20 Best Cold Air Intake For 5.3 Vortec (2022 Updated)

This product was easy to install. Took only 30-45 minutes to do, however the instructions that come with it are not good at all. There were black and white pictures that were hard to see and the print bled through the paper making it difficult to read.

Luckily there was a video to show you the steps and that made it easier to install. Having said all that, I am really impressed with this CAI, and it’s very comparable to the K&N for a much lower cost.

Already notice better acceleration, but too soon to see if there is any increase in gas mileage.

This is a nice cold air intake, built with quality material and doesn’t look or feel cheap or chinsy. It was easy to install and fit perfectly. However, my truck does Not like this intake. Upon start-up after installation, the engine immediately went to “Fail-Safe Mode.

” I hooked it up to a diagnostic which yielded a MAF sensor code. I installed a new MAF sensor which ultimately yielded the same result, “Fail-Safe Mode” upon engine start. The intake is being returned.

Was looking into purchasing a cold air intake for my truck and was shopping around when I came across Redrocks from my favorite place to order for my truck. Read the reviews and thought I would purchase it.

For the installation it’s going to vary from owner to owner I like to only have to mess with something once so I take a little more time to get it right the first time and then there’s the beer breaks to.

But I would think that a hour installation time would be about right. I will say don’t get carried away on the tighten the hose clamps a person could over tighten them and they could break and as for the mass air flow location I just took a long pry bar and bent it over a bit so I knew for sure that there was no way for it to rub.

So for the performance of the product I would definitely recommend the upgrade it breaths so much better with a nice deep sound and much more performance. I will warn you that it will have you looking into more updates but that’s not a bad thing!!!!.

After reading the reviews I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect compared to more expensive intakes. I can promise that it makes an instant difference in acceleration and noise. I was able to install this in 30-45 minutes with just hand tools in the garage so truly anybody can do this.

Finally the 5. 3 sounds like an actual v8 and not a choked piece of junk. My filter did fall off in my first test drive and some of the clamps are too big and require you to cut off the excess. That’s the only reason I don’t rate this 5 stars, make sure to really tighten those clamps and use sandpaper before you piece it together.

Would definitely buy this again.

If this product was any more expensive, I’d probably gripe over a few things, but honestly for the price, I don’t think you can beat this option. Fit was so-so. Required a lot of force and twisting to get the pipes to line up.

Fitting the box to the stock airbox was a pain. But once its on, its looks nice. Sound increase was quite a bit more than I expected. Which thankfully I was going for. If you want a quiet CAI, I’d go with a sealed box version.

If you’re a hothead driver like me that likes his toys loud and obnoxious, this definitely fits the bill.

This product has a great appearance and easy instillation. However when it comes to its off road capability it is severely lacking. Do to the hole in the bottom of the air box that exits just in front of the fender it leaves the filter directly exposed to the elements.

I live in an area with a high amount of snow fall in the winter and muddy dusty dirt roads in the spring and summer. The filter is in high contact with snow and every element out there. If your looking for a on road product this is for you.

But if you live on a dirt road Not so much. If there is a prescreen option for this product it would make it much more user friendly. Also the air box cover was damaged when I revived my package.

I bought this intake for my truck in hops that it would add a little horse power and increase my fuel mileage. I have not noticed any gains in hp and no gains in fuel mileage. I have put the Volant throttle body spacer on my truck previously this year.

The intake looks good but is prettt cheesy. It did not fit properly and I had to modify my fan shrowed to make it fit. Also the filter housing did not match up to the original housing bolt holes so I had to modify that as well.

The clamps provided were super cheesy and I actually had to use ones that I had to make them fit. The filter cover is so cheap you are better off putting a piece of gum over the air filter! Overall it is a cool product but pretty useless and zero gains.

I replaced my cheap knock off intake for this CARB compliant beauty. Installation was reasonably easy with only a few very slight mods to the box for bolt holes that all didnt quite line up. 30 seconds with a drill solved it.

The install is easy and straight forward and I’m already seeing an increase of 2 mpg without having the fuel map recalibrated. You can definitely feel the throttle response is a lot better with this free flowing intake on.

Good product. Would be nice if they used hex head bolts instead of Allen key bolts. I see no good reason to have switched to the Allen key bolts. There’s no clearance issues or any advantages.

Very pleased with this purchase! Easy install and I could hear the difference in my exhaust. Little quicker throttle response.

Over all I’m pleased with my purchase, the price I paid was fair for the amount of power and torque my truck has now. The cold air intake was easy to install, but with most after market bolt-ons, some things were a little harder to align and mount.

The directions were well written and the pictures helped out a lot, but I wish they put the corresponding image with the step. I don’t what other people online are talking about when they say that cold air intakes don’t really do anything.

My truck came alive, you can hear it suck in large amounts of air, and the power/torque puts me in my seat and lefts my front end up under acceleration! Even with my traction control on and in 4-wheel drive, I could easily spin the tires.

I timed my truck before installing this CAI, it took 8. 2 seconds to hit 60mph, now it take 6. 4 seconds, that’s almost 2 seconds faster. I love the full see thru smoky panel, it clearly shows the filter and looks great.

They give you red, blue, and white vinyl patches to place behind the “Volant” logo to customize its looks. You could use one color, all the colors, or get your on vinyl to customize it more. Some CONS: Directions could have images with the corresponding direction step The intake box didn’t reach the opening in the fire wall, so there’s a 1/4″ gap that will pull air from the engine compartment.

I’m thinking about putting some sealant/foam around the rim Breather hoses should have clamps.

i was very skeptical even after reading some other reviews but i purchased anyway. My silverado seemed a little sluggish compared to what i was used to and i was really hoping this would help. took about an hour to remove the stock assembly and install this one.

What a sweet surprise it was the first time i hit the throttle. It really brought the truck to life, especially the throttle response. Well worth the investment. The only thing i wish the kit would have come with was a foam gasket to go where the air box meets the fender.

Install is easy and looks good in the truck. Questionable parts. My biggest issue is the breather hoses. They just slide right on with no clamps or anything and are just thin silicone like material. I will be replacing with more robust hoses and clamps.

Next is the bolts for the acrylic window. They are easy to loose. If they had some sort of C-clip to keep the bolts with the acrylic attached, it would save me lots of time fumbling or loosing the bolts down the engine bay.

Performance gains, I can hear and feel a slight increases, but nothing by the seat of your pants. Probably need a tune to see and feel more results. All in all it is good, and I would recommend Volant Pro5, just be aware of a few quirks.

Good quality, easy install. But I’m wondering why there aren’t any reviews on here complaining about how the filter falls off continually. The clamp, no matter how tight you make it, won’t keep the filter on the plastic part inside the heat shield.

Reviews for this intake on other sites are FILLED with this complaint. I ended up putting two small screws through the filter end and plastic part. She ain’t coming off again. 🙂 Still, for the price, I would buy it again even with this minor issue.

Good kit, sounds great on my truck and it even seemed to make driving it feel a little better/more responsive. Now for the downsides. Instructions included are BAD. Pictures are tiny and printed in a terrible version of black-and-white.

Any dark parts of the pictures (of which there will be alot of in an engine bay) are basically solid black. Luckily there is a PDF available that does a good job with greyscale. It could also be better organized as they mix in several model years inline with others and it gets confusing trying to see which photo and step to use for your truck.

Fitment could’ve been better on my truck (2010 RAM 1500 3. 7L V6). Not sure how much of that is the actual fit or the bad instructions, but had to get creative with some parts by bending them and using extra bolts.

I have a 2014 3. 5L Ecoboost F150. I was getting around 16mpg combined (mostly highway driving) with a sometimes heavy foot. I really took it easy the other day and was at 20. 8mpg on a ~50mi round trip on country roads.

The truck does feel slightly more responsive at takeoff too. I don’t blame the K&N intake, but I really don’t care much for the added noise that came with an open-box type system. It’s cool to hear the turbo more, but the intake sound is a little more than what I was hoping for.

Install was easy. First hiccup was a hose clamp that was too small for the passenger side turbo inlet. I was able to rob one off the factory system and all was well. Also – there is a piece of edge trim that goes on the bottom of the box that you’re supposed to cut into (2) 9″ pieces.

The piece was closer to 20 inches. the 9″ piece I cut left a gap, but the 11″ piece fit very well (covered the side from end to end). This is very minor but just pointing it out – I’d split the baby next time and cut that piece in half – just assumed it was 18″ long so I measured 9″ & cut it.

All-in-all, I would probably go with a closed system next time, but the K&N was as advertised and has provided better-than-expected boost in fuel economy. If this is what you’re looking for, you can’t go wrong ordering through American Trucks – they have an unbelievable customer service department.

As usual another fine K&N product that was super easy to install. Prepared some items the night before and with in 30min it’s I was complete. Definitely has a little more pep than before or at least the turbo lag is less, I’m feeling that it gets up and goes faster by the feel of things.

I will have to drive more to see fuel quality difference if any. I can say it was easiest of the K&N cold air intake installs I have done over the years. If my opinion changes based on experience I will update my review here.

I purchased the Volant intake with the ram air scoop. The product is great and I took my weekly trip to Tucson from Phoenix driving the same speeds I always do (and resisting the temptation to floor it all the time to hear the great sound!).

My mileage for the round trip was 2. 4 MPG better than I usually get. I have the Superchips programmer and set it up for mileage a few months before getting the Volant and the program assumes having a CAI installed.

I also installed the Volant TBI spacer. The bad part was the instructions for installation. They are non-existant. They don’t tell you where the brackets go, what has to be removed from the truck, how to put the scoop in and connect to the CAI, what goes first, etc.

You are totally left to guess how the heck it goes together and what to connect it to. Also, the holes in CAI cover do not line up with the screw holes in the box, so none of the screw heads are centered.

I am very pleased with the function of the product, but c’mon Volant guys, put in the effort to provide detailed instructions and line up the holes!!.

2008 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT. The cold air intake instructions were great. Installation went without a hitch. Wish I could say the same for the scoop. The instructions for installing the scoop were terrible at best.

All I got was a schematic showing 3 different options & no Instructions. Autoanything couldn’t help and Volant was closed. 3. 5 hours later it was installed. Should have been 20 minutes.

Very happy with this intake so far. The first drive after install I noticed better throttle response and it has a throaty sound even though I have a stock exhaust. My truck is a 1/2 ton 4×4 and I got this for performance and an mpg improvement.

So far I’ve seen about a 1 point increase. The build quality is very good and install is easy with hand tools. I would recommend cleaning the throttle body and plenum while everything is off. Overall I would recommend and the kit and the Autoanything crew has the best price.

Definitely added a bit of punch to throttle response. Not as loud as I’d hope it would be. But if your into keeping your beast on the hush hush it’s def on the quiet side. Super easy to install. It does come with a plastic tube your supposed to put in the charge pipe to keep from a code getting thrown.

Wasn’t aware of that. And you need a quick disconnect tool to take the sensor off the charge tube for it… I didn’t install that plastic tube and have not thrown a code yet… will keep ya posted if it does.

I love this CAI. It was pretty simple to install. The 3 issues I experienced. 1)The Heat shield doesn’t seat properly down inside the designated spot. 2) I don’t like the way the factor air sensor fits with the grommet that was provided, It isn’t a good fit.

3) The Air hose is very thin and easy to squeeze cutting the air off. The dealership advised to just buy another hose for a few bucks. Other than those things I would buy this CAI again just need a few changes.

Heat Soak is defiantly an issue due to it not being in closed like the factor box, but once you step on the gas it cools off quick. Oh and the air filter is HUGE. Update 11/01/17 the Filter had faded big time, and I am unsure why at this time.

my car has less than 1000 miles and the filter went from a bright blue to a yellowish green color. Did a warranty claim with Corsa and still haven’t heard anything back from this. Very big disappointment.

I was very impressed with this intake when I brought it. The filter is freaking huge. It was very easy to install. I was skeptical about buying this intake once I seen the review on Summit Racing, but I have to agree with the review.

My intake filter started fading right away. I have owned K&N and never had an issue with the filter fading. But it like the engine/ or heat sucks the color right out of the filter. After having my engine bay pieces painted and with light for car shows in the engine bay it seams that I will have to buy another intake.

this is very disappointing and a waste of $300. I give this an AVERAGE rating just because the intake is well built but the filters and the color getting sucked out of this is ridiculous. My filter looks like a pair brown camo.

The fit and finish of this CAI is really good. Simple to install (about an hour) and had a nice intake sound. I did notice an increase in cab noise from the engine bay, and I like it. Especially when I smash the gas.

As far as HP/TQ gains, I can’t say if I gained anything, but it does sound badass! And it really cleaned up some of the clutter from under the hood.

It didn’t come with Clamps? Not sure why but the home store had them and took care of that. No issues with install

Great product I replaced a K&N cold air intake. The S&B cold air intake is so much nicer installs with ease looks amazing and the updated design is so much nicer then the older S&B intakes the new push in seal is night and day easier to install.

Great Product can’t go wrong with S&B.

Fit perfect. Instructions spot on. Looks great in the vehicle. It took about 45 min to install per the instructions. Haven’t driven it long enough to see the difference in performance. But based on other reviews I do expect to see a difference.

Install was easy to perform. Past smog no problem. Works great. Would highly recommend.

I purchased this to go on a 2008 GMC 2500HD with the 6. 0. I purchased the truck used with an old S&B cold air intake that was literally falling apart. Filter was disintegrating and had holes, rubber was cracking etc.

Banks has a good reputation so I went with this intake. The installation was problematic. Whoever wrote the instructions spends all their time behind a desk, not installing intakes. If you mount the box first, like the instructions say, the tube from the filter and the tube from the throttle body WILL NOT LINE UP.

So then you have to loosen up the bolts (not really, see below) holding the filter housing and turn it so they do line up. Start at the throttle body. And here is my biggest gripe. Adjusting the box isn’t a big deal since whoever made the holes in the filter box wanted to make sure the holes were big enough for adjustment.

And boy were they. The instructions say “when removing the factory/old intake in this case, save the bolts and reuse them to hold the Banks air box down. hehe yea right. Whoever wallowed out the holes so the box could be adjusted loves his job because the holes were bigger than the bolt heads.

How big you ask? I went to Lowe’s and purchased body washers, I didn’t measure but I would guess 2″across, and 2 of them went through the holes and the other two barely caught any of the air box. I finally took some 1″ flat strap and ran it between the bolts on both sides of the box just to have something hold the box in place.

Quality: questionable. quality control: non-existent.

Great product. Love the job it’s made for and sounds great. In the pictures it shows the raised letters to be silver in color but that’s not the case. Wish it was painted like the picture

Noticeable power increase to the bottom end. The engine sounds the same until you get on it and then it screams to life. Install took a little longer than expected but i hate to read directions. After reading, everything went as it should.

Listen when it says do not tighten down clamps all the way. I also like how the silver looked on the banks logo so when i got mine I decided to paint it. I used GM bright silver touch up paint and made sure to clean the surface before painting.

Overall great product and definate power gain! As for fuel economy, haven’t been on the road yet but I doubt I will see any given that I cannot keep my foot out of it. If your looking to add a roar to your engine that you can feel in the gas pedal then do not hesitate to buy.

100% satisfied!.

After doing a great deal of research on what CAI to get, I chose this one and I have no regrets. The installation was super easy and there was a noticeable difference right in the first startup. I noticed a smoother idle and when I took it for a drive, there was a significant improving throttle response at takeoff and even at highway speed when stomping the freedom pedal.

Now there isn’t a massive HP increase or anything, maybe 10-15 at best, but it’s a difference. I’m not all that picky about fuel mileage, but I was pleased to see an increase in that as well. What has me happy is that all the benefits were without any tuning and it only took about 45 minutes to install.

It also looks pretty nice under the hood. I definitely recommend this Airaid kit for anyone that is looking for one.

Only a few days into use, so take this review accordingly. Materials are of very high quality. Mounting box and piping are thick and very sturdy. Rubber hoses and especially the connections are as good if not better than oem.

Instructions are good. Pictures are included, but a few steps are missed such as removing the large cover and clamps covering the throttle body (occurring between Steps 7 & 8). I eased into the gas making sure the Mass Air Flow Sensor was working properly.

The sound is evident between 2nd and 3rd gear around 1750 rpms. Very throaty and has a growl to it. Was quite surprised at the amount of difference in sound. Throttle response of of course better as it feels like the truck is just waiting for the pedal to be pushed.

This was installed just before a change in climate (70s before and now 50). I was getting an average mpg over the last 4 tanks of gas at 16. 3 mpg. Currently, it looks like I’ll be getting less than that by about 1 mpg.

However with the climate change and only city driving currently, there may not be a change in mpg gains over time. One of the higher priced CAI, but the build quality, size of filter and lower additional air intake on bottom of the box made the decision easier.

This is my 3rd cold air intake from Airaid. Both our 2014 Camaro and 2014 Mustang have them. This one is just as good if not better. You can see and hear the difference in performance instantly. This is how the truck should have sounded off the assembly line.

You won’t regret this purchase. I should have waited until daylight to install but I wanted to hear it on my way to work. Ended up installing during the night. Worth every second of the struggle (self inflicted due to impatience).

Installed on 2021 Chevy Silverado Custom 2. 7 Pretty easy straight forward directions, I used my cell phone for the colored photos from their actuall website. Took me about an hour to install. Very happy with it and can definitely feel the difference.

Not much sound till you hit the gas but would still recommend it.

Quality product with easy installation !!! Sounds incredible. Looks great in the engine bay. Noticeably better design than stock with power gains to boot !!! Definitely recommend

I ordered this right away for my 2016 Silverado 1500. When coupled with stock exhaust, it doesn’t do much for performance, but definitely adds a nice growl under acceleration. When I added a dual exhaust to it, the truck got annoyingly loud on the highway.

After changing the muffler and trying a couple other things, it turned out to be the CAI. I’m middle-aged, so this likely wouldn’t bother some of the younger crowd, but to me, I took the CAI back off.

As far as design, I found it odd that the air box has an opening to the front, but not an opening to take advantage of air from the front fender like the stock box does.

I bought this mod after reading what the Sierra stock air box and intake system entails. Wanted straight air flow and a washable filter. I am not a mechanic but am mechanically inclined. Took me 45 min to install.

I have noticed a slight increase in mpg and the throaty sound when you step on the gas is nice. Definitely has a more punch when accelerating. Would recommend for an easy mod without the need for retuning.

Great intake, sounds great in the cab, lot of air, and some spooling sound. Install was very easy, maybe 45 minutes. Like any other CAI you aren’t going to feel a ton of performance gains till higher rpm, but some of the lag is gone and some mpg gains when cruising on the freeway.

I dont think it fits perfectly on the 2. 7l ecoboost, i couldnt get the rubber coupler that attaches the pipes together to reach at all, but bought a longer coupler and its good to go, but thats a non essential part of this item so no worries.

Great buy!.

The install was very simple. I do wish that the thin metal airbox was a little more solid and had a better fit. The tubes and all else fit into place well. It has a really nice low end grunt. At first I enjoyed the turbo spool but having tuned the 3.

5, in sport or normal the whistling is a bit obnoxious coming on 3 months installed.

Great upgrade from stock airflow. It’s an immediate improvement and it does add that cool look to your engine as well. Only negative thing I can say is make sure you have a small flathead screwdriver or something to help keep the bottom coupling from bunching up when trying to install the new intake housing.

Can be frustrating lol.