Cold air intake

[toomanytoys]

Im looking for a CAI for my 98 expy 5.4. I was looking at the K&N and some others. What are you guys running? What about throttle spacers?

 

[sngltrck1]

I installed the AFE unit on my 98 EB. Noticed an immediate "seat of the pants" feel on take-off and 1-2 mpg increase. There is an increase in the sound, however, kinda sounds like sucking thru clenched teeth with a slight whistle at times. Soon I'll add the magnaflow on the other side and see what that does! Like your last 2 toys btw.

Darin

 

[97_edition]

Has anyone ever used the Volant CAI. I found a guy that has one of these kits on his expy. He said he would sell it to me for $80. Here is the link to it. http://www.modbargains.com/_e/Intakes/product/Volant_Cool_Air_Intake_Ford_Expedition_DC/Volant_Cool_Air_Intake_W_Box_for_Ford_Expedition_1996_06.htm

Let me know worth $80? He also has the cleaning kit for it.

 

[tonydiv]

I think that although the chromed or stainless kits look cooler, the plastic kits probably operate cooler.
I often look at mine and think that it probably lets more engine heated air in to the system than the stock one did.

 

[tritonman5.4]

i have the plastic k&n kit on my expo if u want to run cooler that the way to go like Tony said

 

[pathologyknight]

i've got the K&N intake kit in my 07 and like it. i saw about a 1mpg increase.

 

[Condog09]

Cold Air Intakes

My opinion on a cold air intake system wont really benefit your vechicles like you may think. If you have done other mods like a bigger throttle body and a better exhaust system it wont really do a whole lot. You guys may think it is cause it makes a cool sound but in all reality it wont be worth the money to hp ratio. Also most people will take what they already have, which is RAM air like the ones that come through your fender well or actually come from an outside source, and eliminate it and put that cool looking k&n under their hood which will pull in hot air from your engine which wont help at all.

 

[tritonman5.4]

My opinion on a cold air intake system wont really benefit your vechicles like you may think. If you have done other mods like a bigger throttle body and a better exhaust system it wont really do a whole lot. You guys may think it is cause it makes a cool sound but in all reality it wont be worth the money to hp ratio. Also most people will take what they already have, which is RAM air like the ones that come through your fender well or actually come from an outside source, and eliminate it and put that cool looking k&n under their hood which will pull in hot air from your engine which wont help at all.

so if i got that induction cone that is attached to the inner finder it should help draw in cooler air explain how u think the factory intake works better i mean this have been on my mine so hopefully you can clear this up

 

[seeker]

Jumping in with both feet or my 2 cents worth.

I have always wanted to put in a cai on my expy. I am just not buying the hype yet. My problem is the heat that the tubing absorbs from the engine bay. Aluminum is a great conductor of heat. So I have ruled that out. Plastic is fair but heats up as well. Carbon fiber tubing is cost prohibitive for the most part. And is anyone insulating the tubing?

I have read where people have gone the diy route with steal tubing that they have painted with ceramic paints inside and out. The claim is these remain very cool under operation. I am still on the fence about that method. Is any one method truely providing the engine with cooler air than stock setups or
are customers buying the "cool" look?

It would be great to see a real world comparison of several makes and models of cai's. External engine temps, tubing temps and internal air temps of those tested could be compared. (if anyone has seen a legitimate comparison, please share). Until then I just might try a drop in k&n filter, find a better MAF sensor and replace the muffler with one that has less restricted flow.

 

[OVERK|LL]

I can't remember if I found it on this site or another, but basically:

1. Remove the silencer baffle from the large elbow leading to the throttle body
2. Remove the air horn leading into the airbox and replace with 3" PVC pipe

Both pieces of tubing are SMALLER than the throttle body, so they are definitely a restriction.

The intake is somewhat louder with this setup however. As far as price goes, you need about 6" of PVC pipe and a joiner to attach it to the end of the airbox. You are looking at under $10.00 in total.

A pair of good needle nose pliers and some effort is all that is needed to remove the upstream silencer in the elbow.

You get to retain the factory CAI (air from within the fender; great spot to get it from) and piping, whilst reaping the benefits of increased airflow.

 

[Condog09]

so if i got that induction cone that is attached to the inner finder it should help draw in cooler air explain how u think the factory intake works better i mean this have been on my mine so hopefully you can clear this up

Im saying that people go out and buy the cold air intake system that is placed into the engine bay which will just suck in the heated air from the motor itself. If you already have the intake system that will draw in air from the outside of the vehicle it will perform better. I am not sure what you mean by what you have is different than what i am trying to explain. ?

 

[tritonman5.4]

Im saying that people go out and buy the cold air intake system that is placed into the engine bay which will just suck in the heated air from the motor itself. If you already have the intake system that will draw in air from the outside of the vehicle it will perform better. I am not sure what you mean by what you have is different than what i am trying to explain. ?

theres a cone shape thing attach to the inner fender under the hood to help draw in colder air it comes right after the filter do you know about it??

 

[happyexped]

Cai

Glad to see this topic come up. I was planning on getting one too, but wanted to ask what the best set up is for the money. I had a 92 Honda Civic that I put an aluminum AEM CAI on, and it was great. I picked up 7-10 hp, and increased mpg by about 5. I measured the temp on mine after running for about 1/2 an hour at freeway speeds, and it didn't seem that hot from the engine. I do notice that performance is better when the air is cold and heavy.

So, I'm still waiting for the perfect answer here.

I do know that a "cold air intake" pulls air outside the engine compartment. If it doesn't do that, it's just an air intake.

 

[Eric]

What I don't get is the K&N cold air intake pulls air from inside the engine compartment, whereas the factory plenum pulls air from inside the fender well. The air under the hood is much warmer than in the fender well, so I'm not sure the name "cold air" intake is accurate.

Clearly the intake is better designed in that it's less restrictive and the conical shaped filter will certainly allow more air at higher RPM. K&N states in their dyno tests the 5.4 3 valve motor had a 15.4 increase in HP at 3,829 RPM, sos this tells me it's a breathing issue and not just "cold" air. But unless you are running around wide open all the time I doubt you will see much of an increase in HP or gas mileage when runing under 2,000 RPM.

 

[happyexped]

Cai

I agree with Eric. The K&N air filter is worth the purchase, but not their "Cold Air Intake". It seems that higher revving engines get more out of them than our big V-8's.

 

[pathologyknight]

i did the k&N intake and it get's it air from the same place as the stock intake. of course mine is an 07, so i'm not familar with the older ones. The K&N intake uses the bottom air box from the factory. it pretty much just replaces the stock intake with a single tube and uses their K&N filter. it's pretty simple and i like it. it doesn't make any weird sounds or anything. i don't know if it was worth the cost, but it's nice to have. i saw some mpg improvement too. you won't see any hp increase unless your at WOT, which i never am. for the freeway and around town, it works fine. Using the factory lower air box is nice too, but a DIY job with a nice filter would do the same thing.

 

[Condog09]

theres a cone shape thing attach to the inner fender under the hood to help draw in colder air it comes right after the filter do you know about it??

Yes i do understand and know about the cone. I believe to my best knowledge that if you would replace the stock paper air filter with a k&n you will get a hp increase but nothing extremely major. I have dyno tested and proven that a k&n air filter will give you more hp. In my case tho it was on a small block chevy 350. Also i do not and never will believe in a cold air intake like the ones you guys believe in. Its a scam and wont help do anything unless you have done mods to your engine. It may sounds different and that is about all you will get out of it. The stock set up was made by engineers for a reason and what makes you believe they would put an intake system on a vehicle that wouldnt work best for the application, in this case, a ford engine either a 4.6 or 5.4. trition engine. Do you or do you not agree with my theory?

 

[Spoon-Man]

Yes i do understand and know about the cone. I believe to my best knowledge that if you would replace the stock paper air filter with a k&n you will get a hp increase but nothing extremely major. I have dyno tested and proven that a k&n air filter will give you more hp. In my case tho it was on a small block chevy 350. Also i do not and never will believe in a cold air intake like the ones you guys believe in. Its a scam and wont help do anything unless you have done mods to your engine. It may sounds different and that is about all you will get out of it. The stock set up was made by engineers for a reason and what makes you believe they would put an intake system on a vehicle that wouldnt work best for the application, in this case, a ford engine either a 4.6 or 5.4. trition engine. Do you or do you not agree with my theory?

Sorry, I don't agree with your theory for the most part. If you look at a stock air intake it dose not flo well. now getting air from inside your engine bay is not cold air, but a smoother line of flo is always better. if you just replace the tubing from your stock air box to your throtle body this will help more. Think of it this way air in and out should flo with very little restriction..

 

[Stoned06]

This is an issue that has had many discussions over the years. The CAI that you typically purchase are not "cold air" intakes. True cold air will pull or push air from outside the engine compartment like Condog said. I have seen ram air kits that retrofit to the "cold air" intakes that will help bring in the cooler air.
That being said, when the vehicle is moving, the air under the hood will circulate and cooler air will naturally find it's way to the filter, so the temperature difference shouldn't be significantly different than the stock setup which pulls air from the fender.
Where the "CAI" systems do help is by increasing the air flow with a better flowing filter and smoother tubes, thus increasing the HP, albeit just a little.
I had a CAI on my supercharged Harley Davidson F150, and it was proven on a Dyno to increase the boost by 1 psi, or roughly 12 HP, but only after the engine was tuned and had higher boost pullies added to it. On the stock engine, it did nothing but sound meaner. You really have to pulling (or pushing) the air quickly through them for a large benefit. The manufacturer of the kit (Johnny Lightning) even stated that the kits won't do much until the engine is modified a bit and moving down the road, as he designed them for the 1/4 mile.

 

[97_edition]

Well I got this CAI from the guy. Along with some other parts. It looks like it is going to work pretty well. It has a completely enclosed box that fits snug against the side fender well where the intake tube attaches to the factory box. As soon as I get the filter cleaned and oiled I will putting it on. Here is the stock picture of it.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.