TLDR Version: The K&N intake met my expectations for sound, was quick and easy to install with one issue, and was worth the money for me personally.
I recently installed a new K&N Cold Air Intake (CAI) on my 2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6L Performance car. This post is meant to serve two purposes, and will hopefully help others make an informed decision on a CAI upgrade. The first purpose is to go through the installation at a very high level, and the second is to give my opinion on this modification.
Installation:
If you are mechanically inclined this installation will be quick and easy. If you have spent a little or no time working on cars you might need some help, or you might want to consider watching a video or two. The instructions are not perfect and might result in you to scratching your head at times especially with the black and white pictures. You will need basic mechanical tools for this installation including metric wrenches/sockets and torx/star screwdrivers. I had one big issue with my CAI installation. The 3.6L engine I have did not have an air injection hose hooked up to the stock intake like the instructions indicated, which resulted in the smaller air filter not being used at all and leaving an area where warmer air might be sucked into the larger air filter. I doubt this makes much of a difference, but it was a bit confusing. I spent some time online and eventually gave up on it after confirming the stock intake system did not have the hose attached to it. Some engines might have this setup, but mine did not. The piping fit perfectly an connected nicely to the throttle box. Overall, the installation was simple and fun, and there was one issue that I don't think is a huge deal.
Opinion:
I am a huge fan of the new noise the intake is generating, but I cannot notice any performance gains, which I suspected would be the case with a small performance gain. I am not going to spend any money on a dyno test at this time to confirm any gains, but I mainly installed the intake for the noise. I owned a 2010 Lexus ISF (~420 HP V8 engine) that had an awesome intake that really opened up at 3,500 RPMs, and I can say the new K&N CAI I just put is about as loud and "throaty"/deep. For a smaller engine this is impressive. The 3.6L engine really sounds great now. The stock exhaust is solid on my trim so that helps too. Overall, I am satisfied with the new deeper and throatier sound.
I hope this helps others looking into this modification.
I recently installed a new K&N Cold Air Intake (CAI) on my 2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6L Performance car. This post is meant to serve two purposes, and will hopefully help others make an informed decision on a CAI upgrade. The first purpose is to go through the installation at a very high level, and the second is to give my opinion on this modification.
Installation:
If you are mechanically inclined this installation will be quick and easy. If you have spent a little or no time working on cars you might need some help, or you might want to consider watching a video or two. The instructions are not perfect and might result in you to scratching your head at times especially with the black and white pictures. You will need basic mechanical tools for this installation including metric wrenches/sockets and torx/star screwdrivers. I had one big issue with my CAI installation. The 3.6L engine I have did not have an air injection hose hooked up to the stock intake like the instructions indicated, which resulted in the smaller air filter not being used at all and leaving an area where warmer air might be sucked into the larger air filter. I doubt this makes much of a difference, but it was a bit confusing. I spent some time online and eventually gave up on it after confirming the stock intake system did not have the hose attached to it. Some engines might have this setup, but mine did not. The piping fit perfectly an connected nicely to the throttle box. Overall, the installation was simple and fun, and there was one issue that I don't think is a huge deal.
Opinion:
I am a huge fan of the new noise the intake is generating, but I cannot notice any performance gains, which I suspected would be the case with a small performance gain. I am not going to spend any money on a dyno test at this time to confirm any gains, but I mainly installed the intake for the noise. I owned a 2010 Lexus ISF (~420 HP V8 engine) that had an awesome intake that really opened up at 3,500 RPMs, and I can say the new K&N CAI I just put is about as loud and "throaty"/deep. For a smaller engine this is impressive. The 3.6L engine really sounds great now. The stock exhaust is solid on my trim so that helps too. Overall, I am satisfied with the new deeper and throatier sound.
I hope this helps others looking into this modification.