Automat Central

andy

OK so I took Automat Central up on their special offer  from : localhost//forum/...ad.php?t=83758  The next person to order from them could get like $20 off or something like that.

So I ordered the Short Ram Air Intake on Tuesday evening and it came in the mail on Friday.  Because of an out of town trip, I wasn't able to open and install it until today.

Here's what I found:

The free hat was a nice touch.  Not my style, but my son will wear it, or else I'll wear it in the garage when I need one that can get greasy...lol.

The directions were also in there, but I pulled them out for the pic.

Now speaking of the directions, I'm the type of guy that sits down in the corner and reads the directions all morning on Christmas Day.  Especially when it comes to something like this that I've never done before, I don't want to screw anything up, so I read and reread the directions before starting.  That said....the directions are confusing as hell.  Luckily the intake on these Dakotas are pretty straight forward.

So after reading other reviews and looking at the parts, I had quite the dilemma about how to go from the 4 inch tube down to the 3 inch intake on the stock air hat.  The rubber connector tube that comes with the kit is 4 inches also, and I know that other people were afraid to clamp it down to 3 inches as it might fold and leak.  Well I gave it a try.  And it worked!  I was able to use the stock clamp to clamp it down to 3 inches without any leakage or folding!

So this baby just bolted right up!  I then drilled the hole in the tube with the provided hole saw, put the grommet in, and attached the small hose.  Easy as pie.
Finished Product

Before:After:

So I took it for a spin and I'm VERY impressed with the performance increase.  I've never used a custom air intake before, so I'm not sure how it compares to other intakes, but I can tell you it kicks the crap out of the stock filter box.

Would I buy it again?  YOU BET!  Do I love it so far?  YOU BET!  Will I report back with any MPG gain?  YOU BET!  I'll also report back if I decide to replace the air hat with something else as I'm thinking of doing.

Thanks Automat!  

.is it much louder?

.
Originally Posted by oreoacidis it much louder?

I can certainly hear the intake now, but I'm not sure that the engine or exhaust are any louder.  

.yah thats what i meant. lol
cool.

.Yes, the exhaust has a lower tone to it.  I'm not sure that its louder, but the tone is much deeper and meaner at WOT.

.yeah when i put my intake on, under pedal to the metal acceleration right around 3000 rpms, the insdie of my truck just absolutely howls from the intake and the exhaust...

Cheers looks good brother

.Good deal bro...plain and simple install, can't beat that. I agree with the factory air hat...it's simple to replace. Either buy a 90 degree rubber coupler, or buy a really short 90 degree intake pipe along with another rubber coupler. Good review.