I've got an AEM Brute Force CAI, and when I bought it 3 years ago, I don't remember it coming with the rubber to put on top of the air box to seal it. I'm thinking about finding something to use, like weather stripping or something. Would it even be worth messing with? What I mean by this is will it lower my IATs a noticeable amount?

 

I'd say you won't notice a diffrence but subliminally in your mind, you'll be at peace because that part is on there now. That type of CAI is not so much effective on lowering the IAT's because there is no sealed housing offering any true "cold air" or ram-induction and they offer no insulating properties. So in affect, the hood seal being missing would probably make no performance gains at all.

The systems like a Volant or the new Injen system that uses an insulated housing are far more productive.

I personally like the GM Performance Parts Cold air intake. It uses a sealed filter housing with removable lid, for racing or so forth. But truth be known, you can use your factory air box, which makes a great insulated housing, but just cut a hole on the bottom and route you a tube out the bottom for a true "cold air" affect.

 

I have an AEM brute force for my truck and when I scanned intake air temps, found that it pulls a lot of hot air unless you are driving on the freeway. The stock airbox runs about ten degrees above ambient, and takes at least ten minutes of idling to get iat's well above twenty or more over ambient. With the AEM intake, I was seeing over 30 to 40 over ambient, 85 that dayl. I was thinking of putting a lid on mine and sealing thecracks with foam, but I've gone back to the stock setup for now.