Just installed the Volant on my 05 Titan. Have only driven about 20 miles or so with it, but it has an odd sound. I say odd, because I had a CAI on my Dakota and it had the typical whoosh, sucking sound when you hit about 2500 rpm or so.

This does the same but at about 3500 or so, it gets an annoying sound that reminds me of a vibration. It's a hollow, resonating sound that vibrates my eardrums. Checked the obvious things. Box is bolted down good and all connections are tight. Only thing I think it might be (besides typical of the Volant) is that the rubber sleeve on the filter projects through the hole in the box and the clamp is on the outside of the box. I suppose it could be that this is vibrating against the side of the box, but don't think so. The clamp is far enough away that it shouldn't touch and I'd think if the rubber sleeve was impacting the box, it'd actually be quieter than if the hard plastic of the tube were hitting.

Question is, is this typical of the Volant? I've never heard anyone say there's made this sound. If it's not typical, any ideas on the cause? How about you Volant owners out there. Does any of this ring a bell?

Other than that, installation was a snap. Both band clamps for the sleeve where it connects to the intake were too small, so I replaced them, but all in all, it's a very well made unit and fits very nicely in the truck. Doesn't look like an add on at all. I particularly like the gasket that makes for a nice fit between the box and the hole in the fender.

Any assistance or advice would be appreciated.

Regards,

John

I experienced the same thing on my 2004 Titan. I finally figured out that it was the plastic intake box that was humming and vibrating. It was so bad, you could hear the dashboard vibrate when you hit 3500-4500 rmp in 3rd or 4th gear on the highway (when you were in that rpm range for a longer time than in 1st or 2nd gear.) To confirm my suspiscion, I removed just the box and put the cone filter on the end of the intake tube. Without the box, it sounded great. I know I had the box bolted down good, and I had the foam pad underneath it as well between it and the frame. I liked the idea of a true C.A.I., but I decided to sell the Volant and get the AEM brute force intake with a heat shield. It will suck in more hot air than the Volant, but most of the increase in power is from the increase airflow anyway. I hope this helps, glad to see I am not the only one who encountered this negative aspect of the Volant.

I can't help here, I have no problems what so ever with mine! Do you have the rubber gasket under the lid? Also, JetTech drilled holes and added a couple screws in the top of his lid. You may try that if it could possibly be the lid vibrating.

Jace, what you describe is exactly what I'm experiencing. It is actually pretty annoying, and like you found, it actually vibrates the dashboard. I can feel and hear the dashboard vibrate when it hits that rpm level.

Odd. With some experimentation, I hope I can isolate the problem. You say you removed the box and it went away? I also put the foam pad underneath as it says to do. I wonder if that is why they provide the pad, as it doesn't look like the box would rub against the fender too much or remove any paint.

I've used and seen quite a few aftermarket CAI's and the Volant seems to be made really well and doesn't appear to be an aftermarket part. I'd hate to have to toss it and get something else without trying to fix this problem.

Any ideas out there?

Yeah, BixLL the rubber gasket is under the lid. Tomorrow, I'll try to torque it down some and make a few adjustments to see if it goes away. I may also try removing just the box to see if it goes away as reported. That should help isolate the problem. If it's the box, I imagine it can be tracked down somehow. I did a search here and over at TT and this does not appear to be a problem that is widespread among Volant owners. Makes me think I can isolate and eliminate it without too much trouble.

I'll keep looking and with any luck will find the problem.

Regards,

John

Mine also has that resonation. Since the Volant tube replaces the stocker with the resonance chambers, I knew this would be a side effect. I just accept it. I drive like a grandma on the street so I'm usually not even getting up to the resonance rpms.

I would imagine most people experience this "resonating hum" from their volant intake. I guess it varies based on how you drive and how much noise tolerance you have. At first, I liked the loud and mean sound it made, but after a few weeks it started getting annoying. I guess I am getting old. When I was 16 yrs old, nothing was ever loud enough. Any way, try removing the box, and put the filter back on the end of the tube. Their is not much supporting it at that point (except the metal clamps along the intake) but their is not much weight to support. I drove around like this for a few days, checking the clamps periodically. Without the box, it sounded much better. Still strong with a nice swoosh sound, but not with the annoying hum of the plastic box. I also did some tests with my G-Tech and still got the same performace increase that I had with the box in place. The number were near identical and this was after driving a half hour, so the engine was definitely hot. This is why I think that the majority of the performace gain is from the increased airflow, not necessarily the CAI aspect. It would be great to have both, but it's not worth it to me. The AEM Brute Force intake has a heat sheild and should do the trick for me. Not ideal, but like I said, the numbers were the same without using the volant box at all, let aone with a heat shield. Also, the Volant just wasn't pretty. The box lid looked nice, but the intake tube looked cheap with a poorly printed logo on it. I plan on going to some local shows, so the AEM will look much better when I pop the hood.

Well, I experimented with the intake half the day today. If I remove the lid, it cuts the annoying resonating sound in half. If I remove the box entirely, it eliminates it. Still have the rush of air and woosh, but not the hollow, vibrating sound. Tried to use large fender washers and bolt the box down nice and tight. Also used four additional screws to hold the lid down. Only way to get rid of the very annoying sound was to remove the box entirely, which I finally did.

Cone filter still hangs very close to the main air inlet, so we'll see how it does in these hot SoCal summer months. Doubt I'll have a problem.

Too bad I paid extra for the box and cover only to toss it out. Oh well.

Regards,

John

JohnHarden: I am eventually going to get this package of the Volant/Airaid throttle body spacer. Have you heard of the same with the
throttle body spacer at this point? Hopefully not. I plan to trim the Volant tube at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch before and try to add some extra "buffer" so
I do not encounter the same as you (hopefully) :!: :roll:

Mick, the most credible post I've seen on the throttle body to date is that it does provide measurable gains in torque and a few hp as indicated on dyno runs before and after. Can't remember who posted that (JetTech?).

Yes, installing the throttle body will push out the Volant tube closer to the fan shroud, so you'll have to trim some off the tube where it connects to the throttle body. Shouldn't be a problem doing this.

To be clear, I don't have an issue with the Volant tube at all. It's not impacting the fan shroud or any other part. The vibration and hollow sound are coming from the box, not the tube or filter cone.

My experience with the Volant CAI seems to be in the minority. I've read lots of posts from folks who have had one a very long time and don't have issues with it.

This could mean that they are not having the same annoying vibration I'm experiencing, that they are having it and aren't annoyed by it like I am, or a combination of the two. Who knows.

Can't say I'm disappointed too much in it. As I posted, I simply removed the box, which did away with the vibration. Now, it sounds like every other CAI I've ever installed myself or heard on another truck. Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to direct cold air only to it, but since I don't track or dyno my truck, I'll never notice if it actually develops 8 instead of the 9 hp gains others here have experienced on a dyno with the Volant.

Just read a post by someone who stated he put about 2" of foam around his Volant box and this did away with the vibration sound. I suppose this might work, but I'd rather not have the look of that under the hood. I'll just leave it the way I have it for now.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

John

You might try a sound deadening product like Dyna mat on the inside of the box. It is used in autos to quiet the interiors. I never used it but I believe it's cut peel and stick.

Check out this site... http://www.b-quiet.com/?ovrtr

I have not received my Volant yet but if it shows the same issue I will surely give it a try. The plastic that the box is made of may just be too thin to dissapate the harmonics of the intake pulses..and all that mumbo jumbo

Jim in PA

I must be one of the few that don't have the issues you described with the Volant CAI.

BUT I did install an extra rubber seal around the end where the intake goes out the fender. It seemed reasonable to me that without that, it would rattle. (I got the idea from watching the torque on my 1978 Trans Am Shaker Hood do a similar thing.)

No problems, no noise.

Hope this helps.

Mike