Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Tim Surridge photo
1 Level
765 Review
40 Karma

Review on πŸ’¨ Airaid Cold Air Intake System: Boost Horsepower with Advanced Filtration: Fits 2010-2011 CADILLAC (SRX)AIR-251-261 by Tim Surridge

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Turn on the bolts! And torque!

It's amazing what a simple change like an air intake can do. Installed this on my 2011 Cadillac SRX 3.0L. The engine runs great at higher rpm, but unfortunately due to its setup and the way GM set up the powertrain, it has a lot of throttle lag and is sluggish out of the box. At least it was. No longer! That CAI makes a HUGE difference in the first 2000-4000 rpm. And it's much more responsive once you hit the gas. Now the engine picks up speed immediately and the car sped forward with a push of the accelerator pedal, whereas before I had to really accelerate. The dynamometer chart shows only 7 hp / 5 ft-lbs gain. at maximum horsepower and torque, but this increase is almost across the range. The torque boost is even greater in the 2500-4500 rpm range, so the shifts are much more powerful. The same with HP. Installation was a breeze. The parts are well marked, clearly arranged and well packaged. The instructions are perfect. The airbox is very good - nice thick steel with a very nice powder coat finish. Fits perfectly under the hood and the sound. I didn't expect this to produce such a dramatic increase in growl. Hit hard and you can hear the air intake sucking in air with just a whistle combined with a deep, throaty roar. It sounds a lot bigger than the 3.0 liter engine. Normal driving produces a minimal increase in volume - my wife didn't say anything about that when she rode it - but if you get even a little aggressive, a raspy growl sets in. before installation, so I can't give exact data on acceleration changes. My sitting in my pants tells me it's definitely faster in the 0-40 mph range. The shifts are more aggressive and I can feel the torque on the steering wheel when shifting to WOT. It definitely shifts faster between gears, but again, nothing is quantifiable. There was a $50 discount when I got this so the value wasn't too bad. I'm also not going to throw out the filters every 20,000 miles as the filter that comes with it is a lifetime filter that only needs cleaning every 20,000 miles. For the next 80,000 miles it should be worth at least HALF the cost!

Pros
  • Washable and reusable
Cons
  • Useless features