sound of it, start using the skinny pedal more aggressively, and end up with worse fuel economy.

There’s no logical reason to get a CAI, but then again…there’s not a logical reason to get a Jeep to begin with, so I wouldn’t let logic drive your decision on this one. You want it? Go buy it.

Jeep peeps and fuel economy, lol.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

So i am looking at a volant cold air intake and there claiming 1.7 mpg gains for my 3.6 gladiator. i am looking for other peoples input on this, do they do anything at all ? I dont care about the cold air intake noise. For almost 400 bucks i would like to see a difference in mpg or noticeable power response.

There's 2 or 3 long long threads on this topic floating around here. Unless you like the sound, save your money for something important or that actually works.
Unless you race the truck and keep it in the 5,000 RPM range, it's not going to do squat.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The CAI offers nothing substantial, just audio and visual appeal. I added the Mopar CAI. It looks factory, reduces air restriction, and can use OEM filters.

If you want better MPG, adjust your driving habits.

Or buy a Grand Cherokee and get 26-27 mpg with a gasser.

At the RPM these things run there is no air restriction. It's really that simple. The valves are in LOW LIFT mode under 2800 RPM so the restriction is hardly in the air system.
I've dealt with performance for decades - I can't believe people don't think these things through. I suspect it's because they prefer "comparing parts" to engine logic and design.

 

[Hootbro]

Over the long term the computer will learn and adjust for the airflow changes and youll be back to square one with $$ our of pocket and all you would have gained is a little more engine growl.

This right here in a nutshell.

 

[kennyglm]

Or buy a Grand Cherokee and get 26-27 mpg with a gasser.

At the RPM these things run there is no air restriction. It's really that simple. The valves are in LOW LIFT mode under 2800 RPM so the restriction is hardly in the air system.
I've dealt with performance for decades - I can't believe people don't think these things through. I suspect it's because they prefer "comparing parts" to engine logic and design.

Already got one lol

 

[kennyglm]

This right here in a nutshell.

yes i think you may be right because when i bought my truck my average was 11 mpg and now that i had it 6 months my average hovers around 15.5 mpg. with 37s on it witch i dont think is bad but if i can get 1 or 2 mpg more that would be enough to make me happy with the way gas prices are anymore...

 

[kennyglm]

I am looking at the volant powercore series , good reviews but didnt buy it yet not really sold on this CAI stuff yet . I am old school small block chevy type of person

 

[dcmdon]

Or buy a Grand Cherokee and get 26-27 mpg with a gasser.

At the RPM these things run there is no air restriction. It's really that simple. The valves are in LOW LIFT mode under 2800 RPM so the restriction is hardly in the air system.
I've dealt with performance for decades - I can't believe people don't think these things through. I suspect it's because they prefer "comparing parts" to engine logic and design.

I'm saying this tongue in cheek. Because you know this is true.

But to the OP. There is actually a HUUUUGGEEE restriction in the intake most of the time you are driving around. Its the throttle plate. The throttle blocks 95% of the intake at idle and opens more as you press on the gas pedal.

Either way, you are intentionally blocking the intake to control the engine. The engine meters fuel based on the "manifold absolute pressure". It doesn't matter whether a given MAP is achieved with a poor flowing air filter and a slightly more open throttle or a perfectly flowing filter and a slightly more closed throttle.

Bottom line is that any kind of intake will have ZERO impact on fuel economy.

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