Air Intake Sound

[mechjames]

I'm thinking of putting an air intake on my truck. My friend had a truck identical to my Grand Cherokee. that had a K&N air intake system on it. I drove it a couple times and loved the sound.

I don't really like oiled filters, so I am interested in the AEM dryflow system. It comes in two different kinds, Polished Metal or Gunmetal Plastic.

Is there any difference to the sound between a metal or plastic intake tube? I'm leaning towards the gunmetal plastic one because there isn't much flashy under the hood of my truck and I think putting the Chrome one on, it wouldn't look good. It would also get dirty with some off roading that I do.

What do you think of the sound difference? Is there any?

 

[yonyon]

Is this an open element intake? If it is and if you think the tube is going to get dirty in off-road use, do you have a plan to keep the filter element from getting more dirty just as quickly?

 

[mechjames]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Is this an open element intake? If it is and if you think the tube is going to get dirty in off-road use, do you have a plan to keep the filter element from getting more dirty just as quickly?


Yup, a wrap prefilter. I had one on my old explorer and did some extreme off roading with it. It always got dirty before the main filter.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

I worked for a company that made a carbon fiber intake and an aluminum intake for the same car. They both sounded the same. I don't know about plastic though.

 

[Colt45ws]

I doubt you would notice a difference. Personally, I would go for the plastic one for the slight decrease in intake temps over the metal.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I had an AEM intake system on my '97 Dodge Dakota, also with the 5.2L engine. It had a polished metal intake tube and one of their dry flow filters. The filter seemed nice enough, but I didn't like the sound of the open element filter. You could hear the hiss/suck even at low throttle openings. It sounded like an exhaust leak all the time. I ended up putting the stock intake system back on it. I still have that AEM system in a box in my garage. I need to put it on Craigslist or something.

 

[Spazdog]

I'm pretty certain that my cold air intake is "louder" than my Racing Beat exhaust. (yes, I'm aware the intake does not make any sound itself...I just don't know how to phrase it better)

As far as the "hiss", I can really only hear that with a sudden throttle position change. Your results may vary.

I've been planning on coating my aluminum tube in truck bed liner forever. I just haven't done it yet. Too many other things to do.

 

[kkreit01]

I'd go with plastic > metal every time. Plastic will remain much cooler (and look less flashy).

 

[mechtech2]

The noise comes from the air going in being unrestricted and unbaffled .
What the materials are is of no importance.