And what of all the talk about the factory airbox being best?

The only intake I would consider is one that would relocate the filter element to the other side of the engine where there is less heat due to the header placement.

I have even considered the "ram air" intake which goes into the firewall.

but I still run the stock one

Stock airbox:
Inefficient paper filter.
Restricted air flow caused by the silencer and convoluted air tube.

I put a cai on my jeep and regret it, if you do any sort of water crossing you have to take it slow or risk sucking in water. I'm gathering parts to make a cowl intake on the passenger side, there are some good write ups on the forum.

From what I have read the opposite seems true.

The factory designed the system to supply more than enough air for the 4.0s needs. Unless you have a larger motor, say a 5.3l, the factory system supplies more than enough air for the motor. It seems that the throttle body is the real bottle neck.

SO, what parameters would set up a quality CAI in your opinion Frank?
Smooth tubing (Plastic/Composite vs. Metal)
Heat isolator (is full box necessary)

No listen make your own like I did for 66 bucks does the same thing as your k&n aem plus I put mine in the stock air box with out the top for now. Look at my albums on my profile.

Oem or Snorkel all the way with any intake system for a vehicle that you go wheeling is stupid and there will be lots of people that say hey ive never had any problems, but i did. not to mention you can make one out of a cone filter and exhaust tubing and some sheet metal for less than a hundred bucks and you get the cool whistle sound it makes when your trying to race in your lifted jeep. if you have the money go with the snorkel or put a k&n filter in the oem box and use the money else where

Good call and welcome to the CF family. There's a write up here where you can mod the stock air box and gain a little pep. All you really need to buy is the reusable filter. By the way Spectre has one for 20 bucks at Autozone.

I'm partial to the AEM myself.
A smooth tube for smoother air flow.
A box surrounding the cone filter that only allows cooler air to enter the filter.
A highly efficient air cleaner.


Keep in mind folks that a CAI doesn't do much for ya when your wheeling at low speeds. Highway driving is a completely different story.

Ill give you that. There are two types of tuned intakes on most cars. Short ram and CAI. Short ram is as the name implies. A short intake tube with a filter. These are better suited for higher speeds and RPMs. Then there are CAIs which consist of relocating the filter away from engine heat. These will give you better low RPM power. The CAIs for our Jeeps are mainly short ram style. Ex. AEM, Airaid, K&N etc..

Can you snorkel an AEM?

Or your stereo.

Or your engine

That would almost cover a low restriction Magnaflow cat and exhaust upgrade from Performance Curve, huh? There's some horsepower there along with a bored TB and MDC or Accel hot ignition upgrade... money well wasted.