owntmeal4life

I have a k&n and love it BUT it's exposed not a big fan of wheeling with it I've hydro locked and over heated because of how exposed it is granted the hydro lock was more of my bad I try and switch to my stock box when I go wheeling

Camojeep

I've have a K & N CAI and my MPG increased and feels like there is alittle more power. I have no compliants about buying the K & N.

nvertflyer

i am no longer a fan of cais...i went with the banks cai and magnaflow exhaust..sounds cool and you can feel a little difference but the filters dont keep the really fine dust from entering the engine..i do a lot of multi day runs and after doing a lot of testing i finally put the stock air box back on..lets just say that a lot was bypassing the filter...i now have the banks in the for sale section....for the street it would work out ok but if you do a lot of wheeling especially multi day trips i would stick with the stock set up...

Whiskeypete

buying a CAI is a debate that will never end. you are going to have to make the call on your own and with your wallet. look around and you will also find plenty of opponents to them that have dropped the cash, only to come forward and say its a waste. to each their own and everyone's opinion count. everyone drives and wheels differently, so one person's take won't necessarily work for you. again you will have to make the call on your own.

from personal experience i put a k&n filter (only) in my old WJ. rather than dump $300 on a cai blindly i went with the filter only as a starter. there was a noticeable difference throttle response and that was with the 4.7L V8. i gained 1mpg from it. it did sound slightly different as well. i found that the only issue i had with it was offroad in either fine dirt/dust situations, or in mud. the filter was in the stock air box and well protected, but it did sometimes let in excess water if i hit some deep water or mud. in fine dust/dirt/sand it definitely sucked up more crap than a regular filter. cleaning them wasn't that big of a deal. buy the kit, spray it down and wait 24 hours and it was good to go. the filter was $40 and the kit was like $15, i say try that first as a starter before you commit to $200+. see if you like the performance.

the water hydro lock issue with the cai is further complicated, because many of them leave the filter for the most part completely exposed. they sit inside a heat shielded area which allows for any water to flow into the filter, tube and then into the engine. some manufacturers seem to account for this better than others in design, but water intake is always a possibility.

when it comes to the fine dirt/dust/sand situations you can also go with a essentially is a filter sock that the actual air filter sits inside of. this will act as a first layer around the air filter, that you can discard after leaving the area so you don't suck the crap into your engine.

Manologuka

I really wanna get a CAI for my jeep but I'm afraid to hydrolock. How easy is can this happend? Is it gonna happen if I go through a puddle tht covers 3/4 of my rims?

mikewadley

I had an Airaid CAI on my '08 and really like the look of the Banks for my '12. Opinions are so varied on this subject it's hard to decide what to do. $300 is a cheap mod all things considered so might just pull the trigger.

mcmahonbj

I love it, I don't plan on driving my Jeep through puddles so I am not worried about water issues. I absolutely love how it sounds. I think it did help a little and definitely helped my gas mileage!

immortalmetal

No. if you're barreling through a creek that comes up to your grille, yes. you're going to get water sucked up. but i would say you'd be safe with that much water. the filter is pretty well covered from just splashes. you'd have to have the front end submerged for hydrolock.

Emmeljk11

Mines custom cost under $50 sounds badass!

Firemedic65

You made that yourself??