Air intake mod question

Jay MacLeay

Jay MacLeay

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
208
Location
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Hey,

I have what you might call, "one of those good problems". I have both an Airaid intake and a Banks intake (currently installed now). The Airaid intake I snagged off of my old Jeep that was totalled. My current Jeep came with Banks already installed.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any pros and cons to the two different intakes. The banks one seems a bit more sealed in, which I assume helps protect it a little bit better from water, but I assume that hinders its ability to suck in air, and living in SoCal I'm not too concerned about sucking in water. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
 
Neither of those do anything beneficial for the TJ's performance or fuel economy.

Believe it or not the TJ's OE air intake was specifically designed to be totally non-restrictive and it easily flows more air than the engine can consume even at wide open throttle and at redline rpms. Some air intakes are restrictive but not the TJ's.
 
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Not a lot of fans of aftermarket air intakes on WTJF. General consensus is the stock air box and filter are the best you can have for a TJ. The last two I had (not on my TJ, though) did nothing but whistle and lighten my wallet. Sold them both and went back to stock.
 
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glwood said:
Not a lot of fans of aftermarket air intakes on WTJF. General consensus is the stock air box and filter are the best you can have for a TJ. The last two I had (not on my TJ, though) did nothing but whistle and lighten my wallet. Sold them both and went back to stock.
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So, what your telling me is my "good problem" is a real problem since I don't have the stock intake? Hah

Thanks for feedback.
 
Used but good condition OE air intakes are easily found. I had to buy one for my second TJ which came with an Airaid air intake system.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Used but good condition OE air intakes are easily found. I had to buy one for my second TJ which came with an Airaid air intake system.
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True. I actually found a Jeeper on another forum who gave his stock air box away. He had a supercharger, so had replaced it on his LJ. Pretty sure a member here got it.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Neither of those do anything beneficial for the TJ's performance or fuel economy.

Believe it or not the TJ's OE air intake was specifically designed to be totally non-restrictive and it easily flows more air than the engine can consume even at wide open throttle and at redline rpms. Some air intakes are restrictive but not the TJ's.
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X2 to this. The OE air intake is the best intake you can get your your TJ, hands down. Aftermarket intakes are 100% useless on these 4.0 engines.

That's not to say cold air intakes are worthless on all engines, but the 4.0 happens to be one of those engines that has an exceptionally well designed intake from the factory. Most people don't know this, but the Jeep engineers themselves have come out in recent years and said this.

This thread may be of interest to you: Cold Air Intake FAQ
 
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I sold the CAI that was on my Jeep when I bought it, for 150.00 , and got a used stocker for 30.00. Absolutely no difference in power or fuel economy, and a whole lotta beer money. As a side note, picked up better filtration, with an ac Delco element.
 
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Andy5150 said:
I sold the CAI that was on my Jeep when I bought it, for 150.00 , and got a used stocker for 30.00. Absolutely no difference in power or fuel economy, and a whole lotta beer money. As a side note, picked up better filtration, with an ac Delco element.
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Yep, not surprised. In the Cold Air Intake FAQ thread, there's links to numerous dyno graphs where a guy did a dyno of his TJ with a CAI and with the stock intake. He did about 10 runs and was able to prove that there was no real horsepower gained from the CAI at all. Which just further proves what a waste of money it is.

Not to mention that the stock air box and a good air filter are so much better at keeping contaminants out of your engine.
 
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DeSoul said:
Can't belive that all of these performance air intakes are useles, why do they even sell them if they make no gains?
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Simple. Because people buy them. Same reason they sell "weight loss" pills. People buy them, even though they don't work. The same can be said for a lot of things in life. Just because someone sells a product, doesn't mean it works.
 
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One thing I did on my TJ back when I drove 30 miles 5 dais a week to work was remove the 90degree horn looking thing attached to the airbox.
I did notice a slight change in fuel savings after I removed it. These days my job is only 1.5 miles away so the TJ does not get many miles on a weekly basis anymore.


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JeepNWilly said:
One thing I did on my TJ back when I drove 30 miles 5 dais a week to work was remove the 90degree horn looking thing attached to the airbox.
I did notice a slight change in fuel savings after I removed it.
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Nope, removing the trumpet won't help mpg, not at all. It might only via the Placebo effect. Removing the trumpet only causes three changes...1) a louder air intake, 2) slightly reduced air-fuel mixing efficiency from the reduced velocity of the air entering the combustion chambers through the intake valves, and 3) a higher likelihood of water ingestion into the engine through that significantly more exposed opening. Replace it, its removal didn't do anything good for you. Really. :)
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Nope, removing the trumpet won't help mpg, not at all. It might only via the Placebo effect. Removing the trumpet only causes three changes...1) a louder air intake, 2) slightly reduced air-fuel mixing efficiency from the reduced velocity of the air entering the combustion chambers through the intake valves, and 3) a higher likelihood of water ingestion into the engine through that significantly more exposed opening. Replace it, its removal didn't do anything good for you. Really. :)
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My comment above was based on testing scenario where the only change was the removal of the trumpet. Basically same route to work and back same fuel type and gas station. Basically only variable was the trumpet.

As far as risk of water probably only if I go deep enough to reach the air box but to me the trumpet angled up towards the hood curve has more of a chance on getting water splashed into it then an opening left by removing the trumpet. from 2006 to some time in 2010 my wheeling was about 80% water and mud as that is all we have down here in the swamps of South Florida. My TJ has been in many occasions with water just below the bottom of the headlight.

few water examples of my past wheeling days.


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If you want to believe just removing that trumpet improved your mpg and that benefit you perceived outweighs the drawbacks like the potential for hydrolocking the engine in the situations you showed photos of, go for it. :)
 
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Those crazy water days are in my past :) I do rocks since my axles lockers and long arm lift. I wheel less since I have to drive long distances to find rocks and mountain trails but I like it better :)
 
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