I installed the Airaid yesterday, which took me about an hour and a half, because I wanted to make sure I was doing each step correctly especially since my truck is only a month old and has 400 miles on it.
Now for MY review: *please keep in mind, this is only my opinion/observation.
The Cold Start: is slightly louder than stock, but not loud as in the rumble or growl coming from the air filter. Just sounds like the engine is breathing better. On a scale of 1 to 10, 5 being stock, I would rate it at a 6.5.
Take Off: Throttle response is definitely better - It giddy's up right away.
If you're like me who steps on the gas only to about 2500 rpm (easy take-off), you'll barely even know that the Airaid is there. On a 1-10 scale with stock being at 5, I would rate the 2500 rpm noise to be at 7.5.
From a full stop to about 2800 - 3000 rpm, that's when you'll hear this beast roar. That's when the its scale rating would jump from a 7.5 to about 8.5. Any higher rpm will bring the beast to it's full scale of 10 (Which I guess is twice as loud as stock)
Freeway Cruising: When cruising at a set speed - balancing the rpm between 1700 - 2000 rpm (65-70mph), I don't even notice anything - I'd rate it at a 5 with the stock maybe a 6. When I have to pass a car or accelerate (2500-3000rpm), that's when it'll slightly roar to an 8.
Gas Milage: Definitely a lot better!!! When I had my stock on, the highest I would get on my average mpg monitor, would be 13.5. Before I installed it, it read 12.3. When I took it on a test drive - stop and go for about 3 miles, the average mpg went up to a 14.5. It went up 2+ mpg just after the install.
The Girlfriend: She purchased the intake for me as an early birthday gift so she knew it was going on. When we went to run some errands, she was saying she couldn't hear anything (1000-2000 rpm). I kept telling her, I know - that's what I like about it - It isn't until I open it up that you'll hear something. When I opened it up to 3000 - 3500 rpm, she said, "Oh okay now I hear it, but it's not that bad." This is coming from someone who isn't into cars and drives a Chevy Cobalt.
The Whistle: Jeepers Creepers I have the whistle. It isn't loud but it is noticable. When I have the radio on, I don't notice a thing. But knowing that it's there is what still gets me. If I were to rate it on the same 1-10 scale, it would be at a 0.5 - 1.
It's only when the truck is in gear that I hear it. When it's in park and I rev up the engine, there's no whistle. That makes it hard for me to pin point where it's coming from. (unless I pop the hood, have my girlfriend drive it, and I run right next to it with a mechanic stethoscope.)
I can't believe Airaid's engineers can't figure it out or at least come up with a solution. I teach art and ceramics and when I have my students make Clay Whistles, I know that there's a section on the whistle that needs to have a beveled edge. So I'm thinking that the whistle could be coming from the air filter mount, which kinda flares like a trumpet. But at the same time, in order for it to make a noise, the air needs to escape from some where. Hmmmm.... Maybe i'll play with the placement of the air filter. That'll possibly tune-it, maybe eliminate it. I'll be in touch.... Stay Tuned.
Overall, I love my Airaid.... the only down fall is the whistle, which could be drowned out by the radio. I don't do any towing so I wouldn't know what kind of noise the airaid would make if I were to. But I can see how it's aggressive tone can get annoying during long distance towing considering the rpm would maybe be at a constant 2500-3500 when towing.
Oh yeah, and compared to the AEM that I had on my 2000 4Runner v6, it has the same aggresive tone but 50% louder 20% deeper. I guess since I now have a 5.7 V8.
Hope my review helps... BTW, sound clips don't do these things justice. It's good because it give you an idea of the
tone. The
volume on the other hand is a different story. The microphone only magnifies the sound so it'll sound louder than it actually is on sound clips.