I have been running the 6637 since the summer of 2007 and I just installed the S&B intake with the re-usable filter element a few days ago. After putting about 100-150 miles of mixed driving on the truck since then, I wanted to share my initial impressions so far.



The intake is of pretty good quality over all, although I was a little disappointed in a few things.

First, the fit of the snorkel piece to the box. There is a bit of a gap. It's not a big deal, because it is before the filter and in theory- who cares if some air is leaking into the filter box as long as it gets filtered before entering the turbo?

Second, again is a fitment issue- The clear cover, the holes don't line up perfectly and where the cover fits into the recess on the top of the element box, there is a pretty big gap on the lower left if you are facing the front of the truck. You can see it in the picture where it is all together. Not a big deal, but again, it's not an inexpensive piece, and it doesn't seem to be cheaply made, but I would think that they could have a little better quality control on this type of thing.

Third disappointment and to me, and this was the biggest, is the battery tray. It has a hole cut in it for the battery hold down bracket to fit into towards the front of the tray. The directions say to thread that hole prior to installing, and I did. This is a piece of sheet metal, albeit pretty decent thickness, but sheet metal none-the-less. When I got to the last partof the instal, which is securing the battery, no matter what I did, it would not thread in and hold the battery down. The idea of the battery being lose and rattling around was not one I wanted to entertain, so I commenced to "making it work". After lifting the battery in and out of the truck several times, trying to get it to thread, I realized that I could take the metal clip that it originally threaded into from the old battery box and install it on the new tray. There is just one problem, the new tray has about a 1 inch metal lip and the whole is set back too far to just clip the clip on, even if it didn't have the lip, so I had to get out the cut-off tool. I originally tried to do it with the tray in place but it was too confined of a space and I nicked one of the ABS lines in front of the battery. So I had to half uninstall the intake in order to get the metal tray out, so I could cut out a section of the lip and some of the extra metal on the bottom so I could use the clip. I hacked it up pretty good, but my truck at this point is no show piece so I eyeballed it, made the cuts and then drilled the hole out bigger so the clip would work (which you don't see in the pictures because I figured that out after re-installing it so I did it in place). Then I sprayed it down with some black enamel spray paint so it would look a little better and to help with rust.







Now the good.

First, I notice a lot less smoke. The P.I.S. 160/30's aren't tuned correctly, and with the 6637 they had been quite smokey. Even in 80E, when coming off the line or rolling into the throttle, or downshifting when merging onto the highway, there would be a decent amount of black smoke. Certainly more than I, or the people immediately behind me, would like. God forbid if I was already in 3rd gear on a slight to moderate uphill grade at around 35mph. Lots of black smoke until the turbo spooled up then. When I spoke with Jody about this back when I first got the injectors and new tunes, he mentioned that the 6637 was not flowing enough air for them. I now have the proof that it certainly doesn't flow any where near as much as the S&B which many of us already knew thanks to Tugly's input with the 160/100's.

I must say it is quieter too. I can still hear the whistle from my Gen 1 WW, but I no longer hear any of the Darth Vader sounds whooshing through the open element of the 6637. I am not sure how I feel about that, I originally was very found of hearing all of the turbo noises when I first installed my 6637, it was my first "mod" and I remember being tickled by the new noises. It was what started all this permagrin and PMS for me, and I am a little saddened to see it go.

The turbo seems to spool a little quicker which totally makes sense. Let's face it, for all the different versions of an internal combustion engine there are out there, they all come down to just being a fancy air pump, and the more air you can let in, the more air you can get out. The turbo diesel version is no different in this aspect. My seat-o'-the-pants meter says the truck is pulling off the line quicker, and spools down low a bit faster.

I have not had the opportunity to tow with it yet, but I am going to hook up to a buddy's boat in a couple of days. It's not a big one, with the trailer maybe 5-6K lbs, but it will give me a little more info that I can add.

So to sum up, performance wise, I'd say I am initially very happy, but the install experience was more than a little on the disappointing side. Not terrible but it could have been better.

 

That's a pretty good assessment. My top cover does not fit well - have to coax it into place before screwing it down. Same issue with the battery hold down. I had to add a nut under the sheet metal to lock her down. Makes removing the battery a pain though. Overall, decent for the flow you get. Thanks for this level of detail, HKusp.

 

So based on your driving it sounds like the smoke is a lot less; is it gone completely or is there more tuning to do?

Too bad some of the components aren't a little better engineered, it seems like S&B is becoming the flavor of the year in every magazine and forum but for $250-300, the thing should fit like a glove right?

The AirRaid intake I have appears to fit well but it is probably a simpler kit overall (orig owner installed it). I just threw a new filter element on my intake with their new SynthaMax dry replacement as the original oiled version had been cleaned a few times over the time I've owned it.....truck much happier now.....

Amazing how Air in and Air out really makes for a happier PSD.

Nice write up.

 

My 80T from DP will "Roll the Coal", with the new sticks, until the stock turbo (WW2) gets spooled. Is pretty good in the mod-stock tune though.

 

Perhaps you should have changed the 6637 sooner? I guess it would probably be pretty plugged up after about seven years of use!








Sorry, Jason... I couldn't resist!! You KNOW that I'm just pulling your leg!!



Good info. I'll be glad to see more of your experience posted once you've put it under some additional loading.

 

When I made the switch to Gearhead my truck no longer rolls the coal like it used to. Just power.

 

Yep...that is his reputation.

 

The smoke is a lot less, but not completely cleared up, no. I am dealing with an up-pipe leak and have a set of used bellowed pipes to install before I will call it totally a tuning issue, but I haven't gotten up the courage to tackle the uppies yet. Besides, I have to drill out the out exhaust bolts and install new ones on those and gather some additional parts and pieces in preparation. As for the diminished smoke, I have heard guys with big set-ups talk about hazing, and at this point I would describe it as more of a haze in those same situations I described earlier that would be full on smoke, if that makes sense. I know that a haze is made by smoke, but to me, to describe it as smoke, it needs to be somewhat thick, and this has diminished in density to the point that I would call it haze.

I went with the oiled filter element because it was basically free as the price is the same between the 2 kits, and I am pretty sure that the oiled version filters well. When I had originally decided to go with the S&B, I was going to go with the dry element, but because it didn't cost any more I figured what the heck, I will see how the oiled re-useable element does. If I don't want to fool with it, I can buy the dry element just like I was going to for $42 which is close to what a 6637 filter costs. If I want to go with the oiled, all I have to do when I am ready is buy the re-oiling kit for $30 plus s&h (If my old K&N cleaning and oiling kit from my Mustang won't work, does anyone know?). So I basically have options.

Heeeey...you might just be on to something there Pete...

 

I have an S&B on my truck . The previous owner had it on there when I bought my truck . I purchased a new filter to put in it for when I do a wash-out and switch . It saves not having to wait for it to dry before re-oiling . I am thinking next to get the pre-filter wrap for it .

My lid fitting is kinda crappy too . Big gap all along the top edge of the box .

I was informed that the K&N cleaner and oil would work also instead of having to buy the stuff that S&B sells by a sales guy at S&B .

As for the battery tray , it is bigger than the battery but it is held in place with the same method as the battery on the passengers side . No cutting of the tray . If you would like me to take a picture and email it to you , just say the word .

 

You and me both brother.

 

I use the K&N cleaner and oil as well. It's what was available at the time I needed it. Works fine.

 

Good to know that the K&N oiling/cleaning kit will work. I got the tray mounted no problem, it was getting the battery hold down to thread into the tray that would not work, so I hacked it up and used the OEM clip. No need for pics, but thanks.

 

I've been eyeing the S&B for a while now to quiet things down it the cab a bit. Thanks for the write-up.

 

I installed the S&B on Saturday and have similar opinions. I had a hard time with the batterie bracket also. I was able to run the bolt at a bit of an angle and it bit. Also the cover didn't fit good, the air box was racked pretty bad. I installed uppies and a 38r at the same time. The intake pipes for the filter and the turbo took some work to get lined up too. The air box is a bit flimsy for the price in my opinion, so I'll tell myself the additional flow justifies the price.

With the new turbo I have no direct comparison to the 6637. And I'm chasing exhaust leaks.

I was intimidated by the uppies also, but mine came out easy ( the leaks now are payback). I soaked all the fasteners with pb blaster every day for a week before starting. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

 

Since these S&B airboxes are so sloppily built for the money, why do people keep buying and installing them???