russell16

I installed my CAI yesterday, i went cheap with the kit from americanmuscle.com since they dont add a whole lot of power, i just bought a bigger filter for it though. So i was driving it around and i didnt feel a gain in power (didnt expect to feel more) but it almost seems like its kinda sluggish in areas at WOT. Might just be my minds because i was worried that when i was putting it on i messed up somehow since this is my first time doing this kind of stuff. There is no check engine light on. could i have done something in the install that might cause this?

MJH78

If you didn't get it tightened somewhere past the MAF and you have air getting in past the MAF it could possibly cause an issue.

cliffyk

It is is this AM CAI, then take it off and put the OEM CAI back on. That particular package is very poorly designed for a couple of fundamental reasons, both related to the internal volume of the air tube between the MAF and the throttle body.

In the first the tube between the MAF and the TB has a much smaller inside diameter than the OEM tube, which is quite a bit larger than the MAF bore just after the MAF and tapers slowly toward the TB.

It is also is quite a bit shorter than the OEM MAF-->TB tube. Together these mean that it has a whole lot smaller internal volume.

Air flowing into the engine is NOT a steady stream, but rather a pulsating column of air with velocity and mass. The OEM intake tube provides a pre-TB plenum that can make a higher volume of air than can pass through the MAF immediately available when a cylinder starts to suck (in a good way).

If you look at the only aftermarket CAI that has any real value (the JLT click here) you will see that they carry the plenum concept one step further and puts the MAF and filter in the fender well allowing room for a really big-a$$ MAF-->TB tube/plenum.