2018 Silverado: a comparison between the stock airbox and aFe Momentum GT intake

Since our factory airbox became compromised, I finally talked the wife into letting me put an aftermarket intake on the truck. I didn't install it on camera (mostly because they are ridiculously easy to put on), but I got some good before and after footage of the noise level if you're interested in getting one for yourself. Thanks for watching!
More info for those who want it:
2018 Silverado with the 5.3L V8, non-flex fuel
Intake can be found here:
www.amazon.com...
(not an affiliate link, I don't get any commissions yet - working on setting something like that up).

[@theterrifier2670]

you really do not need 4WD for dirt roads like that.

[@AllThingsMech]

The purpose of the video was to demonstrate acceleration and sound changes going from stock to the aftermarket intake. If you want to actually hook up and accelerate smoothly under WOT, then yes 4WD is necessary on these roads. Spinning in 2WD just tears up the hardpack and makes the roads much worse when it rains or snows, which is terrible for everyone else.

[@theterrifier2670]

@@AllThingsMech Fair enough i had not considered that. We have gravel highways where i live and i just cruise on them with 2WD unless theres been a massive rain or snowfall.

[@AllThingsMech]

@@theterrifier2670 for sure. I'm usually in 2wd during normal driving (when it's dry anyway), but for this I was just trying to avoid digging a bunch of holes, lol.

[@ic3man5]

@@AllThingsMech Use Auto or AWD, The clutch in the transfer case can hold up to over 500HP and you will never lose traction on a stock engine tune; Traction control, ABS, and stability work a lot better in AWD than it does in 4WD. I very rarely ever use 4WD anymore.

[@ic3man5]

@@AllThingsMech Also if you turn off traction control it allows for a better launch as it lets the RPMs climb to the stall when holding the brake and gas at the same time.

[@eliecervargas9800]

1- aFe filters work great on any application, 2-ecu tunning would be a +, 3-please clean that engine!

[@MUDDYBOOTS805]

5 dislikes are from Scotty kilmer and his Toyota minions

[@AllThingsMech]

Anyone talking smack about that guy is alright in my book. 👍🤣

[@dustin3700]

Dodge did the same thing with the air box fasteners. I literally added glue in the holes to tighten them back in.

[@johne9341]

Thanks for sharing the review and your thoughts on the performance. The new intake sounds better to me that the stock one, a little more muscle, and the engine looks much better without that big plastic hood. I'm going to check out what they have for other trucks since I don't have a Silverado.

[@AllThingsMech]

Howdy John, thanks for the feedback. I'm a big fan of the cleaned up engine bay as well...now it just needs a bath. 😂 The aFe intake is well put together and very high quality. I chose it based specifically on the recommendation of people I trust, as well as the dyno chart comparison data that Black Bear Performance put out. I've also had great luck with Volant and Airaid kits on different vehicles. Airaid in particular has great customer service. Example: The poly boot on my Tahoe's intake tube randomly started slipping off the throttle body at high RPMs (about 18 months after install, well out of warranty). I emailed Airaid and they got back to me within about an hour. They apologized for the trouble and said it was a known issue with the polyurethane becoming hard over time due to engine heat. Within 2 days a new silicone boot with an updated design was in my mailbox, and they didn't charge me a dime - a very stand up thing for them to do, IMO. Can't go wrong with any of them really, but pick whatever you think will work best on your vehicle.

[@myquickjab2098]

Hello sir did u have to unplug battery before the install I just got mine for the 6.2

[@AllThingsMech]

@@myquickjab2098 its never a bad idea to unplug the negative terminal when you're doing anything related to electrical or sensors, but in this case I didn't feel it was necessary since the ECM software compensates for changes pretty rapidly. I just swapped the MAF sensor over, put everything together and let the truck idle for a couple minutes before running it in the vid. It's up to you - you should be fine either way though.

[@myquickjab2098]

The Ranch Mechanic okay thank you doing this tomorrow morning

[@AllThingsMech]

@@myquickjab2098 no worries! Not sure if the 6.2 is set up the same way as the 5.3, but if so the only thing that may hang you up a little are the two coolant hoses that run over the airbox, and the little angled brace in the corner. The instructions tell you to remove the brace, but once the factory intake tube is removed you can snake the airbox out without taking it off. Let me know if you run into any issues, happy to help. Good luck, you'll get even better gains on the 6.2! 😎

[@thomasmueller2319]

Damn it sounds meaner! Best mod Cai hands down, just put one on my car.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

I love my oiled filters I haven't gone back since I got my first cold air intake system

[@700horses]

You’ve never had MAF issues or oil bits flowing into the throttle body?

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

@@700horses no if you oil the filter properly without over oiling it shouldn't have a single issue... most people have issues because the over oil them

[@lowridesismyoxygen9751]

Best review I got thx alot😎

[@GradexAxGuy]

Bro that looks smooth as f*ck!

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Very nice informative demonstration as well as Review

[@nickiiit7870]

Sounds great

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Them clamps are beautiful

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Great video JB

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

I think its sounds pretty good bro during acceleration

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

If engineers new what they were doing when they made them us mechanics wouldn't complain so much about there ridiculous designs and flaws

[@dennisromero9011]

Good job man...

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

All of my trucks have aftermarket intakes

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Wow they should of taken care of that at the dealership

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Defenitly has a power and acceleration increase

[@2a4me96]

I can get sound from a nice exhaust...when it comes to cold air intakes I care about rpms..more power..more better fuel efficiency

[@AllThingsMech]

To each their own, intake and exhaust mods both sound good but are completely different sounds. This truck now has both. Intake noise is incidental in this case - my goals were to restore the integrity of the intake system as well as make more power. Mission accomplished.

[@F33DM33NT]

james bond level smoke screen! hahaha! nice vid bro!

[@AllThingsMech]

Haha thanks man. That was one of the better days, it had rained the day before so it wasn't even as bad as it usually is. 😄

[@Slim214_]

Debating on getting the closed box or open not sure

[@paulcondie2520]

How has this truck treated you? Any real bad issues or just normal issues and wear? I recently bought a used 2017 Chevy Silverado with 45,000. Already deleted the AFM and transmission cooler bypass upgrade as well as transmission fluid change. Thanks

[@AllThingsMech]

Ours had a few stupid things go wrong with it that I've never experienced with my other chevys, but I think it was more a function of running it really hard it a very rough environment (ie, 65mph+ on washboard high desert roads for extended periods of time, lol). We had to replace a wheel bearing, water pump, active grille shutter assembly, and the in-tank fuel pump before 70k miles. I just replaced the other front hub a few weeks ago, it finally let go around 107k miles. The overall quality of replacement parts has been steadily going downhill over the last few years and it shows. The hubs on my 07 Tahoe lasted to 180k before they started crapping out. Original fuel pump lasted until 185k. That's across pretty much all OEMs though, not just chevy. Everyone is cutting costs. Overall though, it's been a very good truck. We've driven it literally from one end of the country to another, with three kids sitting in the back seat. It's no minivan, but it does surprisingly well on long trips with younger kids. It does love fuel though, best we can usually get fully loaded on the highway is between 17-18mpg, but that's with lots of suspension mods, bigger tires and a 91 octane tune. It's no race truck but it's quick for what it is, and it tows well as long as you aren't pushing it past its limits. I'm sure you'll get a lot of great years out of yours!

[@paulcondie2520]

@@AllThingsMech thanks for the reply! I just give my daughter a 2012 impala, thing seems to eat wheel bearings so I absolutely agree on the cheap OEM stuff! Lol. With the price of new I'll baby this new to me 2017! Did pretty much all the preventive maintenance I can except haven't did a coolant flush yet but coming soon, I'm at 48,000 miles. Thanks again and have a nice day 💯💪🇺🇲

[@AllThingsMech]

@paulcondie2520 any time, happy to help! If you want to add a relatively cheap and pretty easy coolant filtration system while youre flushing the rad, check out the video on my channel about it. It's less than $100 or so to add the system, and replacement spin on filters are only about $15 at NAPA. It will ensure that nothing funky gets circulated in your cooling system. Been running mine for a couple years now with no issues and not a single leak.

[@paulcondie2520]

@@AllThingsMech thank you

[@medicchester]

MPG update?

[@AllThingsMech]

Hard to say at this point. The truck has gone through so many mods and configurations that the numbers never really stayed the same for long. Right now we're averaging 15.6 combined. That's with 285-70-18 Cooper rugged treks, 3" of lift, aftermarket shocks front and rear, and a steel RC front bumper. 91 octane tune with AFM delete as well. It doesn't sip fuel but it's not a total pig either. MPG has been consistent since the last round of mods.

[@daryn_Canada_1066]

Great video. I just bought a truck with one already installed. Its in a Tundra. To clean the filter do you take off the "pipe"/"hose" going to the intake and the other end which goes on the air box?

[@AllThingsMech]

Yep, I find that's the easiest way. Not sure how it's set up on the Tundra, but on mine there are two hose clamps by the filter. The smaller one attaches the tube to the filter, and the bigger one seals the filter into the airbox. With the tube removed, loosening the bigger clamp allows the filter to just slide out of the back of the airbox. I was worried that this design wouldn't work all that great to keep dust out, but so far I haven't had any problems.

[@thomasstroud9860]

Did you or have you done a tune on your GMC with the AFE? There’s some information out there stating the 6.2 will run lean with the CAI until the computer “relearned” the fuel curve. Thx

[@AllThingsMech]

Haven't done a tune on mine yet, but I think I'll try to get one done sooner rather than later. I'm hearing what sounds like something rattling in the engine bay under heavy load or going up steep grades....I believe it's either fuel injector noise (hopefully) or pre-detonation (hopefully not) - and I'm running premium in the truck already so it can't be a pinging issue due to low octane fuel. Time to get in touch with BBP and get some data logging done.

[@thomasstroud9860]

@@AllThingsMech Don’t know if this will help, but I read that the AFE rattles against the fender wall and some people have put Velcro or some other item between the two. Keep us updated, thx

[@700horses]

What city/state is this located in?? Why so dusty??

[@AllThingsMech]

High desert of Northern Nevada.

[@700horses]

@@AllThingsMech Ahh okay. Thank you 👍

[@JesseJames4045]

What’s the part number for this model?

[@AllThingsMech]

Link in the description.

[@JesseJames4045]

@@AllThingsMech What's the difference between 54-74110 this model and 54-74104 model I have a 2018 Silverado LT crew cab 4x4 also..

[@JesseJames4045]

Okay I did notice looks like the 74104 has a open vent on the side of the box that looks to be the only difference. I'm assuming a completely sealed air box is probably best correct?

[@AllThingsMech]

@@JesseJames4045 the 104 model has an opening at the front of the airbox to let more air in. No good for out where I live because of the dust. I wanted one that was totally sealed except for the factory inlet at the fender well, so I went with the 110.

[@AllThingsMech]

@@JesseJames4045 for me, yeah. The one that's more open could theoretically flow a bit more air, but I haven't seen much data one way or the other on that. The risk of more dust plus increased noise didn't seem worth it to me.