Cold air intake

I'm debating whether I should buy a cold air intake for my sonoma 2.2L
Is it worth the money? Should I buy it cheap from ebay and buy a good filter? My trucks acceleration kinda sucks specially when I go to pass, and I would love to pick it up a little. Any help would be great.

You should definitely get the CAI. It’s going to add a lot of torque, like 25-35 extra pounds per foot to the wheels, which will help you in passing up your opponent. Don’t expect your horsepower to go up as much as your torque, which does not matter anyways since it is torque that wins races.

Good luck!

I'd love to see a dyno where somebody gained 30ft/lbs of from a CAI. Bottom line, they are a good mod to start with, but don't expect much in teh way of gains. Your car/truck will be louder and have a more aggressive sound, but keep in mind it is the manufacturers who are telling you 20-30hp gains...it is 99% marketing. Bottom line, it's a good mod to start with, even better if your stock airbox is a restriction..as it generally is on supercharged/turbocharged vehicles, but don't think you are going to notice any significant gains.

That said, I think it's really stupid to spend $300 on an intake. To those who do, congrats, you have a sticker to put on your shiny aluminum pipe. IMO, a pipe is a pipe, no need to spend $300 on something you can get at home depot for less than a meal at Burger King. I'd say get it, but get the cheapest one you can find. Now don't sacrifice on filtration...you probably want a K&N filter, because they are quality, but you can find universal K&N filters for around $50.

You should definitely get the CAI. It’s going to add a lot of torque, like 25-35 extra pounds per foot to the wheels, which will help you in passing up your opponent. Don’t expect your horsepower to go up as much as your torque, which does not matter anyways since it is torque that wins races.

EPS...what kinda drugs you on these days. :lol:

And what's with this sudden fascination with Torque? Saying torque wins races? I swear. You've gone off the deep end.

Either come off this little joke and try and be more serious about your comments. Or atleast make it clear you are joking around.

I do agree with Igovert though. Find a cheapy pipe to use, and go with a descent filter. Such as K&N and such.

EPS...what kinda drugs you on these days. :lol:

And what's with this sudden fascination with Torque? Saying torque wins races? I swear. You've gone off the deep end.

Either come off this little joke and try and be more serious about your comments. Or atleast make it clear you are joking around.

I do agree with Igovert though. Find a cheapy pipe to use, and go with a descent filter. Such as K&N and such.

...What if he wasn't kidding? :uhoh:

then i think we have a contestant for the "ricer of the year" award...

haha especially with a ferrari avatar...
but yeah unless you have forced induction, theres no reason for using larger piping than your throttle body diameter. just get some 52mm or 60mm pipe or whatever size your TB is, and stick an apex'i filter on it. id use anything that includes a velocity stack under the filter. it helps. the only ones i know of for sure are apex'i and HKS, but im sure there are others.

make sure you get a by-pass valve for those cai, you dont wanna learn the hard way:nono:

Wait, EPS wasn't being sarcastic?? I assumed he was...

The most your really going to get from a CAI with nothing else is like 2-3hp. and yeah its gonna cost you just to get that. You really won't notice much of a difference...

I bought a CAI for my jetta, I got it off of Ebay, it is a replica of K&N typhoon system with a dry re-usable filter, I actually felt the gains from it, better throttle response and better top end, not to mention it helped my turbo spool quicker and smoother since my intake system is directly set up with the turbo. But then again I have forced induction and my stock airbox sucked so yeah I would get better gains than an N/A

Oh yeah also I didnt spend 300 for it, I got it for 30 that includes shipping

i got a short ram for my sentra. the throttle response opened way up i mean way up. its a bit louder and sounds mean. gas mileage has also increased. it just over all sounds beasty, and lets you feel the car more. if the sonoma has an air box, im pretty sure u would like the upgrade. btw, i spent maybe 50 bucks on my shortram, since cai was out of the quesiton with where the filter would be in the bumper and my car will sit in snow.

make sure you get a by-pass valve for those cai, you dont wanna learn the hard way:nono:

I don't have one on my CAI...

make sure you get a by-pass valve for those cai, you dont wanna learn the hard way:nono:

Foolishness. My AEM by-pass fell apart so I removed it... biggest waste of money I've ever spent. I've had my CAI on for like 2 years now (goes to the bumper) and have driven through rain storms and huge puddles and never had a problem.

The only way you will get water induction is if you submerge the front end into water...and at that point, you kinda deserve it...

Thanks everyone. I have one more concern about the CAI. I live in northern PA. Will the frigid winter air have real negative effects?

it will contribute to a colder engine start yes, but after it starts to warm up, the car will just feel a lot more responsive. i felt the diff in temperature with my stock air box. i have yet to see it with the short ram.

Thanks everyone. I have one more concern about the CAI. I live in northern PA. Will the frigid winter air have real negative effects?

I live in NY/PA...no. But if you get a true cold air intake (all the way down into your bumper, and not just a cone filter) be wary of submerging it in water or snow. If you are really paranoid, swap in the original intake back in during the winter.

I live here in florida and when I didnt have the cai in the jetta it would get too hot especially since the weather this past summer got to 100+. Under the hood with the engine heat and the turbo heat the car would begin to over heat and the car would protect itself and shut off the turbo. When I put the CAI it helped to lower the car temperature and keep it in line for those hot days.

the car would begin to over heat and the car would protect itself and shut off the turbo.


:uhoh: Care to elaborate on that? Being that a turbo is spun by exhaust gases, I'm really trying to picture the ECU rerouting exhaust flow based on engine temps???

maybe he means the ECU limited the boost

maybe he means the ECU limited the boost

yeah that's what I meant, it put the car into a kinda limp mode and didnt boost more than 5 psi to protect itself from more heat. but to me if I'm not boosting the ammount I should than the turbo is shut off.

You should definitely get the CAI. It’s going to add a lot of torque, like 25-35 extra pounds per foot to the wheels, which will help you in passing up your opponent. Don’t expect your horsepower to go up as much as your torque, which does not matter anyways since it is torque that wins races.

Good luck!


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