i was thinking about installing a K and N air intake on my new chevy but was wondering what you guys do with the air sensor? Do the aftermarket intakes have a place to rehook this up to, or do you have to modify the new intake to accept the sensor? Also for those of you that have installed one, did it make a noticeable difference in HP and gas mileage?

 

On mine k&n their is a place for it so you should be good.

 

You will get better throttle response, very little horse power without a custom tune, and gain little mpg. but i never really tested the mpg theory cause im always getting in on it. lol

 

The aftermarket CAI have a place to put your sensor.

 

This is the first link to the chain of mods. In other words, a CAI alone will not give what is expected, but other things like underdrive pulleys, 1.85 ratio rockers, a tune, etc, will all add to the chain in gaining more torque, which is the main one we are lookin for. Oh and one other thing, try to get a dry filter kit. The K&N's have oil and this oil helps in filtration, but also contaminates the sensor you are asking about. I used a Spectre set up and just washed off the pre oil and now run it as a dry set up.

 

I didn't notice any significant gains in HP or mileage after installing my K&N. The only immediate difference was the change in the sound coming from the intake when you romped on the gas. It does sound kind of cool. That has to do with replacing the baffled stock intake tube with the K&N tube that comes with the kit. Evidently GM likes to baffle the noise. I had to tune the PCM to see any real difference in HP or mileage.

You'll get some gain in HP with the CAI but it was hardly noticable to me. You may see you mileage go down; mine did. You're introducing more air and your PCM will think the engine's running lean so it puts more gas into the system. As it learns the new airflow, that may even out with time but won't get you where you might like to be in terms of total possible HP and mileage. Getting a tune for that mod will straighten things out for you.

The last thing you may want to get done is the tune. Get all you mods done first, then tune. Everytime you add a mod, it will have an impact on how the engine runs and responds to each addition differently. Each time you add something, the PCM needs some time to relearn the new conditions you introduced with the mod. Your stock tune that came with the truck isn't capable of handling the changes without being modified. It was engineered based on stock equipment. At some point you will have to tell the PCM to look at things differently in the a new environment from the old stock environment.

A tune can be done in a number of ways. Using a handheld device such as a Diablo Predator, Super Chips, or a Bully Dog is one. These have some limitations but allow you to do instant adjustments to some parameters. You can do these yourself but you won't have access to everything you may need to make the most of the HP and mileage from the mods. A custom tune will take full advantage of all the mods.

I personally use the Diablo on my truck. The K&N and corvette servo are all the mods I have and this device allows me to make my own adjustments to the Long Term Fuel Trims and transmission settings. It works for me for now. I may step up to the custom tune later.

That's my two cents and my experience. I hope this helps you decide.

Bob