Cold Air Intake... K&N vs TRD

Oi

Decided to delay all the sick light upgrades and landed on purchasing my first official mod for the 2014 SR5 which will be a cold air intake... Performance over looks, ammirite?

I wanted to hear some viewpoints, suggestions, and reasoning behind the decision you went with IF you decided to upgrade or even switch from the TRD to the K&N, vice versa.

Installation struggles/modifications, noticeable performance differences, etc...

Thanks!

- Z

 

Don't waste your money, you will get the same performance gains by installing raptor lights or a chrome bull bar (don't do those either)

 

Spend the money at a local strip club; you’ll get more satisfaction.

 

Unless it's sealed, it's essentially a hot air intake. A waste of money. Buy the TRD if you want, because it's sealed and gets air from inside the wheel arch. And, it's engineered by and for Toyota.

 

Injen. Is probably the best intake design. Still its only a noise maker.

 

Pls don't get the K&N. In my mind, only two other options exist for air intakes. It is the TRD (because oem and cool factor) and AFE Momentum GT (option for heavier "trail filter", also has an air inlet bypass in the engine bay if needed {sometimes snorkel not happy at interstate speed is what that's for}). Option 3 is to remove the air filter for max engine air flow and Toyota investment $

 

Neither do anything but add noise but go boxed and a dry filter if you do get one. K&N is garbage.

You can build the TRD for much cheaper if you search for the thread with part numbers.

 

Stock airbox is a CAI already.

 

Get a closed box, go for the S&B CAI. Wife and I have it on both our 4runners and it's def worth it. Installation was about 30-45 mins.

 

Why? You aren’t going to notice any differences at all. Invest in a Sherpa roof rack.

 

IME you'll get no improvement in power. Maybe some additional intake/ induction noise, which is cool I guess if you're into that.

Most importantly the paper stock filters do a great job at catching dust where the oiled fabric filters do not. The oiled filters can also lead MAF sensor issues if you over-oil the filter.
And as others have stated the factory airbox is already a CAI that breathes great. An aftermarket one (despite the manufacturer's adverts) will likely have no positive effect on power.

If you need more power consider a tune.

These newer cars are calibrated with OEM equipment. Unlike older engines, an intake/ exhaust here (without a tune) can cause you to lose power as the factory ECU will see inputs it does not like/ expect. So changing equipment without getting a tune will likely cause the engine to run less efficiently as the factory fuel mapping and ignition timing are being dictated by what these sensors see, then what the ECU allows. In short, changing the equipment without tuning may do more harm than good.

 

Thanks for this info.

Based on the replies and jokes on the question I'm going to use the money towards a tune instead, unless you think it received a tune a the dealership during its time being traded in & serviced there. No, there is no tune info on my service records either.

If a tune isn't the best use of my money at this point, then, I guess I'll get the sick light upgrades lol

 

Interesting. They even make these for vehicles that don't exist:

 

If you need a little more pep or throttle response a tune is a great way to do it.

Keep in mind every vehicle is a little different.

Coming from the sports car world the normal formula was do your mods then get it dyno tuned for those specific mods. Elevation, temperature, load, etc have to be considered when this is done.

Conversely, I think for these rigs a tune just allows them to be a little more responsive. Better throttle response and a little more low end torque. I don't think many people tune these things to be revved to 6k and squeeze all the horsepower possible.

Toyota's 1GR-FE is a workhorse of an engine. It's not a powerhouse, but it is incredibly reliable. That's where the magic is at imo.

 

They are made just not sold in the USA sadly

 

Noted... I appreciate it

I don't necessarily need more torque or better response but instead want to try and take care of my new obsession as best as I possibly can.

Coming from never owning a 4x4, Toyota, or even a decent vehicle before, I'm figuring everything out as I go. I thought that a better cold air intake would be a good first step in the overall performance/maintenance of my rig.

I'll look up more about tuning!

Thanks again!

 

I have the TRD and love it. Rather than splitting the wire loom, I opted for a MAF wire extension instead.

 

Just keep the oil changed and enjoy it.

 

The tunes available for this 4runners cost around $500, kdmax , yotawerx, and ott. Search them on here. It definitely makes a nice difference in the 2000-3500 rpm range. Adds torque sooner so it doesn't take as much effort to get up hills and a improvement in the cruising range of the rpms. Throttle response is also improved. Also slightly improves mpg. Well worth the money imo.

 

Why? Because it makes more noise? Because you can feel it (not likely)? Tell us how it's definitely worth $350.

 

Thank you!!!

 

FYI, the tunes for 2010-2019 are somewhat less $, as they are less involved than the newer version 4R. At least that was true when I got mine tuned.

 

I'm quite sure that you already have a cold-air intake set up just like the rest of us. It comes that way -- stock.

 

It definitely feels peppier compared to stock. Wife had it on hers before I got mine, I could see a difference. Now did I track all of the runs with timing for science? No, because I didn't really care.

Also, mine wasn't $350. I got it off Mercari from someone who never had the chance to install it on their 4R due to an accident. I managed to get it for $200 shipped ‍

 

I have had a CAI and tune on Tacoma. Now only tune on the runner. K&N made the throttle feel a little more touchy but other than that no real noticeable gains. Tune has added way more than CAI except sound. Tune adds HP and Torque and smooths out the power over the gears, less downshifting.

 

The FJ was produced for another 9 years after exiting the US market:

 

I race (not 4Runner), so I am probably one of the few people that properly uses cold air intake that I have on my track car. Let me explain why it matters and in what circumstances. I will simplify and skip over ram intakes and forced induction, as neither would be applicable to a 4Runner.

When you race, your engine bay gets really hot. This is called heat soak. This does not happen as much under normal driving circumstances. As air density is lower at higher temperatures, at wide open throttle you get less air and consequently can burn less fuel. So if you pipe outside air you prevent heat soak of the engine bay from decreasing peak torque.

Cold air intake does nothing if: a) you drive at a partial throttle, b) you don’t continuously load engine to the point of heat soaking.

Just like you won’t get anything out of a spoiler on a Civic or drag slicks on a Miata, you won’t get anything out of cold air intake on a 4Runner. Not the right car for it, not the right driving conditions for it to work.

 

I wanted to ignore the comment but come on man... no shit. I was asking about an upgrade, either the K&N or the TRD Pro Kit. Thanks for the info though. I'll make sure mine came with it "-- stock"

 

Interesting.

Thanks!

 

Go for lights, lift kit or roof rack. We are all just telling you from experience because more than likely one of us bought something we regret. If you go for lights don’t go cheap (you will regret it) aske me how I know. lol. I now have diode dynamics and absolutely love them. I’ve literally submerged them and they stayed on. Roof rack I love my Sherpa. Suspension I like eibach. But continue to ask this community. There are a lot of damn good people on here. We just don’t want you to make the same mistakes we’ve made