Should I Ram the Air??

[AngelPhoenix]

Okay, so I know this has been discussed here before, and I've looked at a lot of it, but 1) the consensus is still completely out to lunch; I've seen everything from "CAI's do absolutely nothing", to "they do a little but are mostly for looks and sound", to "they make a noticeable difference, you can feel it". And 2) I know quite a few members here now, and ya'll know me. I value your opinions and perspectives and really want to know what you think.

Personally, I like the idea of a *slightly* more aggressive sound. Obviously YouTube videos can only do so much, but from everything I've watched, most aftermarket exhausts are overkill for my tastes; I actually like the sound of the stock exhaust very much. The Magnaflow has me somewhat interested (I like the deep, low pitched rumble), but if I do end up going for it, it'll be down the line a ways.

The RamAir CAI however, seems like a really nice, relatively affordable, well-rounded beginner's upgrade that I could potentially see noticeable gains from, and will look absolutely badass to boot. I like symmetry and it kinda drives me nuts that the stock intake is off to one side. I think my concern then is what exactly it sounds like in real life. Anyway, looking forward to your feedback!!

 

[Le_Slacker]

Eat Taco Bell
Drive with the rear window open

Same performance upgrade. Different sounds.
Way less money and time spent.

 

[Scram1500]

Save your money, get a drop in AFE dry filter. Also rip out the charcoal filter while you're at it, but don't tell the climate cops

 

[ferraiolo1]

The cabins are so quiet and insulated on these trucks, you won’t really notice much intake noise with a cai.

And yeah it doesn’t do anything but look neat under the hood. I noticed zero difference when I installed my sb cia. I got it because it was really cheap off here and looked nice.

If you keep the resonators, pretty much any muffler you stick on these will give you a nice mellow tone


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[LaxDfns15]

If you have stock exhaust, you'll hear the CAI when you put your foot down. It won't be an exhaust roar, you'll hear air being sucked in. If you have an aftermarket exhaust, you won't hear the CAI at all.

As far as gains, I honestly believe it's up to each truck and how they respond to the increased air. You could put the same intake on 10 different trucks and get 10 different results. My Titan lost 2 MPG's from my last CAI, my Ram has not had a difference at all from stock to Vararam.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Save your money, get a drop in AFE dry filter. Also rip out the charcoal filter while you're at it, but don't tell the climate cops View attachment 110142

I'm sorry man, all I heard from your post was "blah blah blah".

 

[Richard320]

I like symmetry and it kinda drives me nuts that the stock intake is off to one side.

I guess it's good for you that the old Slant 6 is gone.

 

[Rmazzei]

Ram Air paired with Borla S type & Toyo AT3 305's. 13.6 mpg that being said the tires are double the weight of stock and I have a very very heavy foot both off the line and highway. RamAir looks good but its under the hood. Does it make a difference? not sure.... I have always had a CAI in every car truck I owned as it logically just makes sense to me. If you have the money to burn get it, if not skip it. If funds are limited a far better use would be a Helwig Sway Bar, Borla exhaust (touring in your case as it is not much more sound than stock), tires, then intake (start with a filter swap then if you still want more go with changing the intake. just my 2cents.....

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Ram Air paired with Borla S type & Toyo AT3 305's. 13.6 mpg that being said the tires are double the weight of stock and I have a very very heavy foot both off the line and highway. RamAir looks good but its under the hood. Does it make a difference? not sure.... I have always had a CAI in every car truck I owned as it logically just makes sense to me. If you have the money to burn get it, if not skip it. If funds are limited a far better use would be a Helwig Sway Bar, Borla exhaust (touring in your case as it is not much more sound than stock), tires, then intake (start with a filter swap then if you still want more go with changing the intake. just my 2cents.....

I've been back and forth on the Helwig, that's another one I've seen where *most* people say it makes a noticeable difference, but some say it's nothing, or not much of one.

I've heard that Rams with the air suspension use a thicker/heavier bar (cause otherwise it's extra floaty) and when I checked underneath my truck, the one there honestly looks beefcake, much thicker/bigger than what I've seen people pull off their trucks when they swap in the Helwig. That being said, I haven't touched/handled it, so it could still be light/hollow. THAT being said, my truck corners better than my Grand Cherokee did (which blew my mind, just feels way more solid/planted), so I think I'm good on that for now.

Tires I'll be upgrading soon (probably Michelin Defenders, I'm 80% highway).

I've definitely been kind of flip-flopping between doing either the exhaust or the intake (first, and the other later on). The intake is cheaper and easier to install, which is why I'm currently leaning towards it. And again, I rather like the stock sound so if all changing the whole exhaust system does it make it slightly grumblier, I don't know if that's worth it.

 

[ferraiolo1]

That’s why you only change the muffler.


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[AngelPhoenix]

That’s why you only change the muffler.


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Any suggestions for a low-pitched sound?

 

[arod412]

Well, it's not a cheap option...for just a minor increase in sound.

For me, instead of paying that extra $800-$1k, I just took the stock intake, and spent like $250 on a vararam Cai, and called it a day.

At low rpm, you don't hear much, but at higher rpm, that's where it kicks in and sounds great.

2021 Ram Rebel
2016 Dodge Charger scat pack
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Well, it's not a cheap option...for just a minor increase in sound.

For me, instead of paying that extra $800-$1k, I just took the stock intake, and spent like $250 on a vararam Cai, and called it a day.

At low rpm, you don't hear much, but at higher rpm, that's where it kicks in and sounds great.

2021 Ram Rebel
2016 Dodge Charger scat pack
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

I hear what you're saying but, and I mean no offense, I think the Vararam looks terrible

Just me. I feel like the RamAir is a nice package deal, theoretically. A slight bump in pick-up, a nice sound, AND it looks great. All of that together is worth it to me, provided the first two items are actually true. Looks are almost entirely subjective here (I love the look, so that checks that box), sound a little less so but mostly still subjective (which is why I'd be keen to hear it in real life before going ahead with it), and performance I'm still stuck (doesn't need to be much of a difference, just enough for me to notice at all).

 

[arod412]

I hear what you're saying but, and I mean no offense, I think the Vararam looks terrible

Just me. I feel like the RamAir is a nice package deal, theoretically. A slight bump in pick-up, a nice sound, AND it looks great. All of that together is worth it to me, provided the first two items are actually true. Looks are almost entirely subjective here (I love the look, so that checks that box), sound a little less so but mostly still subjective (which is why I'd be keen to hear it in real life before going ahead with it), and performance I'm still stuck (doesn't need to be much of a difference, just enough for me to notice at all).

All good. I can understand that clean look of that enclosure.

To help in your decision, I noticed something on my rebel trim.

On my 2020 Laramie, the air intake came from the bottom, underneath the box, by the wheel. On my 2021 Rebel, it's actually pulling air from the front, right next to the radiator. I think it's due to the off road setup.

Here is a quick picture of what I'm talking about. Normally, that opening goes down, but in my case, it goes straight. With this setup, you might just get away with a k&n filter.

2021 Ram Rebel
2016 Dodge Charger scat pack
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

 

[AngelPhoenix]

All good. I can understand that clean look of that enclosure.

To help in your decision, I noticed something on my rebel trim.

On my 2020 Laramie, the air intake came from the bottom, underneath the box, by the wheel. On my 2021 Rebel, it's actually pulling air from the front, right next to the radiator. I think it's due to the off road setup.

Here is a quick picture of what I'm talking about. Normally, that opening goes down, but in my case, it goes straight. With this setup, you might just get away with a k&n filter.

2021 Ram Rebel
2016 Dodge Charger scat pack
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

Do you mean just the drop-in filter that's like $70, or the whole system that's like $380?

 

[arod412]

Do you mean just the drop-in filter that's like $70, or the whole system that's like $380?

Drop in filter one.

2021 Ram Rebel
2016 Dodge Charger scat pack
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

 

[ferraiolo1]

Any suggestions for a low-pitched sound?

That’s very subjective.

There are lots of sound clips on YouTube.

But sure beats spending $1k on an intake


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[silver billet]

I've been back and forth on the Helwig, that's another one I've seen where *most* people say it makes a noticeable difference, but some say it's nothing, or not much of one.

I've heard that Rams with the air suspension use a thicker/heavier bar (cause otherwise it's extra floaty) and when I checked underneath my truck, the one there honestly looks beefcake, much thicker/bigger than what I've seen people pull off their trucks when they swap in the Helwig. That being said, I haven't touched/handled it, so it could still be light/hollow. THAT being said, my truck corners better than my Grand Cherokee did (which blew my mind, just feels way more solid/planted), so I think I'm good on that for now.

Tires I'll be upgrading soon (probably Michelin Defenders, I'm 80% highway).

I've definitely been kind of flip-flopping between doing either the exhaust or the intake (first, and the other later on). The intake is cheaper and easier to install, which is why I'm currently leaning towards it. And again, I rather like the stock sound so if all changing the whole exhaust system does it make it slightly grumblier, I don't know if that's worth it.

I get what you're saying, people say 2 different things. But we know the hellwig will make a difference because it's changing your suspension, making the flex tighter/stiffer. You will feel that. The problem with the air intakes is that they do nothing because the Ram does not have an air flow issue/bottle neck. So making the opening even bigger does nothing because the hemi simply cannot shove more air down its throat. It's like putting a 4 inch fire hose on the end of a faucet and expecting more water volume, it's just not going to happen because you have a 1/2 inch copper pipe that is restricting the flow further upstream.

 

[Rmazzei]

I've been back and forth on the Helwig, that's another one I've seen where *most* people say it makes a noticeable difference, but some say it's nothing, or not much of one.

I've heard that Rams with the air suspension use a thicker/heavier bar (cause otherwise it's extra floaty) and when I checked underneath my truck, the one there honestly looks beefcake, much thicker/bigger than what I've seen people pull off their trucks when they swap in the Helwig. That being said, I haven't touched/handled it, so it could still be light/hollow. THAT being said, my truck corners better than my Grand Cherokee did (which blew my mind, just feels way more solid/planted), so I think I'm good on that for now.

Tires I'll be upgrading soon (probably Michelin Defenders, I'm 80% highway).

I've definitely been kind of flip-flopping between doing either the exhaust or the intake (first, and the other later on). The intake is cheaper and easier to install, which is why I'm currently leaning towards it. And again, I rather like the stock sound so if all changing the whole exhaust system does it make it slightly grumblier, I don't know if that's worth it.

your choice to listen to advice or not. the Helwig sway bar is the best upgrade at any cost and should be the first thing done to a 1500. I have a 2021 Limited and it stopped the roll in corners and greatly improved handling. think of it as a sport suspension mode.

 

[SpeedyV]

your choice to listen to advice or not. the Helwig sway bar is the best upgrade at any cost and should be the first thing done to a 1500. I have a 2021 Limited and it stopped the roll in corners and greatly improved handling. think of it as a sport suspension mode.

Agreed. I've thought long and hard about the Mopar Ram Air Kit. But the Hellwig is a difference-maker (even for my truck, with both AS and ORG).