I bought the Volant and have installed it on my 05 Lariat. It's a real nice unit but to get it the way I wanted it I removed it and made a couple of modifications. First, I think the manufacturer should do a little better on the installation instructions. I'm an engineer so figuring it out was no problem but they basically give you a drawing of all the components but no real tips on installation. TIP TO VOLANT - Improve your installation instructions.

I learned several things while removing and reinstalling it 3 times. When I first put it in I used two mounting bolts in the existing holes in the air box. One actually went right into the welded nut insert on the tray. I was quite pleased with that. On the other I used a series of large washer above and below since that hole was over a cutout in the tray.

So, then I drove it. It's way too loud for me. I've heard other complain about the AF1 and I bet this is much quieter due to one of the inlet interfacing with the factory fender wall hole. It's still too loud. I mean this truck is super smooth and quiet with an awesome sound system and now it interfered with the quality of the truck ride. There was the huge "sucking" sound and incredible buzzing that could be felt throughout the cab of the truck and even made the steering wheel vibrate.

So the first mod was to cap off the lower hole that is used if you buy the ram tube. I didn't want the tube so a simple 3" ABS pipe cap from the local hardware store was and easy remedy. I used a little bit of silicon and pushed it on. It was a nice snug fit and didn't take more than a couple of seconds to install. Note - installing it the first time and reinstalling the airbox was difficult due to a plastic electronic module mounted to the fender well behind the intake opening. I realized on the second attempt that if you just squeeze the plastic clips together you can remove the module and lay it to the side to give you more clearance to snake the box down in the opening. Once passed that point it was a breeze to install. TIP TO VOLANT - include one of these caps in the kit and revise your installation instructions to give people a heads up that temporary removal of the electronic module will greatly ease installation and prevent tearing of the rubber seal that interfaces to the fender wall (yes I tore mine on the first attempt....grrrrrrrrr).

The sound was decreased to a reasonable level but the buzzing was still there.

Well, back under the hood and sure enough the whole box is free to shake and rattle. Pull it out again and time to add some vibration pad between the bottom of the air box and the mounting tray. Also, I drilled a third hole toward the front of the vehicle about six inches from the back left hole. It was right over another one of the cutouts on the tray. So, with the padding in place and three solid mounting bolts all was fine. I thought about this when I pulled it the second time and wish I would have done it then. Oh well, I was in a hurry (mistake). The box is not solidly mounted with some vibration padding between the box and the tray. the intake tube lays on top of the mounting bracket that the factory intake was bolted to (left of the air box). I didn't like that so I added a nylon tie strap to be sure it wouldn't bounce. TIP TO VOLANT - add vibration damping pads to the bottom of your air box or include a sheet of sticky back foam rubber to be used during installation (sticky side to mounting tray). Also, make a nice strap bracket to interface with the original mounting bolt so that is makes it a super clean installation.

Bottom line

Best looking kit on the market. Looks more stock and pulls air in from coldest possible locations.
Add vibration pads to bottom of box.
Use at least three mounting bolts.
Do something to strap the air tube down.
2000-3000 rpm is real nice improvement. Noise level is only noticealy under WOT or under heavy load in the 2000-3000 rpm range. At higher rpm's it is not a low base sound but a higher pitched sound which is real sweet. At part throttle up to about 2500 (nice slow smoother acceleration) it isn't even noticeable from a sound perspective.
I also have a Superchips 1745 and this also helped that mid range surging/lean feeling.

One last thing I forgot the first time. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ever came on.

I'M REALLY SATISFIED

VOLANT - PLEASE TAKE MY SUGGESTIONS AND IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCT. Freebies for my help wouldn't hurt either (hey doesn't hurt to ask). Maybe a free replacement element and a new rubber seal that I ripped.

 

Good writeup! Helps all of us non-engineering types out here!

 

E-mail them, who knows if they even use the forum. Next everyone will be asking for free **** when they do a write up. If you like them so much SUPPORT the company and buy their product. <- (period)

 

So, after you buy a Volant you have to redesign it to make it work?

 

jpdadeo, you know how much i hate your dumb posts on the AF1 and i am a product fan of volant, but i was thinking the same thing.

Why not just buy something that already works instead of modifying it because your an "engineer" I'm not an engineer and i can modify anything to work on my truck

 

asinatra, I don’t have anything against Volant, they look great but I went the way I did based on Mike’s say-so from reading all his post and phone conservations I had with him. He convinced me he new his stuff, so I decided to follow his recommendations.

I’ll try not to make them sound dumb anymore

 

Everything and everybody can stand improvement. If the Model A were a perfect vehicle then we would only have Model A's on the road. I modify it because I can (that's what engineer's do) and I do it to aerospace standards. Not may people can claim that.

 

So...you're a rocket scientist?

 

Well, as a matter of fact I am. Purdue University major in Propulsion (air breathing and rocket, both solid and liquid fueled). Don't you just hate when that happens!

 

ive got just one bolt holding my volant in, and its pretty solid. no other mods though, it does make a bit of noise at certain RPM but i havent capped off the bottom hole yet, i may try it this week

 

Have you done any optomizing with the location of the air filter element (against the inside left wall all the way or closer to the edge)?

 

I did!

 

I also have just one bolt holding my Volant in. Installing the other one meant removing the wheel well liner, which I didn't want to deal with.

Personally, I like the increased noise and people, you have to expect more noise with intake kits. All factory intake setups are designed to muffle sound. If you remove them you WILL get more noise. In my truck, I especially get a loud resonance and vibration under load, going uphill at about 55-65 mph.

I concur with the lack of installation instructions. You do have to figure out what goes where but it's pretty straightforward.

My only gripe is that Volant was supposed to send me a redesigned tube 4 months ago but after several calls they still haven't shipped me one.

 

Yeah, I agree that the only bad part was the resonance. It isn't so bad, but I had noticeable vibration that was slightly dampened with the rubber pads. I didn't have any trouble getting my arm under the box to install the 2nd and 3rd bolts. It seemed easier from the back of the box (firewall side).

 

Has anyone tried different positions of the air filter on the inlet pipe? I want to know if this affects sound.