Intake- and exhaust-system upgrades are two of the most popular modifications done by off-road enthusiasts. Not only is just about every truck in the dirt running these aftermarket parts, but they are also usually the two first installed. Not only do both of these mods make your ride sound a ton better, but we feel they are necessities to the life of your off-road toy. A good intake system will help keep all that dirt out of your engine, and a solid exhaust system will ensure your ride breathes properly for many years to come. Not to mention that together they will provide additional horsepower, which is always a good thing. Our friends over at Volant Performance heard we were building a new '08 Toyota Tundra and wanted us to check out their new systems. We spent the past eight months with their intake and exhaust on our truck, and here are our thoughts.
Fast-forward eight months later when we opened the air box for the first time (the pictures you see here). Our entire engine bay was covered in dirt just like most off-road toys are. We removed the filter to see if any rocks, birds, or old paper cups had made their way into our box. Much to our surprise, not only was the filter clean, but the inside of the box was clean as well. Knocking the filter against the ground spilled out much less dirt than we normally saw from your average non-oiled filter. The internal portion of the filter was extremely clean, still looking as if it were installed the same day. Will this filter take us to 100,000 miles as Volant says? Only time will tell, but so far it's doing its job very well.
So how is the exhaust doing? Exhaust systems take a while to settle in and reveal their true sound. After about a week, ours did just that, and it sounded great. Now, with a lot of miles of abuse on it and having plenty of rocks being thrown at it in the dirt, we take a look. The stainless steel body is holding up great. There are no dents, tears, or noticeable marks ... just a whole bunch of dirt. All of our connections are still strong as we checked them. The polished tip is still in great shape, as is each hanger. With the extra sound volume from the dumped end, the truck is still loud but in a good way. On the freeway cruising at about 75 mph, it's a noticeable low throaty sound that doesn't drown out your radio. Sending the gas pedal to the floor really brings the exhaust and intake to life, and we did notice an increased throttle response and a little more get-up-and-go.
 The Volant Intake System is...  The Volant Intake System is made up of three sections: Volant Ram Filter, Volant Filter Box, and Volant Air Duct. The installation was so easy that it's barely worth mentioning. Unbolt the factory air-intake system and bolt the new one in its place - very simple. Installed, the new intake looks big and mean just like our truck. |  The top section of the air-filter...  The top section of the air-filter box is not carbon fiber but has a carbon-fiber design for good looks and can be removed with five screws, revealing the Volant PowerCore filter. The intake box is a crosslink polyethylene filter box that insulates and protects the filter from pulling hot air from the engine compartment, thus increasing horsepower. The air-duct section is also crosslink polyethylene, which has been sculptured to give the engine a less restrictive air pass to breathe. Larger diameters, unique bends, and smooth transitions give you increased horsepower and awesome throttle response. |  The Volant Exhaust System...  The Volant Exhaust System is manufactured from mandrel-bent, T304 stainless steel and is precision TIG-welded. It also includes a double-wall tip. It is fully polished, giving our undercarriage a bit of bling, which also looked great at the '07 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. |
 The filter is held in place...  The filter is held in place with the use of a hose clamp and can be easily removed for cleaning. Cleaning is the best part of this system because the PowerCore filter is a 100,000-mile, maintenance-free filter using no oil. Yes, we said 100,000 miles. Precision pleat geometry optimizes airflow throughout the intake system. Volant claims an additional 21 hp on its dyno from the intake alone. |  The installation of the exhaust...  The installation of the exhaust was about as easy as the intake. We removed the factory exhaust and bolted the new Volant system in place. Total install time of both the intake and exhaust was one hour. The system connects to both tubes coming off each catalytic converter and shoots all the way out the passenger-side rear. |  Considering all of the suspension...  Considering all of the suspension and body modification we did to our Tundra, the back section of the exhaust had to be modified. We had the end of the exhaust pipe dumped over the axle instead of coming out the side because of the cut bedsides. It just didn't look right. This did increase the sound volume of our exhaust. |