Brute Force Sequoia

Typically, an aftermarket air intake is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to add some additional horsepower to your SUV's powerplant. Although power increases are usually minimal -- typically from 3 to 10 hp -- that extra boost is often well worth the effort.

AEM, a company that has an excellent track record in supplying performance products for the sport compact car market, has recently been focusing on SUVs and is now supplying its Brute Force intake system for a wide variety of sport utility applications. Since we've heard good things about AEM and its SUV intake systems, we decided to outfit our Project Sequoia with the Brute Force system to see the effectiveness of the product for ourselves.

We took a trip to AEM's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to have the Brute Force system installed by AEM's highly capable technicians. Our project Toyota was to be the first Sequoia to receive the system. AEM had developed a system for the Tundra, which basically has the same 4.7L engine configuration as the Sequoia, so mating a Brute Force intake to our Project Sequoia was a snap. The entire installation took under an hour, and when finished, gave our engine bay a polished look and a performance attitude.

During the next several days after it was installed, we had plenty of seat time in the Sequoia to gauge the effects of the new intake, and we can honestly say, it is the most impressive intake we've tested to date. When the throttle is punched, especially while cruising the freeways at legal speed, the added power can definitely be felt, and the sound of additional air being sucked into the intake is sweet indeed. During dyno testing of the Brute Force unit, a gain of 15.1 hp was measured (see accompanying chart), which is phenomenal for an intake system alone.

Follow along as the AEM technicians install the Brute Force intake system on our project Sequoia. The result is a system that looks great sitting in the engine bay, and one that offers definite performance results.