Not really. It's more of a sound/cosmetic mod. Especially with the 1.4T, where intake temps at the MAF won't be all that consequential.
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Trying to decide on an intake...help??
Hey guys, I have a 2012 LTZ and am looking to get an aftermarket intake for it. The car gets good enough mileage as is, so my reasoning for getting one is for performance, and sound.
I've looked through every thread I could find and still cant decide. would Injen's CAI have a greater effect on performance than either K&N or ZZPs SRI? I know colder more dense air creates more power, but didn't know if it made a big difference in a car with a turbo.
So, which intake do you guys have/want and have you noticed any pros/cons? I will be getting tuned (Trifecta) after my intake and exhaust are figured out, so factor that in.
Also, I live in Florida. Would the Injen be too risky to run considering the amount of rain we get here? Hydro shields can't protect it all..
I've looked through every thread I could find and still cant decide. would Injen's CAI have a greater effect on performance than either K&N or ZZPs SRI? I know colder more dense air creates more power, but didn't know if it made a big difference in a car with a turbo.
So, which intake do you guys have/want and have you noticed any pros/cons? I will be getting tuned (Trifecta) after my intake and exhaust are figured out, so factor that in.
Also, I live in Florida. Would the Injen be too risky to run considering the amount of rain we get here? Hydro shields can't protect it all..
1 - 8 of 47 Posts
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Sorry, I didn't have a lot of time to respond to this.
The Injen intake is better than the K&N intake for the following reasons.
1. Amsoil EA dry filter instead of a K&N oiled filter. The Amsoil filter is the best on the market, and every independent test will prove it. The K&N filter is one of the worst on the market, and independent data proves that as well. Dodge denies warranties left and right on Cummins motors with K&N intakes/filters installed. They even have a TSB out for it. Too many dirty engines because the filters flat out cannot filter as well as those engines need to.
2. Far more mandrel bent material. In fact, a good 3-4x as much tubing as the K&N. You actually get your money's worth with the Injen intake. The K&N re-uses the rubber hose that connects into the throttle body.
3. K&N is a hot air intake. It will not suck in any cold air. The heat shield included is a joke and does nothing to "shield" the filter from ambient hot air that sits at the top of the engine bay.
4. The performance claims are bogus. The dyno test is done taking the best result with the intake comparing to the worst result with the factory, not an average of all tests, and the tests are done with the hood open when the filter is installed. In other words, not a real-world scenario. The difference between a K&N intake and a stock intake with a bypassed intake resonator is at most 2hp with a tune. Is it worth $200? Well, is a lame excuse for an ambient heat shield and a pipe with a MAF mount welded on it worth $150? Yeah...I didn't think so.
The Injen is the only intake that comes remotely close to being worth the advertised price, and the only real benefits are sound and cosmetics. Otherwise, you'd get the same results bypassing the stock resonator.
The Injen intake is better than the K&N intake for the following reasons.
1. Amsoil EA dry filter instead of a K&N oiled filter. The Amsoil filter is the best on the market, and every independent test will prove it. The K&N filter is one of the worst on the market, and independent data proves that as well. Dodge denies warranties left and right on Cummins motors with K&N intakes/filters installed. They even have a TSB out for it. Too many dirty engines because the filters flat out cannot filter as well as those engines need to.
2. Far more mandrel bent material. In fact, a good 3-4x as much tubing as the K&N. You actually get your money's worth with the Injen intake. The K&N re-uses the rubber hose that connects into the throttle body.
3. K&N is a hot air intake. It will not suck in any cold air. The heat shield included is a joke and does nothing to "shield" the filter from ambient hot air that sits at the top of the engine bay.
4. The performance claims are bogus. The dyno test is done taking the best result with the intake comparing to the worst result with the factory, not an average of all tests, and the tests are done with the hood open when the filter is installed. In other words, not a real-world scenario. The difference between a K&N intake and a stock intake with a bypassed intake resonator is at most 2hp with a tune. Is it worth $200? Well, is a lame excuse for an ambient heat shield and a pipe with a MAF mount welded on it worth $150? Yeah...I didn't think so.
The Injen is the only intake that comes remotely close to being worth the advertised price, and the only real benefits are sound and cosmetics. Otherwise, you'd get the same results bypassing the stock resonator.
Oiled filters benchmark horrible results on a consistent basis. You may have seen this before:The problem with K&N filters mostly is when they are over oiled.It can contaminate the maf sensor.Also if you drive or live in a area with very dusty type conditions it is possible for some to pass threw the air filter.That being said a K&N is about the same restriction as having no air filter at all installed.At least in any test i have ever seen they out flow all filters.The trade off is make sure there light on oil and there not a good filter for dirty dusty places.In what i would call normal areas and lightly oiled they are fine.I have used them in my own cars for over 30 years with no problems.But i would not use one if i lived in a dust bowl area either.The problem to is no one at this time makes a dry flow replacement air cleaner for the 1.4 but there is one available for the 1.8
Filtration Testing for Amsoil, K&N, Napa, Jackson Racing, Baldwin, and Mazda air filters on a Miata
I tread on the cautious side when it comes to big investments. My $21k Cruze is considered a big investment. Chrysler has a TSB out denying warranties on Cummins diesels that they find K&N intakes installed in. There is a very good reason for it. Given the lack of any consequential performance increase, I'll stick to my Injen with an Amsoil EA filter. MAF sensors are not cheap, nor are turbos. I'm not going to roll this pair of dice.Yes i have seen Bobs test.K&N is the best flowing but the worst at filtering.Thats the trade off.Do i think anymore engine wear would be noted in 2 engines with 200,000 mile on them.With both haveing the same oil change times and miles.And 1 with a K&N and 1 with a factory air cleaner.Most likely not anything passing the air cleaner would be far to small to cause any real type of wear or oil contamination.I have seen a number of high mileage engines Useing K&N for there life time.But i can also say i have seen a fair amount of Maf sensor problems to from over oil filters.
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The bottom line when it comes to panel filters is this.The problem is the K&N is the only solution right now for someone that wants a high flow replacement panel air cleaner.I did look for a dry flow i thought it would be cool to have one in the cruze but none is available at this time.For me the K&N was the only solution.The wife uses the car on buisness trips sometimes.I cant risk her behind the wheel with a aftermarket intake.Water build up in the road large puddles or what have you.For me thats protecting my investment in the cruze lol
Whenever you increase flow, you decrease filtration, and vise versa. There is no exception to this. If you want to increase flow AND filtration, you need to increase filter surface area. I unfortunately cannot support K&N filters from a technical standpoint knowing what they've done to turbos on Cummins motors and knowing that we also have turbos on our cars. To me, the extra flow is not worth the proven risk.
An oiled filter with even higher flow characteristics than K&N? While I love having more options, that raises some concerns.Not true. What about Green Filter USA? They have a high flow panel filter for the Cruze 1.4L
Green Filter USA - Official Site
They supposedly flow higher than even K&N.
Anyone ever try these?
That is according to their site, but at what efficiency do they trap those 5 micron particles? The independent testing is out there if you need to see it for yourself. K&N provides far inferior filtration to stock paper filters, as do all oiled filters. You cannot bend the rule that a filter of the exact same size that flows more than another will also filter less than another.Speaking of concerns, how hard is it to clean out the fuel injectors, if/when that is needed? Can they be pulled and cleaned by a DIYer?
According to their site it traps particles as small as 5 microns.
Cummins Diesels are getting "dusted" from these filters and the turbo vanes are wearing down and imploding. Chrysler has issued a TSB denying any warranty work to that effect for any Cummins-powered vehicle found with a K&N filter.
I am quite concerned that the same will inevitably happen in our cars.
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The Injen CAI can be run in an SRI mode. This intake uses an Amsoil EA dry filter, which is an excellent filter.Agreed. So what's a good option? I'm still running an AC Delco paper filter in the standard air box resonator deleted.
I'm not willing to spend $300 to chase down 6 whp and 10 lb-ft of torque. I'm also not willing to let more dirt into the engine. I'm also not willing to risk hydrolocking the engine with the Injen CAI.
I'm considering an Injen SRI because they have a nice looking dry flow filter but spending nearly $300 for only small gains doesn't seem worth it to me. Maybe build my own SRI and get an aftermarket pod filter from AEM or some such?
You will have no consequential power gains with any of these aftermarket intakes, so if you're looking for power, look elsewhere. Amsoil also makes aftermarket pod filters, which are direct replacements for anyone that has an Injen intake and wants to replace their filter. I can get you any of these filters for at least 10% off.
AMSOIL AMSOIL Ea Universal Air Induction Filters
You will need to have a Trifecta tune to use any potential gains, so if you don't have that yet, this will all be worthless. The PCM is torque limited in that the maximum power is limited by how much torque the PCM detects the engine is making. No matter what modification you make, you will not increase that peak power as a result of this.
Bottom line though is that these intakes are only for sound and cosmetics and will not make a consequential difference in performance.
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