What is the best intake to pair with a Black Bear Tune?

[exzelz]

I currently have an Airaid MIT installed in my 5.3 2007 Tahoe. I also have a Black Bear Tune. I also have a flow master FX and deleted the resonator.

I am running the stock airbox with a regular paper filter. I see some people saying the Airaid MIT is the best to pair with a Black Bear Tune. I was on their website and looked at the CAI performance and it seems like the full Airaid Intake performs much better than the MIT, which had me thinking about switching.

I found the performance CAI for about $150 online.

I also don't hear the “whoosh” sound everyone does, unless it’s because of my exhaust.

Does anyone have experiences with which intake pairs best with a Black Bear Tune in 5.3?

 

[koolkeith6]

I currently have an Airaid MIT installed in my 5.3 2007 Tahoe. I also have a Black Bear Tune. I also have a flow master FX and deleted the resonator.

I am running the stock airbox with a regular paper filter. I see some people saying the Airaid MIT is the best to pair with a Black Bear Tune. I was on their website and looked at the CAI performance and it seems like the full Airaid Intake performs much better than the MIT, which had me thinking about switching.

I found the performance CAI for about $150 online.

I also don't hear the “whoosh” sound everyone does, unless it’s because of my exhaust.

Does anyone have experiences with which intake pairs best with a Black Bear Tune in 5.3?

Where did you find the CAI performance for $150?

 

[Marky Dissod]

I currently have an Airaid MIT installed in my 5.3L '07 Tahoe. I also have a Black Bear Tune. I also have a flow master FX and deleted the resonator.

I am running the stock airbox with a regular paper filter.

Wait. Which one are you using? OE or AirRaid MIT?

I see some people saying the Airaid MIT is the best to pair with a Black Bear Tune.
I was on their website and looked at the CAI performance and it seems like the 'full Airaid intake' performs much better than the MIT, which had me thinking about switching ...

Does anyone have experiences with which intake pairs best with a Black Bear Tune in 5.3L?

1st, engine size is almost irrelevant, especially if your engine already had
RPO K47 HIGH CAPACITY AIR CLEANER
2nd, The best intake, is the best intake, regardless of GM tune or @BlackBearPerf tune, even if the tune makes it more obvious.
3rd, not sure you're gonna find many people who disagree with BlackBear.
4th, the performance improvement may not be worth another $100.
I'd save up for 4.10 axle(s) instead. Costs more, but that'd REALLY get up and go.

 

[blondie70]

I'm in the market for an AirRaid MIT for my 2012 5.3 if you decide to sell yours.

 

[exzelz]

Where did you find the CAI performance for $150?

I found it on Rockauto

 

[exzelz]

I'm in the market for an AirRaid MIT for my 2012 5.3 if you decide to sell yours.

I’ll let you know next week, I just shipped mine back to Summit to see if they will refund it. If they don’t i’ll sell it to ya if you don’t have one by then.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I personally spoke to BBP a few year back about intake systems. They told me that my 07 Yukon XL Denali already had an OEM CAI system, and the best bang for the buck was to go with the Airaid MIT. The MIT would not make a noticeable improvement in performance, but it would clean up the top of the motor.

 

[Charlie207]

They told me the factory intake on my 5.3 was more than enough for a stock engine w/tune... no other hardware upgrades.

Same with the factory exhaust; they aren't restrictions on a stock engine. Upgrading the intake & exhaust would give maybe 5-10hp, if that, along with my 91-93 octane tune and a healthy (in tune) engine. They're just sound mods.

 

[Writefast]

They told me the factory intake on my 5.3 was more than enough for a stock engine w/tune... no other hardware upgrades.

Same with the factory exhaust; they aren't restrictions on a stock engine. Upgrading the intake & exhaust would give maybe 5-10hp, if that, along with my 91-93 octane tune and a healthy (in tune) engine. They're just sound mods.

Hate to hijack this but my next fix is a couple of broken header bolts. At the point that work was being done was thinking about/going to do an exhaust “upgrade”. Headers, cat backs, maybe cats. Was going to do it for performance but you’re saying the stock system is adequate to the stock engine?

 

[swathdiver]

Hate to hijack this but my next fix is a couple of broken header bolts. At the point that work was being done was thinking about/going to do an exhaust “upgrade”. Headers, cat backs, maybe cats. Was going to do it for performance but you’re saying the stock system is adequate to the stock engine?

The factory CAI is can handle enough air for even a mildly modified 5.3 Gen III or Gen IV motor. The 6.2s do benefit from a CAI. BlackBear's testing showed us that Corsa/Volant was tops overall.

The K47 high capacity air cleaner is really just a thicker filter. Same air box. The original high capacity air filter part number, still in use by the way, is A3085C.

 

[Charlie207]

Hate to hijack this but my next fix is a couple of broken header bolts. At the point that work was being done was thinking about/going to do an exhaust “upgrade”. Headers, cat backs, maybe cats. Was going to do it for performance but you’re saying the stock system is adequate to the stock engine?

Long-tube headers will add noticeable hp/tq to any engine - stock or modified - and require a retune to compensate for the increased airflow through the engine.

Shorty headers don't increase airflow enough to add much, if any, power.

The factory (5.3 liter OEM) intake robs about 8-10hp from the engine, but is still as good as any aftermarket system. You have to remove everything down to the bare throttle body to gain any power, so there's no point unless you have a 6.2 liter engine.

Good reference materials:

 

[tooleyondeck]

+1 for long tubes. If you really want a bolt-in power increase, pair some good headers with a FAST LSX-RT intake manifold and retune. However, for the cost of that you could get your OEM intake and probably your heads ported, or do a cam swap/DOD Delete and gain 75-100hp depending on the cam. It is a huge rabbit hole to go down when talking power increases.

 

[Trey Hardy]

Hate to hijack this but my next fix is a couple of broken header bolts. At the point that work was being done was thinking about/going to do an exhaust “upgrade”. Headers, cat backs, maybe cats. Was going to do it for performance but you’re saying the stock system is adequate to the stock engine?

I’ve always had a considerable difference after doing Longtubes cold air intake and a good tune I do it first thing with any LS engine I get my hands on
It makes a good difference in stock form but my truck I cam swapped and put ported heads on it had really woke it up and let it breath with the Longtubes no cats and full exhaust

 

[alpha_omega]

I personally spoke to BBP a few year back about intake systems. They told me that my 07 Yukon XL Denali already had an OEM CAI system, and the best bang for the buck was to go with the Airaid MIT. The MIT would not make a noticeable improvement in performance, but it would clean up the top of the motor.

I agree and was told the same thing from BBP about my ‘11 Denali 6.2. No need to change out the OEM box with some fancy CAI, stock is better than any open box out there.

 

[Charlie207]

I agree and was told the same thing from BBP about my ‘11 Denali 6.2. No need to change out the OEM box with some fancy CAI, stock is better than any open box out there.

I'm curious if the "OEM intake tube is best" opinion is for a stock/unmodified engine? (5.3 and 6.2)

Their own dyno testing showed power increases on the 6.2 (no 5.3 data I remember seeing...?) with most aftermarket intakes vs. the OEM system. Would the aftermarket intakes be helpful only in conjunction with their ECU tune, or stepping it up to a tune w/cam & LT headers?

There's a few variables for this argument that aren't always discussed: the difference between airflow of 5.3 vs. 6.2, hardware mods, etc.. |

I was told by them that the stock 5.3 would never flow enough air to create a situation where the intake system, or exhaust, became the bottle-neck.

With a larger engine & better flowing heads (6.0/6.2) there's still a question of when the factory parts become the restrictions, and at what point you need to upgrade. Remember how all those JDM and other turbo-cars typically have "stages" of tuning to offer general roadmaps for upgrading? There seems to be less of that for these N/A engines.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

The OEM intake tube is designed to reduce engine intake noise, and the engineering design with those spaghetti baffles is to produce eddy air currents which counteract the noise of the intake air flow. As such, it is not as efficient as it could be.

Also, as I remember the BlackBear's analysis, only one aftermarket CAI system produced a marginal increase in power (Volant, I believe), and all of the others tested did not produce anything significantly better.

The air box and the true CAI design of that part of the OEM system is capable of supplying more air than is required for either motor. If you want to improve on the spaghetti baffles, then get an AirRaid MIT tube, or build one yourself using Schedule 40 PVC. This is what BlackBear Performance recommended to me.

With my 6.2 now supercharged, the only intake modification that was made was to use a more efficient air filter element, and the basically OEM CAI setup can supply all the air that my modified motor can use. That's my benchmark.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Fate forfend that GM obsolesce the aftermarket by providing every buyer with THE best-performing intake tube.
Instead, GM comes up with its own opinion of what they think are the noises that might annoy your significant others,
and then builds an intake tube designed to muffle THEM / their complaints.
So, by buying an aftermarket intake tube, you risk that someone else might complain about the noises.

If you want to improve on the spaghetti baffles, then get an AirRaid MIT tube, or build one yourself using Schedule 40 PVC.
This is what BlackBear Performance recommended to me.

Smart recommendation.
If your significant other is going to complain, at least impress them by being pennywise & creative, instead of spending more for branding.

 

[Charlie207]

Fate forfend that GM obsolesce the aftermarket by providing every buyer with THE best-performing intake tube.
Instead, GM comes up with its own opinion of what they think are the noises that might annoy your significant others,
and then builds an intake tube designed to muffle THEM / their complaints.
So, by buying an aftermarket intake tube, you risk that someone else might complain about the noises.

Smart recommendation.
If your significant other is going to complain, at least impress them by being pennywise & creative, instead of spending more for branding.

"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."

 

[Charlie207]

The OEM intake tube is designed to reduce engine intake noise, and the engineering design with those spaghetti baffles is to produce eddy air currents which counteract the noise of the intake air flow. As such, it is not as efficient as it could be.

The are Heimholz resonators, and act as sound-wave attenuators. You can see BBP's dyno comparison on a 2016 Yukon 6.2, and the full data here: https://www.blackbearperformance.co...bear-performance-cold-air-intake-test-results

Power runs:

 

[Marky Dissod]

Based on that chart, looks like the AFE is the wiser choice over the Volant.
(See graphs for details? Anyone still got the graphs?)
Mind that those are PEAK gains, occurring between the peak torque RpM & Peak horsepower RpM.
Despite typically driving like an impatient jacquesarse (even with riders aboard),
I MIGHT get above 4000RpM 3x a day; 5x on very rare days.

Too bad no one has (yet) bothered to compare a Home Depot / Lowe's intake to the others.