CAI usually dont help save fuel, as the air is more dense, thus changing the air/fuel ratio to add more fuel.

 

so what CAI would you go with and would you add an exhaust? Which brand if you were going to add it?

 

I personally dont like CAI's because most non-paper filters suck(no pun intended). They have very poor filtering capability, and if you really do off road your vehicle, all the dust and crap that gets thrown up will only get sucked into your engine. Most people with wranglers avoid them... Even when they put a snorkle on, they keep the paper filter.

The exhaust is different... but I cannot recommend one for the patriot as each engine is different. The company I used for my Wrangler, I would never put on my Mustang because I dont like the sound of their products on it.

The exhaust combo I put on my TJ ended up being quite loud, something I wasnt really looking for, but the mounts rusted out right before my wedding, and I had to fix it quick, so I got what I found to be the best. Youtube clips are ok to some extent, but my exhaust would sound alot diff over the computer speakers, so watch out for that.

 

With all that being said, all these companies seem to make a CatBack for the Patriot.

Borla / MBRP / Gibson / Magnaflow

Here's a random link to get you started...

 

ok thanks a lot. Do K&N, AEM, and Mopar use the same paper filters? I may add it if I decide to not off road my ride. I think I may add the basics and do minor off roading in dry areas.

 

I doubt that you are going to get much benefit from a catback unless you own stock in the company that sells them. The best exhaust is a large muffler as far to the rear of the vehicle as possible, so that the exhaust gasses can cool off as much as possible and be reduced in volume before being pushed through the muffler. And that is what the factory put on our Patriots.

On the intake, I have a Scan Gauge II and the intake air temperature when I am driving is anywhere from 7-15 degrees fahrenheit above ambient temperature. That's pretty good. And it is already paid for with your purchase of the Patriot. Cars have had intake air temperature management for many years now. It makes it easier for the factory to get power and manage emissions.

Anything you do which actually increases available power as opposed to decreasing available dollars will only be useful when you have the gas pedal pressed as far as possible and want more. And, more horsepower used means more gas used.

For what it is worth. No free lunch.

 

Sorry if this is a dum question, but does anyone make an actual cold air intake for these or are only under the hood intakes available? I see no benefit unless you are getting actual cold air from outside the engine bay.

I do know if you can find a source of air of outside temp and get that in via an insulated intake tube you will benefit. I have a true CAI on my Rubicon and it really did make a difference.

 

The K&Ns Aircharger for Patriots (and proably Compass and maybe Caliber) does use the stock air intake part that fit over the battery and drew air from the little straw hole they (Chrysler) cut above the grill. This cold air intake DOES improve MGP by 1-2MPG and DOES improve acceleration. THe factory airbox is a major choke point designed for quite operation, not maximum performance nor maximum fuel savings, just minimum noise. CAIs whether you get AEM, K&N or make your own, will increase noise a bit under moderate acceleration, but it will be a lower tone if you can live with that. It's not a placebo effect either, my Patriot idles and cruises 200-400RPMs less than with a K&N drop-in, 300+ RPMs lower than stock paper filter. And if you go off-road, they have both dust and water covers for the filters. I paid the extra $10 for their CAI water-repellant cover and it absorbed the mud splatters, but the heat shield and being able to use the battery cover/fresh-air inlet with the K&N also keeps the filter from getting soaked.

 

The K&Ns Aircharger for Patriots (and proably Compass and maybe Caliber) does use the stock air intake part that fit over the battery and drew air from the little straw hole they (Chrysler) cut above the grill. This cold air intake DOES improve MGP by 1-2MPG and DOES improve acceleration.

I have not looked at mine real close, but is there mods we can do to the "straw" hole to all more air in? And I guess it's not more air, but a better flow we need.

 

You wont find any difference using a CAI apart from a louder induction roar noise. If you go with a K&N filter the advantage is you wont have to clean/change it for thousands of miles. If you change your exhaust system make sure stay with OEM Bore size, big bore will affect your back pressure ( You want gas out velocity not volume). You pay a lot of money for maybe 1-2 hp gain ( if you even manage that) Dont forget in High Summer a CAI becomes a HAI-----

 

You wont find any difference using a CAI apart from a louder induction roar noise. If you go with a K&N filter the advantage is you wont have to clean/change it for thousands of miles. Dont forget in High Summer a CAI becomes a HAI-----

All true. I have a Rubicon and know for a fact if you do a lot of dusty trails ETC you may want to stay away from any gauze/oil filters. They don't stop the fine dust particles. For street use they are fine. If you do go with a gauze filter get a wrap for it.

CAI and HAI. Many/most of the so called CAI's actually heat the air more than stock set-ups. Better flow, but hotter air. You want both flow and cool air. The cold air is denser which is a good thing. Cooler air also sends a message to the computer via the intake temperature sensor which is favorable.
On my Rubicon I have a insulated intake tube which runs to the cowl. The air filter is inside the cowl area. The cowl inlet has another filter in it and a reverse facing scoop. This has multiple benefits. Double filtered air and filtered air into the cab via the A/C system. Actual outside cooler air. And a cooler intake tube. It's ugly under the hood, increased fuel mileage at least 1-2 mpg which on a 4.0 Wrangler is huge, and the power increase is really noticeable.

 

I have a 2011 and there are 2 electrical components mounted on top of the air box. What are these and where can they be moved to if I modify the stock box?

As far as muffler/exhaust, you may want to check with a good muffler shop. IMHO those cat backs are over priced. A good shop can bend up up something a lot cheaper.

 

I had a CAI and a cat back exhaust on my Ford Fusion (4 cyl/5spd) for the better part of 50,000 miles...

All I can say is........ SAVE YOUR MONEY!

What I had was a K&N CAI & Magna-Flow Cat System
While they looked good and sounded good/OK (exhaust had an annoying drone at 55 mph)... I saw 1 to 2 mpg improvement, and honestly never felt any improvement in power... just sound

Not sure I ever broke even on that expenditure...

Now, if you are doing it for LOOKS & SOUND, that maybe a different story. But just to improve economy, skip it!

 

Another thing to consider is that most modern ECUs will "learn down" the modifications. The vehicle is designed to output a specif amount of power. The ECU has to been tuned to take advantage of those new parts. In some circumstances they may allow you to make power more efficiently, but you won't be able to increase overall horsepower or torque without a re-tune.

 

I called up Jeep and they said that they would have to mod the ECU if they put in the Mopar CAI but I also called K&N and AEM and they told me that they make the CAI's vehicle specific so that way there is no modifications that need to be done. They were both very knowledgeable also. This is for anyone wondering if you need to mod your ECU.. Go K&N or AEM. I believe K&N makes the mopar CAI anyways.

 

As far as MPG go, honestly the best way is to change driving habits. A Scangague can help with this.

The FD1 and FD2 vehicles output exactly the same horsepower. The difference is FDII models use 8.12:1 ring and pinions and in first gear (or rather first range since they are CVT), have a 19:1 final drive ratio. FDI models use a 6.12:1 ring and pinion, and in first gear have a 14:1 final drive. The FDII also have a more aggressive brake lock differential (BLD) to keep a wheel from spinning.

There have been talks about people wanting to convert FDI to FDII, but it seems cost prohibitive and is probably cheaper to trade in an FDI and buy an FDII.

A lot of people have had good success off-roading in 4x4 FDI's. You might want to try and tackle a few tails first to see if you need upgrades. Also even though the patriot can handle light off road trails, it's not going to do extreme off-roading. You'd be better off picking up a cheap used TJ, CJ, Wrangler, or Cherokee and build that up for off-roading.

 

As far as MPG go, honestly the best way is to change driving habits. A Scangague can help with this.

The FD1 and FD2...

What n4cr2k said. In the 1950's, Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz developed an experimental tuned header system for their Formula 1 car and gave it to a driver to test. After he'd run some laps, he came in and said that it was quieter but slower than the previous system. The engineers nodded and then showed him the lap times, which were better than before. Bottom line, noise provides the impression of power, but not necessarily the reality of power.

In the 1990's, testing was done on a 1971 fairly heavy Pontiac LeMans street strip station wagon with a 455 cubic inch V-8 with fairly agressive headers and dual exhaust.

http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/exhaust.html

The bottom line was that the Walker Dynomax # 17749 muffler gave performance equal to the best muffler and was the quietest to boot. Since they were looking for a system that would allow them to not have to disconnect the mufflers at the drag strip, they went with the Walkers. The Walker was almost as good as no mufflers.

Their conclusion was that a large muffler as far to the rear as possible gave the best performance. Check out our Patriot muffler. Large and to the rear. My 2.4 liter Patriot has an exhaust pipe from the catalytic converter to the muffler equal to the diameter of the one on my 1979 Pontiac 4.9 liter V8 intermediate station wagon. And the muffler is about the same size.

I suspect that the bulk of our backpressure is in the header and catalytic converter. For what a cat back system will cost you to buy and install, you can buy a lot of gasoline. You will have to drive a LOT of miles to save enough money on the slight, if any, mpg boost a cat back system will give you.

My scan gauge shows intake air temp as one of it's readouts. The intake air is usually no more than 5-15 degrees F above outside ambient temperature. That's pretty darn good.

Bottom line, IMO, you can get a noisier intake or exhaust, but the performance improvement will be mostly seat of the pants perception based on the noise, and the efficiency improvement will be mostly in the CAI and cat-back manufacturer's bank account.

Back in the days when automobiles had restrictive exhaust systems, improving the exhaust could improve the performance and mpg. These days, the factory has already done most of what is readily available.

But, it's your Patriot, and your budget. IMO and YMMV.