What breathing system for my cummins 04.5 - Utah's Rock Crawling and Off-Road Forum

mesha · 11-03-2009, 12:25 PM

Well, I got a 2004.5 cummins and am looking to make it breathe better. It has a 5 inch exhaust already and thats it. I was looking at some intakes and air filters. What should I put on it. Not looking to get a 6000 HP beast just wanting a little extra power and MPG. what are you guys using that is working well. Is an intake manifold upgrade worth it? I have had a few K&N systems in the past and they worked great, but I heard they can break down under the high suckness of a diesel. thanks in advance.

clemsonkrawler · 11-03-2009, 12:30 PM

Good thread. I just got a bone stock 06 Cummins last week and I have been wondering the same thing. All the guys on the Cummins forums have chips and turbo upgrades so it really isnt comparing apples to apples.

LT. · 11-03-2009, 06:33 PM

I just re-installed my AFE stage 2 cold air kit today. It was top of the line a few years ago and is still a top notch unit today. There are, of course, going to be folks who will debate this to death, but, I have been looking real close to the new Banks cold air intake system. The reason is because Banks just added a new feature which few had thought of a few years ago. Banks calls it a super scoop which attaches to the bottom of the new air box and also attaches to the bottom edge of the bumper. Here is the link to what I am talking about. http://bankspower.com/products/show/303/6

If I had to do it again with a new air box this may be the set up I would use. I may end up purchasing the Super Scoop and trying to get it to work with my current set up.

LT.

mesha · 11-03-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LT.

I just re-installed my AFE stage 2 cold air kit today. It was top of the line a few years ago and is still a top notch unit today. There are, of course, going to be folks who will debate this to death, but, I have been looking real close to the new Banks cold air intake system. The reason is because Banks just added a new feature which few had thought of a few years ago. Banks calls it a super scoop which attaches to the bottom of the new air box and also attaches to the bottom edge of the bumper. Here is the link to what I am talking about. http://bankspower.com/products/show/303/6

If I had to do it again with a new air box this may be the set up I would use. I may end up purchasing the Super Scoop and trying to get it to work with my current set up.

LT.

I had a friend with an AFE and he liked it.
I was looking at the banks s ystem and couldn't make up my mind on the scoop thing. maybe someone has one and can enlighten us.

bryson · 11-03-2009, 07:30 PM

X2 for AFE. I don't own one, but I'd like to.

CrawlinBear · 11-03-2009, 08:26 PM

I sold A LOT of the AFE Stage II kits when I was at 4wheelparts, never had a complaint. My little brother has one on his 04, I can't believe the power difference, you can really hear the turbo more, but its not overbearing.

Plus AFE has a better quality filter than K&N. AirRaid is not a bad one either, but for the money, you can not beat the AFE kit.

ATOYA4U · 11-04-2009, 07:26 AM

I made my own 6" intake with a amsoil filter. very easy to do. There is a guy from Lehi who did a write up on it. Here is the link dieseltruckresource.com search for willys wistler. I have been running it for 3 years now and love it. Cost me $105 for everything with shipping.

I have a friend who dinoed with AFE and my home made intake. No major gains with either one but did notice quicker spool from turbo. Although the sound of both is awesome!

oldbluechevy78 · 11-04-2009, 10:28 AM

I saw this one. It won't void your warranty and it's a dry flow filter so no oil. http://www.rollingbigpower.com/produ...roducts_id=155

Pretty expensive though. Probably better off with the afe or banks.

oldbluechevy78 · 11-04-2009, 03:54 PM

I have heard that it's better to run the dry type filter on a diesel motor. I think its AEM that make's the dry air filter system. the plus is that you don't have to clean and oil the filter all the time, just take it off clean it and put it back on so no over or under oiling like a K&N System. Just my two cents

http://www.xtremediesel.com/search.a...FRgbawodOU27xA

oldbluechevy78 · 11-04-2009, 04:05 PM

I just looked more and saw that AFE makes a dry flow as well and i didn't know that. I would just stay away from oil type filters on a diesel. my bad

LT. · 11-04-2009, 07:29 PM

The reason why folks will tell you to run a dry filter on a Diesel is because most folks have a tendency to over oil their filters. Any modern Diesel engine is going to be turbo charged. Turbos, or forced inducted motors for that mater, don't like having air filter oil in them. Oiled filters are just fine on a Diesel as long as you don't over oil them.

LT.

sixb · 11-04-2009, 09:59 PM

All that whistling when pulling is enough to drive a person crazy, especially on windy days. I say stick with the stock system but switch to a drop in afe dry filter cause it does make financial sense if you put some miles on it and don't sell it next year. What does it take like 4 filter changes to pay for it's self?

CrawlinBear · 11-04-2009, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LT.

The reason why folks will tell you to run a dry filter on a Diesel is because most folks have a tendency to over oil their filters. Any modern Diesel engine is going to be turbo charged. Turbos, or forced inducted motors for that mater, don't like having air filter oil in them. Oiled filters are just fine on a Diesel as long as you don't over oil them.

LT.

Exactly. Like anything that requires maintenance, it must be done properly.

And, an aftermarket intake will not void your factory warranty. No aftermarket accessory, unless specifically stated to be for off-road or race use only, will void a warranty, they just wont warranty the aftermarket parts, or any parts damaged by a malfunction of an aftermarket part. When I was a service writer at a Ford dealership, the service manager told me that their policy was "in order for us to not honor a warranty, we must send the damaged parts to the engineers in Detroit, have them run test, then they determine if it was the aftermarket parts that caused the problem. So instead of wasting money on sending parts, we usually just warranty the parts."

I personally don't like the dry filters, I have not seen any benefits to the dry filter. I think that the oiled filter cleans the air better.

LT. · 11-04-2009, 10:48 PM

I like the system that Banks has. It acts like a ram air system to a sealed air box. The air box is a sealed unit keeping the under hood heat away from the air intake charge. The box has two openings in it. The first opening is in the stock location so the filter can get air from the fender, I think. The second opening is for the super scoop. The scoop acts just like a ram air hood did on the sixties muscle cars. Taking cold air from in front of the vehicle and diverting it to the air filter box. The only thing I do not like about the Banks system is the accordion boot that would disturb the air flow to the turbo. The AFE system is a smooth straight shot to the turbo.

LT.

CoreyT · 11-04-2009, 10:50 PM

I think to answer your question of whether an aftermarket intake is "worth it" you have to look at your long term plans for the truck. If you want to do turbo upgrades and big fueling upgrades then I would definitely look at something like the AFE stage II. If you just want to keep your truck mostly stock with maybe a mild programmer or something (say less than 400-450 hp or so) then I would say it's just not worth the money to buy an expensive intake. I have gone that route before and didn't see any benefit in hp or mileage with a stock/mostly stock truck. On my '06 Ram I just ended up getting a higher flowing drop in filter and cutting a 4" hole in the bottom of my airbox. The AFE drop in filters that are sort of cone shaped flow well and they are reusable. If you want to get really fancy you can buy one of the ducting kits on the market (or just make your own) to pull cooler air from behind the bumper. I noticed some improvement in turbo spooling going this route and with the stock airbox you don't have to listen to a loud whistling turbo on long towing trips.

Another option popular with the Dodge guys is the BHAF.