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Best Cold Air Intake to put on my new CTS Coupe?

35K views 30 replies 18 participants last post by  thunder0938 
#1 ·
So Ive been reading and there seems to be a ton of threads on what intake is the best for the cts. Alot of these threads seem outdated and I didnt see any particular to the coupe.

I am shopping for a cold air intake for my new cts coupe and I would love some input on which ones have earned a good reputation out there with you all. I drive alot for my job so increased MPG is my top priority although god knows I would love a little extra HP and throttle response. So what would you guys reccomend? Pros/Cons of each etc.

All input is tremendously appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I'll be following this thread as well. I'm researching CAI's now....

D3 seems to have the only dyno graph, showing gains. However, the test was done by them, not a customer, so take that for what it's worth. The Volant one is interesting as it's the only one with a snorkel that's placed in the grill area. Then there's the Injen, Airaid, K&N, etc....

I can't imagine that there's much difference between most of these. It mostly comes down to aesthetics and price, I suppose. Although, the Volant has my eye right now, because of the ram-air affect it has. Still researching....
 
#14 ·
The snorkel is the reason I bought a Volant but I haven't installed it yet. You can also purchase a second snorkel tube that attaches to the bottom of the box as well. It "should" give a ramming effect as vehicle speed increases. I always liked the Vararam for the G8 but our radiator and grill set-up is different.
 
#4 ·
Well, from searching someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I only remember ever seeing one true CAI for the 3.6 and that is the injen CAI (the user Mano4 I think is his name started the thread). The others are "short ram" style intakes which draw air from same location as the stock unit.
 
#6 ·
The stock unit pulls in air from in back of the grille, what is called a "cold air intake". This just means that the air is not drawn from under the hood, warmer air heated by the engines heat. I have the KPE intake and it gives a larger square inch filter and a smoother passage of air to the throttle body. It actually is branded "Air raid" on the tube between the filter and the t-b. There is a deeper sound of air being pulled into the engine with this intake, and it appears by the old sotp to add a little more power. The D3 intake is a similar model.
 
#7 ·
What year is your "new" CTS coupe? Beware that the intakes for the 2008-2011 3.6L CTS engine will NOT fit the 2012 3.6L engine. I found this out the hard way. On the 2008-2011 3.6L engine the air box assembly is a separate piece from the air intake collar that houses the MAF sensor. The new 2012 coupe's air intake box and MAF sensor is all one piece. So you either have to cut and modify your OEM air box or wait for someone to come out with an intake for the 2012 3.6L application. And I even tried ordering the air intake collar piece with MAF sensor fitting attached from the 2011 CTS, but the MAF sensors are different shapes. Anyone have any better luck finding an intake for the 2012 CTS?
 
#11 ·
I got the Volant on my 2010 CTS Wagon. Man it was a pain to install. It doesn't quite line up correctly from the throttle body to the hole on the box for the intake filter. Also installing the RAM air required me to remove (cut) a piece of rubber guard that prevented the ram scoop to go into the grill. But, it does pull cold air from the grill. The stock air box scoop goes straight to the headlight area. With the rubber guard in place, the cold air gets deflected away from the scoop. So it doesn't quite get cold air into the air box. Does anyone have the same issues I have? Mainly things don't quite line up correctly?
 
#17 ·
That is my understanding. You want the coolest air possible going to an internal combustion engine. I bought a cowl induction hood for my Chevelle for this very reason as the air cleaner is ducted to the cooler air outside of the engine bay. On a 30 degree day, it runs noticably faster once you get it properly warmed up. Back to the Volant, I would think the faster you are moving, the more air is pushed into that snorkel eventhough it is a pretty small opening to be considered forced induction but it should make breathing easier. The Vararam for the G8 has a wider opening and has a straight path to the intake and it seems that one might actually offer some ram effect as speed increases.
 
#16 ·
I've asked this before but got few and mixed answers so I'll ask it here. Does a cold air intake void your warranty? I had my salesman tell me I'd did. My 09 CTS DI AWD needs a boost but it's certified so I still have a couple years bumper to bumper left and don't want to give that up just yet .
 
#18 ·
As long as you are not installing a tune, you WILL NOT void the warranty. The Mangneson-Fergeson (sp?) act requires that the manufacturer has to prove that the aftermarket part has caused the failure.

If you aren't modifying the MAF sensor, all you're doing is using a different filter. Not if you have a MAF sensor failure and the dealer can prove that it was damaged by oil from a CAI (like oil from a K&N filter), they can only deny coverage on that part. They can't deny coverage for an unrelated repair.

I have a K&N cold air intake on our Mustang that is still under an extended warranty. The dealer has not given me any issues on it.
 
#23 ·
Here is the e-mail response I got from Airaid:


"Thank you for your inquiry. We currently do not have anything available or in development for the 2012 3.6L CTS however it is something that we are looking at doing. Sorry we could not be more help with your request at this time and please let me know if you have any additional questions in the meantime."
 
#27 ·
Dr.Ford said:
What year is your "new" CTS coupe? Beware that the intakes for the 2008-2011 3.6L CTS engine will NOT fit the 2012 3.6L engine. I found this out the hard way. On the 2008-2011 3.6L engine the air box assembly is a separate piece from the air intake collar that houses the MAF sensor. The new 2012 coupe's air intake box and MAF sensor is all one piece. So you either have to cut and modify your OEM air box or wait for someone to come out with an intake for the 2012 3.6L application. And I even tried ordering the air intake collar piece with MAF sensor fitting attached from the 2011 CTS, but the MAF sensors are different shapes. Anyone have any better luck finding an intake for the 2012 CTS?
Oh, thanks for the info... So currently no CAI for the 2012's. How about high flow filters like the K&N one below. Anyone using it?

http://store.knfilters.com/mobile/mProduct.aspx?prod=33-2411
 
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