VOLANT CAI INSTALLED ON MY 2007 TAHOE! PICS

I received my Volant 15253 Cold Air Intake Kit for my 2007 tahoe. INstallation was very easy, it took about 40 minutes to install.

If you are interested in one the guy I purchased it from said he would take care of the other forum members and sell them very reasonable!

I have not driven the tahoe with the intake yet. I will post information on gas mileage and performance once I drive the tahoe for an extended period this weekend!

If you have any questions please let me know and I can hopefully answer them and get you the contact information for the seller!

Landon




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I've heard +10MPG with this Volant system.
Or at least that's what you told your wife so she would give you the green light to pull the trigger on this little gadget huh?

HAHAHA, i knew your Smart A** would be the first to repsond . I had to tell her we would get around 50 MPG with this and would keep the hood from denting !

She doesnt even know I got it. I could care less if there are gains. I just put it on becuase I was bored and wanted to do something to the tahoe. It looks much better and that alone is worth its weight in gold!

Dave, we all know you have one on your tahoe too!

Will this cause issues with warranty? I have a lease and wanted a similar setup, but worried what that did to warranty.

I will let ZX answer this! I have had an aftermarket intake on 3 new Dodge Rams in 2 years and had no issues, also had exhaust, thottle body spacers, and superchips installed! No warranty issue. I guess if they could direct the problem to the aftermarket part they may have a valid point, I dont know!

I dont know how it would void the warranty, GM has an aftermarket intake! I think there is a law or someting that says warranty issues cant be blamed on aftermarket parts. Dont quote me, but I have read someting to this nature! Dave?

Another question...Are the filters for that intake impregnated with oil?

LOL, I dont know about impregnated, haha. Yes they come from the factory preoiled. They advise to reoil ever 10k miles, and to clean the filter after 50k miles. You just need to be careful not to put to much oil on the filter!

http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=50096

This link discusses aftermarket parts vs warranties.

GM performance parts does now make their ow line of Cold Air Intakes, I ordered one for my 01 'Burb when I bought it, when it gets installed I will snap some pics. Dealer said it was far above a K&N and an AFE which both have proven their weight in these motors. I knwo he was just trying to sell it.. ZX What do you know on these GM performance peices?

The aftermarket oiled filters will not void any GM factory warranty but GM cautions against their usage as they have been known to negatively impact the performance of the MAF sensor.
If you look under your hood of your new 2007 Tahoe you will immediately notice that the intake track in this Vortec V8 is much straighter and larger then previous engines, this is done to enhance the efficiency of the intake system by providing increased air-flow with less restriction, precisely the same thing that aftermarket air intake systems are designed to do.

Most factory systems are now very good so the after market system benefit is much less apparent, you’ll notice that now most aftermarket systems concentrate more on appearance and less on power or economy gains in their ad’s or packaging.
I have the GM Performance Air Intake Kit (Part # 17800809) on my Tahoe and it looks very nice, I have not noticed any difference in performance or drivability, this filter media does not utilize oil.

Dave,

Couple of "serious" questions! I have heard for years that factory intakes and exhausts on new vehicles perform as good as aftermarket ones.

Can you please tell me why GM would come out with their own CAI if it isnt going to cause performance or MPG gains. Is it strickly offered for those of us who just want to have the toys and marketed for the aftermarket looks only? Just wondering if there are any why gains or anything with the GM intake vs other aftermarket CAI's.

Thanks, Landon.

Good question; and you pretty much nailed the reason.
Many after-market so called "performance parts" do little to actually improve performance and/or economy but they still sell like crazy, in-fact some actually hinder performance.

One thing about GM Accessories is that they are of made of very high quality components and are designed to work and fit perfectly, if GM claims that their part improves performance by 5hp you can bet your bottom dollar that it is for real and generally across the RPM scale not just at the redline.
You’ll notice that GM generally makes no HP gain claims on their aftermarket intake kits and exhaust systems even though they will enhance the performance in reality, the reason is that these parts have been thoroughly tested (and I do mean thoroughly) and even though they do offer performance improvements they are generally moderate and occur at either the extreme upper or lower ends of the RPM scale, as a rule of thumb GM will only advertise spec’s that happen across the RPM scale, for instance I have much experience with a couple of power upgrade kits (Stage-I and Stage-II) offered by GM for the Cobalt SS Supercharged, the Stage-I kit alone is advertised by GM as a 25hp gain, but I can tell for a fact that at various points on the tach it actually has an almost 70hp gain over stock; but since that is not across-the-board (or average gain in other words) GM will not make a 70hp claim.

Dave:

Is the big chamber that hangs down from the bottom of the 07 intake tube there to act as a resonance chamber to minimize induction noise?

Dave, How much louder is your GM aftermarket intake then your factory intake was? I am trying to find something that keeps the volume down. The Volant has a good sound, however at a certain RPM range it is louder than preferred! Is this the same GM intake you have?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AMT%3A112&viewitem=&item=250048783062

Correct, if you have a chance to see the new Silverado you'll notice the chamber is located at the front of the intake tube not underneath like on the Tahoe.

Here's a website by a local dealer with most, if not all, GM accessories.

http://www.gmaccessories.net/mccarthychevrolet

It shows the CAI system (non-oiled)

biglg,

Do you notice any performance improvement with the CAI? I've used AirRaid CAI on other vehicles in the past and didn't find the performance gains worth the extra noise. Does the box seem to cut out some of the noise vs an exposed filter cone?

Michael,

Obviously as expected performance gains werent drastically noticable. However, I thought the throtlle response was improved. I also believe I felt some extra power at certain RPM ranges. Again, nothing drastic but there did seem to be some improvement!

As for volume, it is much quieter than open air intakes I have had. However, when excelerating there is one spot in the RPM range that has more volume that I prefer! Other than that you really dont know the intake is on there unless you are all over the trottle!

ZX -- I am considering the GMPerformance intake you referred to as Part # 17800809 -- GM calls it a "Performance Air Intake Kit (w/o RPO Code LMM, LU3)" Can you tell me what the RPO Code LMM, LU3 is talking about?

Dave, How much louder is your GM aftermarket intake then your factory intake was?

I have a question, ZX may be the best for this answer or if anyone else knows please chime in! A lot of cold air intake brands dont have kits for the 2007 tahoe. Probably because they havent gotten them CARB approved and tested.

I was wondering if other 5.3L engines have the same intake set up so they would be interchangeable. Does the 2006 tahoe, silverado, etc have the same intake that I could purchase and it would install the exact same way and has the same setup! Thanks in advance.

RPO "LMM" is the code for a Diesel engine and LU3 is for the Vortec 4300 V6 neither of which is a factor in this application.

The GM Perfomance Intake has a throatier sound coming off idle and a is a little louder at WOT but other than that you can;t tell the difference over stock at steady speeds.

The 2007 Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche and new Silverado with the 4.8 / 5.3L engine all use the same after-market intake systems.

The previous model years intake systems will not interchange with the current 2007 year.

Dave

Thanks for the info Dave!

I saw the GM intake on gmpartsdirect for $362. Anyone know if that is a decent price?

~dig

If you are friendly with your parts man (like a dozen donuts), you might get 10% to 15% off dealer list. Don't know how that would compare to gmpartsdirect. At least you wouldn't have shipping.