Hopefully not redundant

[ktm7385]

Hello All,

Long time lurker here. I've been going through the forum trying to decide what mods for my 04 Yukon are worth the money. So far I have come up with a Tune, aftermarket exhaust, transmission cooler and corvette servo as "must haves". My question revolves around CAI and if they are worth it. Honestly I'm not looking to take my girl to the 1/4 mile races, I just want the best performance I can get without damaging or lessening the life of the engine. I've heard folks say that CAI's are the best thing since sliced bread and others say they are a waste of money. Are they worth it? If so, what brands do you recommend? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[iamdub]

Hello All,

Long time lurker here. I've been going through the forum trying to decide what mods for my 04 Yukon are worth the money. So far I have come up with a Tune, aftermarket exhaust, transmission cooler and corvette servo as "must haves". My question revolves around CAI and if they are worth it. Honestly I'm not looking to take my girl to the 1/4 mile races, I just want the best performance I can get without damaging or lessening the life of the engine. I've heard folks say that CAI's are the best thing since sliced bread and others say they are a waste of money. Are they worth it? If so, what brands do you recommend? Thanks in advance for any help.

The factory intake setup IS a "cold air intake". It draws it's air from louvers in the fender, outside of the engine bay. The filter box is sealed from the engine bay heat. The filter is very efficient at cleaning the air while not choking the engine.

What most people call a CAI is an intake with a shiny tube and cone filter on the end of it. Where is the "cold air" coming from? The air under the hood, 16" away from a 500° exhaust manifold? Yes, some have a "heat shield". But, that's just for looks. There's nothing sealed about that at all.

Losing the accordion tube and muffler chambers in the intake tube can yield a couple of horses and look and sound much better. So, either replace that factory tube with a cheap ebay or Amazon tube or Airaid MIT. An AEM DryFlow drop-in filter to fit the factory box might let it breathe slightly more at WOT and 6,000 RPM.

No matter how much you spend on a CAI, you're not gonna gain anything you can feel. So, don't spend much at all and you won't be wasting any money.

 

[ktm7385]

The factory intake setup IS a "cold air intake". It draws it's air from louvers in the fender, outside of the engine bay. The filter box is sealed from the engine bay heat. The filter is very efficient at cleaning the air while not choking the engine.

What most people call a CAI is an intake with a shiny tube and cone filter on the end of it. Where is the "cold air" coming from? The air under the hood, 16" away from a 500° exhaust manifold? Yes, some have a "heat shield". But, that's just for looks. There's nothing sealed about that at all.

Losing the accordion tube and muffler chambers in the intake tube can yield a couple of horses and look and sound much better. So, either replace that factory tube with a cheap ebay or Amazon tube or Airaid MIT. An AEM DryFlow drop-in filter to fit the factory box might let it breathe slightly more at WOT and 6,000 RPM.

No matter how much you spend on a CAI, you're not gonna gain anything you can feel. So, don't spend much at all and you won't be wasting any money.

Thanks for the response. Anything else I listed that might be not worth it? I'm extremely new to all this.

 

[Tonyrodz]

When you say exhaust, what do you mean? Headers, cat back, just a muffler?

 

[ktm7385]

When you say exhaust, what do you mean? Headers, cat back, just a muffler?

Cat back.

 

[iamdub]

Thanks for the response. Anything else I listed that might be not worth it? I'm extremely new to all this.

No, you're good on the other mods. As far as exhaust, you can just replace the stock muffler with whatever muffler you like. No need to replace the piping, at least, not from a performance perspective. Hot gases and sound don't care what brand the piping is that's it's traveling through. The factory pipe will last for hundreds of thousands of miles outside of salted areas. It is sized and designed for low-end torque (which helps to move these fat pigs) as well as not being a choke for the upper RPM. Now, if your stock stuff is in poor shape (rusted, bent, etc.), then it would make sense to replace it. At that point, the price a muffler shop might charge could be closer to what a bolt-on cat-back system would cost. Other than for looks (On something under your vehicle, surrounded by dirty metal?), the point of a cat-back system is for the average DIY-er to install in their driveway. Most may be a size or two larger for "performance", but the larger pipe would mean more top end power.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

@iamdub has given you great advice and perspectives. I cannot add anything else to what he has already advised.

 

[ktm7385]

No, you're good on the other mods. As far as exhaust, you can just replace the stock muffler with whatever muffler you like. No need to replace the piping, at least, not from a performance perspective. Hot gases and sound don't care what brand the piping is that's it's traveling through. The factory pipe will last for hundreds of thousands of miles outside of salted areas. It is sized and designed for low-end torque (which helps to move these fat pigs) as well as not being a choke for the upper RPM. Now, if your stock stuff is in poor shape (rusted, bent, etc.), then it would make sense to replace it. At that point, the price a muffler shop might charge could be closer to what a bolt-on cat-back system would cost. Other than for looks (On something under your vehicle, surrounded by dirty metal?), the point of a cat-back system is for the average DIY-er to install in their driveway. Most may be a size or two larger for "performance", but the larger pipe would mean more top end power.

Thanks for the help!