Hey guys looking to buy a cold air intake (and do a $4 air gutter mod). Is it actually worth the money? I am not expecting a huge power increase, but a slight gain in throttle response, and slight increase in MPG's would be ok. I have read in some previous posts that some believe that the stock unit actually delivers colder air, but the the stock intake intake seems to really be blocked by the hood. Will some of you expirenced wheelers chime in with some advice.

i do belive the stock drives colder air but with a cold air intake you get a deep trottle sound. i have one and i love it

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i have a 2004 jeep liberty, i am trying to get it to be the biggest and best around.

aftermarket rims
home made roof light bar
front grill lights
235/75/16 AT
COLD AIR INTAKE

most cold air intakes use an oiled air filter. Stay away from oiled filters...not to mention most aftermarket "high flow" filters allow more stuff to pass through the filter, and into your engine.

Paper air filters FTW!

"CAI's" are a Waste of money unless properly routed to truely cold air and then their cost is too high anyway. You can add an additional cold air inlet to the stock box if you think it will help but the factory air box draws in plenty compared to a "CAI" and it is designed to work for water crossings too. Add a drop in Amsoil oil-less filter and call it a day. Stock # Eaa201 runs about $40 shipped and you can then spend the difference on a throaty muffler for sound improvements. I personally would much rather hear the exhaust than hear a vacuum cleaner under my hood.

BTW, I have a FIPK on my wifes KJ w/ an Amsoil cone filter and I still hate it. It has to be there because of some other mods that won't allow the stock air box. ( ) Her KJ gets worse mileage and has less power than my KJ w/ stock air box and Amsoil drop in. Oh and it sounds like crap in the morning when it is cold, sounds like a pissed vacuum cleaner.

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99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

I have a CAI and I love it! Cant say I would ever do any "water crossings" so Im not worried about that. Dont believe everything you read on the internet either, about 90% of it is b.s. Do your own research and make your own decision from there. K&N has lots of info and done lots of research on their web page and it has led me to believe that an oiled filter doesn't pass any significant ammount of particles that a dry paper would. Bobstheoilguy.com also has done independent testing and if I remember right the amsoil filter peformed worse than the K&N (I believe), check it out. The CAI does make a hissing sound when the engine is cold but goes away after a couple minutes. The combination of my intake and exhaust has gained me 2 highway mpg, and that is not B.S. Over all the engine seems to rev easier, have better throttle response, better gas mileage and sounds really nice.

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2005 Liberty Sport 4x4
full ome lift
Mopar skids/sliders/tow hooks
Renegade wheels 255/70/16 revo's
K&N CAI
Magnaflow cat-back
Jet chip stage 2

The link is http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm

That's not the same air filter JJ is talking about... At least I don't think so.. because the drop in air filter doesn't need oil... but in Bob's review at the bottom he says..

"The Amsoil filter was serviced with Amsoil filter oil"

So..??

I agree with JJ that the stock air box with a good drop in filter is the best. It pulls fresh air right from the front of the Jeep and actually forces air into the air box when on the HW.


I have a K&N though.

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LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

The Amsoil filter that was tested in that article is the old, Oiled version they used to sell. They gave up on them and moved to a new technology. Shame K&N won't do the same. There are plenty of tests of K&N air filters showing them passing a lot of dirt before they actually start filtering. IIRC, there was even a mention on K&N's site saying that it filters better as it loads up with dirt...... ok, so what does it do until it starts loading up?



You found that info on their web page huh? You should be careful believing what you read on the internet. I recall reading lots of great stuff about Splitfire spark plugs too before the FTC had them stop their false advertising claims.

Bottom line is air flow vs. filtration is a compromise and you should decide on what filter to use based on your driving conditions. My personal tests using a K&N in my dusty desert environment showed that the K&N wasn't doing the job (lots of dust lining the air intake duct) and the Amsoil filter definately is (no dust in my intake now). My expeience in NJ, a much wetter environment w/ little dust was different w/the K&N and I don't recall seeing any dust in the intake. Trust me, I used to swear by K&N but not any more since moving to the Mojave desert and seeing what passes through their filters.

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99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

If you read my first post I said do your own research and make your own decision. I'm not going to argue with you about it and lets face it your an amsoil dealer, im sure your partial I have had k&n intakes on all my vehicles, one was my 430 hp camaro and NEVER had dirt in the intake and I live in AZ so yes it is dusty here, you probablely had a leak after the filter. I pulled the motor apart when I rebuilt the motor and there was nearly no wear anywhere, my cam lobes and crank/rod bearings looked as if they were never even used and that was at 70k miles (thanks to Mobil 1 synthetic) and a well filterd intake. Im sure the stock airbox/filter would have filterd just as well, but in that case the intake made a definite horsepower increase. In my case with my jeep a CAI is worth the money and an exhaust only compliments it.

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2005 Liberty Sport 4x4
full ome lift
Mopar skids/sliders/tow hooks
Renegade wheels 255/70/16 revo's
K&N CAI
Magnaflow cat-back
Jet chip stage 2

Not trying to add fuel to the fire here...but remember this is a Jeep Liberty web forum. We modify our vehicles (well most of us anyways) to go offroad so a majority of us are seeing dusty conditions. If we were a car website and we needed every little bit of power for the street/strip/track...a CIA would make more sense. We drive heavy 4X4 Jeeps...that little bit just doesn't really matter in the end. MPG is important but may not be noticable difference just from an intake.

Everybody has their own views on different things and thats why everyone is free to modify what they'd like. And of course people are going to feel differently about different products and brands. From my personal experience..I agree with JJ...K&N's dont cut it for offroad conditions.

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02' Frankenlifted White Sport on 31" TrXus M/Ts

89' 2 Dr. Khaki XJ- Waggy 44's, 4.88s, 35's, 3-link on 5.5" coils.

well from experience with cai on many different imports they do work. They just have to bae made right. As said before they have to mounted in such a way as to actually bring cold air to the engine instead of just sucking in the warm engine bay air. An usually have one thats mounted properly it usually acts like a giant straw when it rains. I have seen far to many rice burner motors destroyed because people are to stupid to figure out that you have to put some kind on non permeable filter on it to stop it from getting wet. Now for filters. For drop ins, i cant tell much of a difference between the amsoil and k&n filters. They both work about the same. I can say though that there is a drop in filter and cone filter that out performs both. An that would be the trueflow filter.

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2003 Jeep LIberty Renegade
Rusty's Offroad 2.5in suspension lift w/ rear rancho shocks, Fastman TB, Beam's 4 point harness', custom D rings up front, Custom flowmaster exhaust, JKS Quick sway bar disco's
Hella 500's, General Grabber AT2's on stock rims with spidertrax
coming soon: Corbeau Moab seats, JBA 6"lift

Ok, you win.....I have no idea where I come up with these real world experiences......sorry, forget what I said.

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2005 Liberty Sport 4x4
full ome lift
Mopar skids/sliders/tow hooks
Renegade wheels 255/70/16 revo's
K&N CAI
Magnaflow cat-back
Jet chip stage 2

The problem is, the CAI either works, or does not. It can't work on your jeep & not mine. My belief that if works on mine & your disbelief about it working on yours has no effect on whether it is actually working or not. The Idea of "making your own decision" is illogical... it's like a light bulb, it is either on or it is off, I may believe it is on, but if there is no current flowing through the element, my belief, no matter how strong, is wrong... the light is off.

The small amount of increase that these manufacturers claim will not be noticed in "seat-of-the-pants" measurements, period. The emotion of the new sound, the thrill of having a new product that cost $100 or more, & the fact that these emotions are causing you to drive more aggressively to "test the results" will provide you with the feelings you want.

The physics are generally this: depending on design, a cold air intake will either have no effect or a decrease in performance at low speeds, & a slight increase in performance at high speeds. If you still have to make up your own mind, take the KJ to a drag strip for time trials. Do it with the stock set up first, then install the CAI, & run it again. You will likely find no measureable difference in results... & if you can't find significant benefits there, you will not have benefits when you go get the groceries.

For the record, I am not arguing and I was an informed consumer before becoming an Amsoil dealer. I couldn't find better products so that is why I went back to Amsoil. I became a dealer to share the info and good deals and to get product at cost. I could go on and on about my success stories w/ K&N too but my gripe is using them in off road conditions that are not optimal for their performance.
10 years ago I would have used a K&N but not today as the oiled gauze technology is outdated and no longer the best for performance or filtration. These are my opinions based on the research I have done and the conclusions I have drawn. Truth is I don't make much money at all on Amsoil selling at cost so I could really care less what anyone uses. I am just sharing the info so people can make up their own minds.

OT:
Now back to that Camaro, more info and pics would be cool, sounds sweet!

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99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

Did I read this wrong?

" I figured the Amsoil filter probably would filter better. At best, it is just as good as the K&N. According to the photos it is slightly worse. My wife who is a business major in college and sure has no stake in which one is which stated the Amsoil one was darker too. I put them both in front of her with the hand written sample text covered. She picked the Amsoil filter darkest, and she sure doesn't care about the results."

Seems Bob is saying that the Darker filter (Amsoil) was not as good as the lighter (K&N). If the job of the filter is to block dirt from entering the engine, would not that mean that the darker filter is better? It is darker because there is more dirt on the filter after all. Assuming that the filters were exposed to the same amount of dirt under the same conditions, the dirt that is not on the K&N has to be somewhere...

I thought the same thing at first too... but my guess is they put that behind the filter..

I have the same thoughts/logic as you...the dirtier the filter, the more effective it is. But it also depends on how much oil is on the filter and how effective the oil is on the filter. I think the real test is swiping a finger down the intake tube and seeing how much dirt/dust is caked inside. If there's none than I'd say thats a good filter. If the K&N is clean is very deceptive to it's users because they think its doing a good job and keeping clean when in fact it's doing a worse job and letting more dirt/dust in!

Who is this Bob guy...never heard of him or his tests?

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02' Frankenlifted White Sport on 31" TrXus M/Ts

89' 2 Dr. Khaki XJ- Waggy 44's, 4.88s, 35's, 3-link on 5.5" coils.

You would think we were talking politics or religion! I am just saying I have noticed an increase in mileage, throttle response ease of engine rev and great sound.....thats it, my jeep see's 95% asphalt and of that 95%, 50% is freeway. And I have never found ANY dirt in the intake side of the filter on any cars or trucks I've had. Thats it. I will see If I cant post some pics of my camaro, unfortunitly I sold it about six months ago to some 20 something kid and he has probably wrapped it around a pole by now. I put 9 years in that car, I raced auto x and draged it (just for fun) with local car clubs and friday night drags at the strip out here. I really miss it. I swore I would never sell that car but a wife and three kids sure does change your persective over the years.

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2005 Liberty Sport 4x4
full ome lift
Mopar skids/sliders/tow hooks
Renegade wheels 255/70/16 revo's
K&N CAI
Magnaflow cat-back
Jet chip stage 2

Please note that the Amsoil filter tests were on an Old Technology OIL Impregnated filter, NOT the current EA series Amsoil air filters which are DRY filters.

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99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

Yup, that's it:

"I used some of the screen wire as backing and the paper / synthetic fiber filtration material to make my test filter. This filter is placed behind the test subject to trap any particles (most of them anyway; no filter is 100% efficient) passing through the test subject. I placed the 2nd (made from the Fram) filter with screen (don't want to suck a piece of paper into your engine or air meter) between the airbox and air meter."