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k&n or airraid for 13 SHO?


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Just traded in my '05 Grand Prix GTP and I'm already missing supercharger whine. I'm going to have to allocate some funds for an intake so I can hear me some turbos spooling! Damn... I've had the car 2 days and I've got the mod bug already. Must.... resist...!!!

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Hey guys, like most of you, I want to hear things happening under the hood at WOT or just when I get on it fairly hard. What I don't necessarily want, is additional noise (hissing or sucking) when I am just cruising along or driving gently. How much additional noise (if any) do you hear from a CAI under low throttle or normal cruising?

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Hey guys' date=' like most of you, I want to hear things happening under the hood at WOT or just when I get on it fairly hard. What I [i']don't[/i] necessarily want, is additional noise (hissing or sucking) when I am just cruising along or driving gently. How much additional noise (if any) do you hear from a CAI under low throttle or normal cruising?

 

I can tell you that I just installed airaid from my 2010 to my 2013. We can't hear much happening... It is the combo of exhaust with airaid that makes you hear the turbos. It is still too discreet. I am sure the K&N cai allows to hear the turbos much more. For sure, I change from the 2010 super modded with loud exhaust etc. to the stock 2013 with just an airaid. But, I was disappointed (even if I know with exhaust my smile will come back soon) with the fact that I can't tell the difference between stock and stock with airaid.

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Seems like sound (though that is subjective) is one difference and the other is that the Airaid adds 5-10 minutes to the process of checking yours transmission dipstick unless you have minuscule hands. After getting my LMS tune, and being blown away, I did not notice any increased power or MPG with the Airaid. I did (again likely subjective and/or imagined) seem to notice a tad better throttle feel and smoother in gear idle with the Airaid though. Both systems look nice.

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Is the only difference between the K&N and the Airaid the noise difference or are you noticing performance/MPG difference between the two as well. I prefer to keep the car quiet unlike most.

 

Thanks

 

Jason

 

I would question performance gains though I believe the car feels a little more responsive. I definitely appear to have improved gas mileage though, but will need several tanks to verify if the improvement is indeed real or if it's a fluke as I've only had one fill up since installing the K&N. However, the car did report a roughly 10% increase in range (based on actual miles driven, not miles to empty estimated) on the tank of gas that was in the car with the K&N installed. This seems to be at least somewhat confirmed by the car having more gas than usual when I hit bingo fuel and filled up. It will take several more tanks of gas to confirm if this is indeed accurate and I'm actually going to forego my standard weekly fill up habit and instead run the car to near-empty to confirm this, but with my driving habits it usually takes two full weeks to get to a low fuel state so it will be some time.

 

The K&N is quiet at low throttle and cruising but you will definitely notice it over probably quarter-throttle with some whooshing noises. Nothing I thought was too awful, but that's me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey Guys, I have a question and I apologize in advance if it has been already been answered somewhere on this forum.

 

I was looking at my stock airbox and see that there is a tube that runs from the grill opening into the box. That would ONLY let cooler outside air in. With an aftermarket CAI, is that tube retained somehow? I can understand the filters on CAIs flowing better but I fail to see how the incoming air could be cooler. Based on the pictures, it looks like the filter is over nearer the fender. Where does the incoming air come from? It really appears to me that the stock airbox would provide cooler air with a better ram-air effect than an aftermarket CAI.

 

I am not knocking this mod - I just want to understand how it pulls in cool air and where the air comes from.

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Look towards the front of the car on the right side. You will see 2 bolts. As you look under those bolts, you'll realize that is actually the large air intake at the front of the car. It is rectangular. I think that is what you're calling a tube? That is retained with a cold air intake system such as Airaid ( not sure about K&N). The air comes in the same place, but with the CAI, the system is just able to breath a lot easier than an enclosed box. My car definitely idles better in gear with the Airaid and sounds more aggressive under full throttle. Like I said in my for sale thread though, I decided the more muffled sound at WOT better suited my getting older tastes.

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Thanks Todd. Yes, I used the word "tube" which was not very accurate. I was just curious if the air still got to the filter the same way. I was thinking about some homemade mods to my airbox to maybe increase the "ram" effect but I am not sure that I could improve on the current set-up given the space limitations. I think my tastes are similar to yours regarding sound so I will just leave it alone.

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I don't think it is retained on the K&N because the K&N does not replace the stock box, but instead just uses a shield that is on the left side and rear of the filter (when looking at it from the front of the car). I simply went with the Airaid because of their strong support for our forum and the great customer service we've gotten from them.

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Thanks, everyone. I really can't find an opening in the fender well of the MKS. I was thinking about cutting a hole in the fender side of the stock airbox and plumbing to an opening - but I really don't see an opening that I can use. I might to dig a little deeper....or just forget about it. I replaced the stock filter and the cabin filter this morning so that is enough for an Easter Sunday.

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  • 2 months later...

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