like most people here, i've upgraded my intake to a filter on a stick. i've also tried cold air intakes. in both instances, i felt gains up top, but lost some torque ( butt dyno). is the stock intake resonator box ( the one inside the bumper ) better for city driving? is it tuned to provide more torque? albeit at the expense of high end performance

 

Well I'm not exactly sure on this. But you're not the only one who seemed to feel a loss down below when the resonators were removed. However, as far as that and aftermarket intakes are concerned, the Comptech Icebox, while a bit expensive, offers gains without the loss down low.

 

I have a feeling that loss of torque or gain in high hp is just placebo effect

butt dynos really are not accurate enough to notice a 2hp change like that

 

if you get air resonating in the intake tube around 2000rpm which the resonator is designed to cancel out then air flow to the intake would be disrupted..its hard to say if it would make a difference or not