I want to get both the Gibson Cat-Back setup and the new AEM Brute Force Intake for my '04 but down wanna drop all the cash at once, which shuld i get first and what does everyone think of that setup? Is it gonna be Good or are there better alternatives i should be looking at? thanks...

I would get the k&N FIPk kit instead of the AEM kit

have you considered the volant CAI??

http://www.volantperformance.com/idetail.asp?ID=97

what are the approximate horsepower gains associated wiht the K&N vs the Violant? AEM Claims their product produces the most HP, any one know anythign abotu that or is it BS? ive alwasy heard good things about K&N. im also not positive as to how the violant system works...

Everyone claims theres makes more hp. K&N claims theres will make 20 hp. What most people dont read is that it can make 20 hp on highly modified applications. Whats better about k&n is the fact it uses a hard plastic tube instead of metal so it soaks less heat.

If I may chime in for a moment. I believe LAX's question was what to go with first ie cat back vs CAI. In other words, if he can only do one of these two things now, what would give him the biggest performance gain for his dollars, putting brand loyalty aside. We can help with that later once his basic question is answered. Not trying to be mean, just trying to keep it focused on the basic question and expand from there.

Barry

The choice for which one to get first is up to you and really does not make that much of a difference.

Say you get the intake first - the tuck breathes better but can't breath it out fast enough due to same restriction in stock exhaust. However, still better than stock but not to full potential.

Say you get the exhaust first - it can exhale betteter reducing the backpressure a little but your intake is still restricted so it can't open the lungs fully, so to speak; still not to full potential.

Get whatever you like first or whatever you have the cash for.

X2

and the volant does come w/ hard plastic tubing and an enclosed box. the box isn't exactly sealed but i think it does a better job of protecting the filter a bit more..

Has anyone had any problems with their equipment IE: check engine lights after install? I really dont feel like having to take my truck to have diagnostic codes pulled...

--And a further note--Both exhaust and intake mods really only increase enginre performance "significantly" above 5000 rpm, so you can notice a significant change in -SOUND- pleasing, by just doing the exhaust change first (with guidance)--good luck --JIMBO

Here's what I did. I first bought a K&N drop in for my 01 at 5k and stayed that way until last June when I bought my Gibson system at 75k. Not much of a noticable increase in power or mileage but sounded nicer when hitting the powerband. Three months later I got the Volant intake and noticed a little more get up and go. My advice if you can only get one thing at a time is to get the exhaust first. IMO getting the intake with the stock exhaust doesn't make sense as you add more intake volume but lose it trying to move the extra air through the restrictive stock exhaust. Can't really say how much added mpg I've gotten with my setup as I've added 265/70R16 Dueler HP tires with are taller than the 255/65R16s that came stock and it seems that my ODO is now off a bit.