I have an '03, HO, 6-sp. 4X4, 3500 & decided to add a performance fueling box. I was interested in how much of an increase I would realize & since I didn't want to spend the money for a lot of dyno runs, I decided to break-out the trusty old stop watch, & have at it.

I chose the Van Aaken C-3.2 box because it did duration-only & no preasure. I figured I could add timing with the Tone Ring Mod. I went with an AFE ProGuard-7 Air Intake System with a Torque Tube. I, also, have a Magnaflow 14" muffler with 4" exhaust piping throughout, except for the 3-1/2" stock down pipe.
What I did was to do three full throttle runs, in fifth gear, from 40-65 mph & record the results.

Those results are as follows:

In stock form with stock AF, I averaged 8.5 seconds to go from 40-65 mph. The pyro was at 984 deg's & the boost was at 22.4 lbs.

With the VA-3.2 on the LOW power setting, & everything else the same, the three runs averaged 7.1 sec. Pyro was at 1096 deg's & boost at 25.9 lbs.

At the HIGH power setting, the average was 6.0 seconds. Pyro at 1237 deg's. & boost at 30 lbs.

With the VA 3.2 & the Tone Ring Mod, the results were:

40-65 mph averages of 5.5 seconds, on HIGH level, with pyro at 1226 deg's. and boost of 28.9 lbs.

I then installed the AFE PG-7/Torque Tube & with the VA 3.2 & Tone Ring, the results were:

At 40-65 mph, the three run average was 5.46 seconds with pyro numbers of 1226 deg's. and boost of 30.5 lbs.

The box works great & dropped approximately 3 seconds off my 40-65 mph times. The power is very smooth on HIGH power, full acceleration, you do get a bit of a smoke trail, at that level. I'm very pleased with this box.

I am, however, disappointed in the AFE PG-7 Air Intake System w/ Torque Tube. When compared to the stock airbox, on the HIGH power level, two of the runs were identical & the third run only showed a 1/10 of one second improvement. I expected much more for the amount of money these systems cost.

"Swiss-cheesing" the stock airbox or the Performance Systems Mfg. fresh air intake (psmbuick.com) MAY be a more cost effective way to go.

Regarding fuel economy, yesterday, I filled up, to the top of the filler neck (Flying J) & drove to the Imperial Sand Dunes in SE CA, just west of Yuma, AZ.
I drove 65 mph (1900 rpm's) just about the entire trip, using cruise control.
There was a fairly strong head wind coming east out of CA (strong enough to make flags stand straight out). On the way back, in the evening, the wind subsided, quite a bit. Would have been nice to have the tail wind. At any rate, I averaged 21.470 mpg's on the 473.6 mile trip, refilling at the same truck stop, same pump & up to the top of the filler neck. All hand calculated. I'm pretty sure these numbers are better than I got stock. Also, I had a 3/4 full auxillary fuel tank plus tools, in the bed of the truck. That had to be an extra 600+ lbs. of weight.

Again, I'm very happy with this box & would buy it again, in a heartbeat.

This box does cause the exhaust system to be even louder at full acceleration & around 2000-2200 rpm's. Almost sounds like someone really blasting away on a tuba. It's kind of neat!!! Remember though, I have a REALLY small (14") muffler & like them kind of loud.

I chose this box because of its reputation as a good towing box. Lots of low end grunt, which, is what I was looking for.

I hope this review will aid some of you that are still "on the fence" regarding which box to choose. I'm not trying to sell you on it, just let you know what my short-term experiences have been, so far.

Hope it helps you, one way or the other.

Joe F.(Buffalo)

 

Buffalo, does it make it loud on both settings? How does it sound like from the outside? Good info though. I to have chosen to purchase a Van Aaken for the duration and no pressure effects. But I have almost the same setup - AFE,Torque Tube,Str8 pipe(adding a donaldson/mbrp not sure) I'm even thinking of doing the tone ring mod like you did to try and help my mileage. I get 18 mpg stock with my air mods and 21 would make me thrilled. The big difference is mine is 04.5 HO and I wonder how good my turbo will hold on the high setting.

 

I have the VA stacked w/ my Quad race box. I usually run around town w/ just the VA box on because it doesn't screw with the overhead like the Quad does plus it doesn't rob me of my mileage. Mileage seems the same. I too have noticed the loud drone when I hammer the pedal now. I'm not sure what it sounds like outside though.. Turn the Quad on too and

 

nice results, 'cmon zilla, you kow it sounds like tires spinnin

 

Hey Quad,
What kind of mileage are you seeing? Just thought I would see... Thanks..

Jake L.

 

I get around 16 driving around town w/ the VA on the high setting. 19-23 hwy depending on my speed. Throw in some city driving and the mileage comes down quick....
W/ the Quad I lose anywhere from .5 to 1.5 mpg depending on the setting...