True CAI, K&N wannabe!!!!

[02TundraLTDTRD]

OK so i am soooo fed up with all this BS around the so called "CAI" and the waisting of money and all the garbage going along with it that I attempted my own CAI with parts and glue I already had in the garage. So here is what you will need...

1) Liquid nails tube and caulk gun.
2) 2ft of 2" flexible hose. Rigid shop vac hose works great. look for free one on Craigslist.
3) Locking Oil Funnel by Flotool - Part 10709 - Advance Auto Parts____
4) 2" hole saw.

Standing in front of your truck looking at the engine, after removing the complete air box, cut a 2" hole in the bottom right corner of the air box. Make sure you cut the hole before the filter.

Insert the 2ft shopvac flex hose into the hole you just cut and seal inside and outside with the Liquid nails and leave to dry. This will ensure an air tight fit and also prevent it from pulling out.

After glue dried re-install air box.Do not remove the factory hose that goes into the wheel well and close off any other holes you might have drilled (do not close the one with the flex hose) on previous occasions. So this will leave you with 2 holes in your factory air box, one going to the wheel well and the other you just glued a 2" flex hose to.

Now after re-installing it you will notice a hole in the body next to the headlight and I think it is either a transmission cooler hose or an air con hose that passes through the hole. Insert your 2" flex hose through this hole along with the metal one already there. You might have to bend and pry the flex hose to a snug fit.

Now the next step didn't really make a huge difference so it will be optional. it might also make the removal of the air box a little problem. You can insert and glue the little blue funnel (in the link up top) to the outside end of thi flex hose to act as a scoop for accumulating more air and forcing it in to the engine. If the pressure in the air box gets more than what the engine can consume it will just force out the wheel well end.

I have been driving my truck like this for about a week now. I immediately noticed a more "alertness" in the truck and when driving in 90 degree plus weather i do not feel the huge loss of power so bad. it feels like I am driving the truck in a cool summer morning air. this has been so uch more worth the effort and a bigger satisfaction that the $300 for a K&N filter. My butt dyno told me we gained some power, not sure how much but its a little... (-:

Two more things that dramatically improved the drivability of the truck was the drive train lube and TB cleaning.

I will post some pick after i sprayed everything black and it looks a little better.

This mod gets a huge thumbs up from me and for less that $10 what do you have to loose?

Happy air box modding.

[SuckersWalk]

sounds cool. waiting for pics.

[Remmy700P]

This has been done (with a detailed writeup) already.

[Highwaylizard]

1.5 MPG gain on the highway at 75 MPH. I originally ran it jamming the box up with around 11 times more air than the engine can consume. Currently I have routed out some of the areas between the ribs on the side of the box opposite the entrance from the fender well which allows the debris the scoop manages to dump in the box to be jettisoned as well as allows the air charge to be constantly replenished. I found that if the unused incoming air is allowed to hang out in the air box it starts to heat up. Also makes very a really nice sound around 2800 RPM.

[02TundraLTDTRD]

Mmmm...

[02TundraLTDTRD]

1.5 MPG gain on the highway at 75 MPH. I originally ran it jamming the box up with around 11 times more air than the engine can consume. Currently I have routed out some of the areas between the ribs on the side of the box opposite the entrance from the fender well which allows the debris the scoop manages to dump in the box to be jettisoned as well as allows the air charge to be constantly replenished. I found that if the unused incoming air is allowed to hang out in the air box it starts to heat up. Also makes very a really nice sound around 2800 RPM.

Ha thank you for the momory jogg.. Now I remember seeing this some time ago. Why did it take me so long to do this??? i guess tghe only difference between this two applications is possisioning. I mounted mine a little higher. You mentioned you rounder out some ribs what exactly did you do? Apart from the filter being pretty quiet (I removed the resonator from my exhaust) the exhaust is still throaty and this mod just removed the loud noise you get from the K&N.

[Highwaylizard]

Ha thank you for the momory jogg.. Now I remember seeing this some time ago. Why did it take me so long to do this??? i guess tghe only difference between this two applications is possisioning. I mounted mine a little higher. You mentioned you rounder out some ribs what exactly did you do? Apart from the filter being pretty quiet (I removed the resonator from my exhaust) the exhaust is still throaty and this mod just removed the loud noise you get from the K&N.

There are actually a couple of differences.

• I am utilizing the original stock hole in the fender to feed the air box from the directly from the ram air intake ram.

• You are still drawing from the fender in the stock configuration and added a hole to supplement the stock air box intake.

• I routed out between the ribs to let excess air out.

• The intake scoop positions are, as you pointed out, different.

I will try and get some pictures tomorrow when I go to mow my Godmother's lawn for her. I no longer have a camera so it may take me a minute but I should be able to post some pictures tomorrow night.

Also running the True Flow intake and foam filter which I love. I would not mind having my ram air intake a little higher up in the grill rather than under the bumper but it does work well where it is currently at and gathers a ton of air.

Replaced my stock resonator with a glass pack and running an Aeroturbine exhaust. Will be going to true duals with twin Aeroturbines with a modified H-pipe of my own design later in the summer. Need to pay bills and get back on my feet first.

[Highwaylizard]

Here's some pics for you.

[02TundraLTDTRD]

Great!!!! Thank you for the pics.... One question though... Doesnt that allow hot air in at low speeds?

[Highwaylizard]

Great!!!! Thank you for the pics.... One question though... Doesnt that allow hot air in at low speeds?

I would think that it does but at low engine speed (like sitting at a light) hot air means less fuel is injected. At nearly any speed the scoop gathers more air than the engine can ingest.

[Tundradrenalin]

sounds cool. waiting for pics.

Here are some pics of my project a few years ago: Project Pics - Photo Gallery

[babalu87]

Here are some pics of my project a few years ago: Project Pics - Photo Gallery

Well done!

Where did you put the intake end?

[cheapskate]

[QUOTE=02TundraLTDTRD;1515598]OK so i am soooo fed up with all this BS around the so called "CAI" and the waisting of money and all the garbage going along with it


Just wondering what your definition is of waste of money? If it is something that someone buys for their vehicle that provides no real improvement? If that is the case, wouldnt half of your mods be considered a waste of money too? Like step bars or spot lights?I am not here to start a fight, I just see the same repeat threads on here regularly, and I have not even been a member here that long.
Here's how it goes- New guy joins the site, all excited because he's like a kid on Christmas day. He doesnt spend any time reading first, he just wants to jump in there and ask some questions. I should know, I was guilty of it too. Then you get a couple of veteran members chime in and they tell these guys how stupid they are for not reading first and then telling them how stupid a CAI is. Your never going to get people to stop asking the same questions because it's never the same guys who ask the questions. Just some new guys pulling the trigger a little too quick. Maybe give them a break. I see the same threads too but I just dont see the point in chiming in and bashing.
That being said, I have an AFE CAI. And oh my god yes, it is even open style. I know, I am a total idiot. But I dont really care. I like how it looks, I like how it sounds and I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. Is my truck any faster? Not that I can tell. But I dont fell like it lost anything either. So, at the end of the day, good for you for doing a mod for for little or no money, and sharing that info with fellow members.
But as far as bashing what people do with or to, their vehicles, is it really necessary to slam them?
Again, not trying to pick a fight so please dont get pissed at me. I just dont understand why some guys get so mad at how people blow their money. Hey let's be honest here. Pretty much anything we put on these trucks that is not simpy a replacement of a warn out OEM part could be considered a waste of money and not truly necessary. I will continue doing it whenever I see something I want for my truck. Happy modding.

[Tundradrenalin]

Well done!

Where did you put the intake end?

Behind the black honeycomb in the right-side lower valence of the '05 resin bumper.

[babalu87]

Behind the black honeycomb in the right-side lower valence of the '05 resin bumper.

Thanks

Is this more of a mod for the earlier Tundras or will an 06 benefit from it as well?