I have had 3 previous Challengers that I put various brands of cold air intakes on but never the Mopar one.I always wanted the Mopar one but couldn't justify the price.Now on my 4th Challenger a 2015 Sublime R/T I have a friend at the dealer who sells me parts at dealer cost so I decided to get one so I will review for anyone on the fence especially because of the cost.The air box itself is a sturdy piece with a nice black textured finish on the outside and a smooth glossy finish on the inside.The metal intake tube has a nice silver finish.There is a nice Mopar decal on it which I wish they would have let the buyer place instead of pre-placing it(I may remove it).The rubber couplers are thick and high quality.The clamps are ok function wise but for the price of the kit they should be polished stainless.The filter itself looks to be of high quality.The kit has nice detailed instructions and took me less than an hour to install.The only part of the kit I do not like and I knew this going in from photos of it installed on other Challengers is the gasket/weatherstripping that goes on top of airbox.I do not like how it looks on the corners and bends of the airbox and thus I will figure something else out to use(ACC makes a nice lid for this airbox I am considering).Now as for performance goes I feel the throttle response is a little quicker and the intake sound is more aggressive and it deepens the exhaust sound just a little.It also doesn't hurt that it looks very cool when you open the hood.I am going to modify it so I can use my Hellcat headlight air intake tube with it as I had it installed prior to this kit.Overall I am very pleased with this kit and wished I had bought it for my prior Challengers and I do highly recommend it.Hope this helps someone on the fence.
I noticed the newest CAI 77070043AC finally includes the tube that connects to the headlight inlet. The problem is FCA engineers have the round end of the tube just ending at square hole in the filter housing. If they ever provide a transition piece to connect these properly, I'll buy one.
I covered the square hole with a piece of aluminum I cut a hole in for the Hellcat tube,painted satin black,and screwed it in place.Installed the Hellcat tube no problem.
Any benefit to sealing the headlight tube to the airbox? Or really even using it at all? The headlight port is directly in front of the square hole in the airbox. To me it seems that this should work just fine without the hellcat air inlet tube. I have both for my '16 Scat Pack but not sure what to do when I install.
Any benefit to sealing the headlight tube to the airbox? Or really even using it at all? The headlight port is directly in front of the square hole in the airbox. To me it seems that this should work just fine without the hellcat air inlet tube.
I have a Mopar CAI on my R/T and found using the Spectre 3" flex tube and reducers (3.5" to 3" and 4.0" to 3") from the inner headlight opening to the front opening on the CAI muffled the great sound of the CAI by about a third. Must have been the change of pressure. I then dumped the flex tube & reducers, got back the sound and still have the same quick IAT reduction and heat soak loss. I did add a DIPS screen to the headlight port to keep out crap or inquiring hands in it.
I haven't seen any test results, but I don't think the composition makes that much difference since the air is moving so fast through the air tube and doesn't have enough time to soak up a substantial amount of heat.
Off the subject here alittle..............does the engine cover hold in heat on the intake manifold? I don't really like the big blob sitting there. Will it hurt anything to take it off? Thanks In Advance!!!
The engine cover is just for looks. You can take it off, but the engine will not be pretty with its black composite intake manifold and exposed wires and hoses. Why not customize your engine intake cover? I have seen a lot of great looking ones (see example, below).
I hope Mopar uses a better adhesive to attach the sealing gasket to the airbox (the part that seals the box to the underside of the hood). When I bought the Mopar CAI for my MY12 YJ, a month into service the rubber gasket was beginning to separate itself from the plastic box. A fellow member hooked me up with a PT Cruiser cowl sealing gasket which fit over the airbox and provided a perfect seal and because it slides over the box, no adhesive.....worked perfect and has done so for 35K plus miles.....
I'm the only one looking at the engine and I want function. It's got to get hot under the hood let alone under the engine cover. I might run it in the winter.