Ive got a 96'.Engine is 2.3 4 Cylinder.5 Speed Manual Tranny.Was considering putting the K&N Intake system on it.Has anyone done this or think it may just be a waste of money.Need the Input.Thanks's all.

 

I had a big tube and K&N cone filter on my last truck. I won't be putting one on my current truck.
Dono

 

Well, i went with another brand plus i have another type of engine but i can give you my two cents. From what i hear, they claim to let more air flow through into the engine Matt. So by doing this you will get a little more power and perhaps a little better mpg. If it's just a drop in replacment then it will not be as much of a gain in power/mpg as the entire system that replaces the stock intake. Im not sure how yours is though.

The K&N filters cost more than the regular ones do but i believe they are life-time so in the long run, u will save some money since you only have to clean it out.

 

It would make agood start, but to see real gains, it take a combonation of parts working together. Such as a cold air intake, header, catback exhaust, and a chip. The intake helps on some vehicles more than others, depends how restrictive the factory system is. As a stand alone mod, you may feel it's not worth the money, even though you will ssee an improvement. But if your going to mod your motor further, it's a must have.

 

Wendell hit it perfect. Individually, it'll do little. But combined with other mods, you can notice real power increases.

 

The stock intake flows more air than a 2.3L displacement engine will ever pull, period!! The K&N also passes dirt & oil, and you risk contaminated MAF sensors, and more engine wear. Save your wallet, and your engine, stay with
the OEM paper filter, and change it regularly!

 

AEM NOW MAKES CAI THAT USES AN OILLESS HIGH FLOW FILTER OF EXCELLENT QUAILITY. There is allways room for improvement over the stock closed system, as it's designed to be quiet, not nessesarly for flow. I have heard this ***** about k&N, I have used them for years without one single engine related incident. Lets face it, nothihg is gonna filter as good as a paper element, then again, nothing is going to restrict flow like a paper element either. The biggest problem with k&n and ford, is too much oil when you clean it, and it gets on the maf. That is why I'm switching to aem products. Now like Bob Ayers said, your stock system will supply all the air you need, unless you plan to really modify your engine. Just buying a cai for 20 hp over stock, isn't gonna happen, you may see 3-5 hp, so is that worth 300.00 bucks? Your the only one that can anwser that, because your the only one who knows what you want to do with your truck.

 

The 2.3L takes the same air filter as the 3.0L and 4.0L (Motorcraft FA1658).
With CAFE, do you really think Ford (or any other vehicle manufacturer for that matter) would design an intake to be restrictive to affect efficiency and/or MPG? I don't think so!!! So, there isn't any way the 2.3L will benefit
anything by changing the intake!!!!

 

I did the K & N FIPK kit recently on my ranger with a 3.0, on the exhaust end I had a flowmaster muffler installed. The main thing I have noticed is increased throttle response. Is it worth it or not, that's up to you, to me it was, but as someone pointed out in an earlier post, it's a combination of several little things that will overall make a difrence. Now that I have the K & N and exhaust done, my nest step is a programmer. The three combined will make a decent change from stock.

 

Other than making more noise, I would say that you might get a slight performance increase do to WWR (wallet weight reduction). There was a guy with a 3.0L that posted his own dyno runs, with different mods (K&N was one of them) and he saw absolutely no difference over stock. Notice, that
these were truely independent runs!! My concern is for kids financially, who
get sucked into blowing their money on mods that do absolutely nothing!!

 

I will stand by my original reply that what I noticed most was increased throtle repsonse. My K & N came with a dyno test chart stating for the 3.0 a 5.5hp gain, I tend to beleive those stats because if you increase you air flow, intake and exhaust, there is an increase in HP. Now weather it's worth it or not, that's up to the individual, but it's a combination of things that will make for a noticable increase in HP, in my case, the programmer being the next mod I will do, I expect the combination of those three mods to make a difrence. If you go by the dyno test from the K & N FIPK kit, and the dyno test from the company I am planning to purchase a programmer from I should see a total of about 15 more HP. I disagree with your statement about kids blowing money on mods that due absolutely nothing if it is refering to the K & N, increasing your air flow increases your HP, that is a fact you can not dispute. While you might not consider it worth the cost, that's just your opinion, others, like myself, might consider it one of the mods that are worth the price of doing, and for the record, I am not a kid and I don't waste my money -

 

Obviously, you aren't an engineer either. If you calculate the amount of air
an engine will pull (3.0L in your case), changing the intake WILL NOT increase
the amount of air flow. The amount of air flow is going to be limited by the
engine displacement, and the diameter of the intake runners in the intake
manifold. DO NOT believe the K&N DYNO results!!! Here are the truely
independent DYNO results for a 3.0L:

http://www.jackphelps.com/ranger/airboxmod.htm

 

I wanted more power so i just went ahead and bought a entirely new intake system that replaced the airbox and snorkle. It did add more power. From what you guys said, im very glad i didnt drop in a K&N into my airbox that now sits in the garage haha.

 

Unfortunately, those don't work either. Unless you installed it so it doesn't
pull hot under the hood air, you probably are getting a performance decrease
due to the lower density of hot air. Notice that the original OEM air box pulls
cool air in from beside the grill.......

 

I totaly agree, however I did notice a very nice performance increase above 3000 rpms. It's still kinda hard to believe because every time i ran the 1/4 mile, my times werent too great. So it could all be in my head. I just remember testing out right after i installed and it pulled harder when it got above 3000 rpms.

None the less, I do need to make an new airbox with some sort of tubing so it does not put air from under the hood. With the set up i have now, it's wide open to the engine heat under the hood.