TRD cold air intake worth it?

Here are a few I found right off the bat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mGw7hc1hEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aSTX7372I4&t=28s

Again, not huge. Not bragging rights kinda stuff, but im going bigger tires. If I can pick up some tq along the way, this is a bonus. Slowing these rigs down is death by a few dozen cuts. Offsetting any of them even in a small way is worth it to me. $350.00 is hardly what I call an expensive mod for these rides. Dudes payin more for molle panels to mount animal heads inside the car.

 

1st one is with an exhaust and no baseline shown but typed up with the gains. No dyno sheet anywhere.

2nd one shows 5hp typed which is nothing you will feel and also sounds like they used a high gear to dyno when it should be a 1:1 gear like 4th. Still no dyno sheet though.

 

The first one is an exhaust and intake, yes but it does have a baseline. With no j-pipe, these exhausts bring even less value than an intake. This is more speculation, but at least ive come with actual data.

Yes, without a retune, you cant lock the transmission for a true pull, but again, i came with *something*. You wanna pick this apart because it’s not aligning with the popular perspective, im fine with that too. It’s still more data than anyone else has brought the thread. Sure maybe they were lying about it. I’ll take the independent study/results over TRDs, or some dudes on the internet chortling at the water cooler with literally no hard info in-hand.

 

We'll be here for you when it just ends up making noise. That's what Toyota pals are for.

 

Im hoping to do some dyno results with the local tuner myself. The TCM does need a lock to do a proper dyno pull. For whatever reason, dude are happy as hell to look at a supercharged 4runner dyno without complaining about the TCM lock.

 

I had issues when throwing my supercharged Tacoma on the dyno with the same lockout issue and no baseline. The power does come close to TRDs claim when you take into account driveline losses but it's a supercharger, not a pipe. At least I posted up the dyno sheet though. In the end, it was still a slow turd.

https://youtu.be/lS4DaF_QcGw

 

My own experience with CAI are all the same. They sound neat. Gains are small. Sometimes there’s more to be had with a retune. IMO, a 10-20tq gain is just that though. Worth it? Ive decided so, others clearly have not. The anecdotal results are all the same: improved throttle response, more low-end grunt, sounds cool. Honestly this is a pedal commander competitor which I feel is more rooted in a principle that makes sense to me. But as I said from the very start - all about perspective and managing expectations.

As an aside, that taco is awesome!

 

Do what makes you happy, TRD CAI makes you happy, do it. I did. I am reminded of the great Ron Swanson:

“The whole point of this country is if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds and die of a heart attack at 43, you can! You are free to do so. To me, that’s beautiful.”

 

Yes, it’s a 5hp gain, and also a 17lb-ft tq gain. Thats a 7.7% gain in tq in their case.

Here’s an FJ with a CAI doing 10 pulls, and sharing the results.
https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/dyno-results-for-fj-cruiser-in-ph.435249/

All three of the results ive shared present similar, modest gains. They could all be lying. Either way, as Ive said, there’s some actual data and shared experiences to suggest modest gains can be had.

 

The thing there is different aftermarket intake and different engine. Still the 1GR but single VVT-i so the OEM intake was different in those.

 

It’s not a different engine, it’s a different head. They provide both baseline results and gains from the intake, BUT you raise a fine point about it not being 100% apples to apples though. I agree that this cant be looked at as definitive info proving anything.

 

It's also different internals in the dual VVT-i engine. Friction was reduced I believe by deleting one of the main bearings but it's been some time since I've read the info when it was torn down by URD. At least this dyno has proof of a measurable difference. I had that same intake for all of 5 seconds but my hood struts didn't clear the box.

 

Alright, well then we’ve sort of established that in addition to there being no data supporting the claim that they’re useless, there’s only flawed data to suggest the notion theyre not useless. I really dig this topic and hope to do some of my own info gathering on this in the very near future. If I end up throwing it on the dyno, I’ll be sure to share. Im not sure I care too much if it doesnt do anything at this point, but Id sure love to prove one way or the other for myself. Having gone through this with an old Evo 9 back in the day, I can certainly speak to how easy it is to gather the info poorly, and hopefully I’ll get some working data.

 

I like mine. If you provide data that it adds some ponies and torque, I'll like it even better.

 

I don't have much experience with 4runners - but, I do have experience tuning all sorts of other engines/vehicles.

I scanned the thread and saw the +19 torque number. On a 287lb/ft engine +19 is 6% more torque - which is unlikely to be noticeable anywhere except for the dyno (if that claim is even true).

What make more sense to me is: "it sounds better" to people who like engine sounds.

Once you start adding different parts to your engine, you need to tune it to take advantage of those parts. Just slapping on a different air cleaner isn't going to add more fuel to the cylinder.....which is what a tune would do. It would take advantage of the additional air and enable more fuel to be used / burned and thus more power.

Depending on the application, a less restrictive exhaust could actually harm drivability. You really want the torque as low down in the rev range as possible.

I'm now inspired to see if anyone has done cam swaps, tunes, etc. 4.0l is pretty big lump. Off to youtube.

 

There are several members on here that offer tuning for the 4R.

 

I've asked around for my 2022 4R TRD Pro, part

$567 PTR03-89100 Toyota Genuine Parts - TRD 4R Fj Air Intake (PTR03-89100)

PTR03-89100 Toyota says it isn't compatible so is it or isn't it? Why wouldn't they offer it?

 

Works just fine on my 23 ORP.

if you just buy all the parts separately it's much cheaper. You have to buy some hose separately and whatever filter you want. Or use the stock one.

 

Ok, so some of the parts list on the forums could be out dated so could you provide some part numbers please?

I thought the

$567 PTR03-89100 Toyota Genuine Parts - TRD 4R Fj Air Intake (PTR03-89100)

PTR03-89100 was the whole kit or you still need to order other parts in order to install the CAI?

 

their is a parts list on the first page of this thread I believe. If you buy from some of the many Toyota dealers across the country many sell the parts and offer free shipping. I used a dealer out of Kansas. https://www.lewistoyota.com/

read through this whole tread and use the search feature. It will help ya with the whole deal. Plus some good vids on install on YouTube.

none of the parts that I'm aware of have changed.

 

I ordered the extra adapter listed in the pic. Made it real easy instead of splitting wires.

 

Heres this list I used.

 

They stopped certifying it for any later models. You have to piece it together.

 

So I made contact w/ a Toyota Dealer I've purchased parts from before. He says it can be installed in my 2022 4R TRD Pro but it may fail an emissions test and pending on the state it could be an issue. So the question is has anyone that lives in a state that requires emissions testing during yearly inspections come across any issues with the TRD CAI? My mechanic said if the check engine light doesn't come on then it should pass inspection. Apparently it shows up when they hook up to the od2. Thoughts?

 

CA has the strictest emissions and still it’s 6 years after the vehicle year when they start checking. You could try to get the emissions sticker which says it’s smog legal but if they run the number it will show up to a certain year. It’s a simple swap back to the OEM airbox.

 

You must really love the look of it!

 

This thread, and buyers of the TRD intake, will continue as long as they sell the parts.

 

Probably a dumb question but are CAI's in general compatible with snorkels? (Will install one eventually) And can a CAI somewhat soften the drone of an aftermarket exhaust!?? Lmao after a 5 hour highway trip, our ears were buzzing!

 

Some intakes may work with a snorkel with some creativity but generally a snorkel kit is designed around the stock airbox.

An intake will no reduce exhaust noise.

 

I bought everything independently from BAM for about $250. I have not noticed a power increase but it does make the induction noise does prevent the engine from sounding like a dying sewing machine so that alone is worth it