Cold Air Intake Worth it
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Mckinney, TX
Cold Air Intake Worth it
Hi folks.
In my old 2001 F250 with its 5.4 the cold air intake gave me a whole 1 mpg increase. Has anyone upgraded and get the same or better performance? Which one did you use?
I am debating it on our 11 Expy to see if it is worth the $300-$400 price tag.
Plus I know there are the questions on how well these things work overall... Sometimes they do not prevent all the dirt from getting to the engine.
In my old 2001 F250 with its 5.4 the cold air intake gave me a whole 1 mpg increase. Has anyone upgraded and get the same or better performance? Which one did you use?
I am debating it on our 11 Expy to see if it is worth the $300-$400 price tag.
Plus I know there are the questions on how well these things work overall... Sometimes they do not prevent all the dirt from getting to the engine.
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Mckinney, TX
The HP I am not all that concerned with. Looking ofr MPG tricks. This is the family vehicle, so more HP is not really needed in this truck... The 5.4 is just dandy for the Expy.
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: RVA
The CAI is commonly referred to around here as "engine bling"...why? Because that's pretty much it's only use on these trucks when used by itself. Now if you were going to change the MAF sensor, add headers, exhaust, and a custom tune to account for all your changes, then I'd say it's worth the money.
Take the money you'll spend on the CAI and call one of the following:
Power Hungry Performance (PHP)
Power Hungry Performance - About Us
5Star Tuning
5 Star Tuning | Custom Dynomemeter Chassis Tuning Products and Services
Troyer Performance
Troyer Performance
Ask them about their hand held tuners and their custom tunes for your truck (engine and tranny). You're not guaranteed to gain MPG, but the changes to the tune and the help in overall driveability will likely net you 1-2mpg if you can stay off the loud pedal.
Take the money you'll spend on the CAI and call one of the following:
Power Hungry Performance (PHP)
Power Hungry Performance - About Us
5Star Tuning
5 Star Tuning | Custom Dynomemeter Chassis Tuning Products and Services
Troyer Performance
Troyer Performance
Ask them about their hand held tuners and their custom tunes for your truck (engine and tranny). You're not guaranteed to gain MPG, but the changes to the tune and the help in overall driveability will likely net you 1-2mpg if you can stay off the loud pedal.
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Mckinney, TX
Thanks for the feedback. It is somewhat interesting.. On my F250 that K&N did add 1 mpg all by itself. But that was a 2001 truck. It is possible the efficiency has gotten so much better that in 2010 you are not really going to gain anything unless you change a lot. And I am not changing all that and voiding a warranty for 1-2 mpg.
It is good to know and why I asked. In todays newer vehicles they (CAI) do not by themselves benefit anything real in terms of MPG.
It is good to know and why I asked. In todays newer vehicles they (CAI) do not by themselves benefit anything real in terms of MPG.
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: RVA
The funny thing is that the CAI is not actually pulling air that is any colder than stock already. Most of the aftermarket kits pull air from inside the engine bay, whereas the stock intake pulls from inside the fender well.
The CAI will provide you with some extra noise, but it won't gain much more than a lighter wallet really.
The stock intake does appear to be more restrictive, but it's pretty well matched to the factory parameters for the volume of air being crammed down the engine's throat. An aftermarket intake will likely allow for more flow, but without changing the MAF to account for the additional volume, what good is it?
The CAI will provide you with some extra noise, but it won't gain much more than a lighter wallet really.
The stock intake does appear to be more restrictive, but it's pretty well matched to the factory parameters for the volume of air being crammed down the engine's throat. An aftermarket intake will likely allow for more flow, but without changing the MAF to account for the additional volume, what good is it?
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From: West Bloomfield, MI
Sorry, typed HP and meant to say MPG.
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From: Broadview Hts, Ohio
Yep, the CAI will provide you with some extra noise, but it won't gain much more than a lighter wallet really. If is fun, though, to hear that intake in tunnels, etc. 
-- Chuck
-- Chuck
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Insteade of paying for the CAI, the tuner is the better bet moneywise. You'll get more out of the tuner than the CAI for roughly the same money. If you want the sound of the CAI and about 75% of the performance from it, yank your stock airbox and remove the air intake silencer that connects the airbox to the fenderwell area. The intake silencer by itself narrows the air inlet to your stock airbox by quite a bit all in an effort to reduce "intake noise" for all the soccer moms out there who want to hear their cell phones while driving little Preston to the water polo event... Removing the silencer opens up the intake to the stock box and still sucks nice, cool, fresh air from the fenderwell instead of the engine compartment. It takes about 20-30 minutes with simple hand tools to pull the stock box, remove the silencer, and stuff it all back together. 
Removing the silencer opens up the intake to the stock box and still sucks nice, cool, fresh air from the fenderwell instead of the engine compartment. It takes about 20-30 minutes with simple hand tools to pull the stock box, remove the silencer, and stuff it all back together.
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Mckinney, TX
Thanks all.. Honestly the only thing I want is MPG.. Do not care about the noise, HP or anything else... just more MPG.. The tuner I was trying to avoid because of warranty issues.. so maybe after it runs out I might think about it.
I forgot that it does make the engine louder... that honestly might be an issue as the wifey drives the expy the most and she might not like it...
So really the tuner might be the better option for what I am looking for.
I forgot that it does make the engine louder... that honestly might be an issue as the wifey drives the expy the most and she might not like it...
So really the tuner might be the better option for what I am looking for.
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: RVA
Yeah I think that if you got a tuner with a nicely programmed "daily driver tune" you'll see some benefit.
Mike @ 5Star does a nice job with the 5.4L with the SCT products.
The guys at PHP do really well with the Edge converted to Gryphon. This is the heads up dash mounted display showing gauges, etc. whereas the SCT is just a plug in, program, and remove, unless you get the Livewire model.
The tuner will give you slight HP increases (maybe 10) and much more useable torque at a much lower RPM which really aides your daily driving. That combined with firmer shifts, a better torque converter lockup strategy, and slightly better driving habits should yeild the MPG increases you're after.
Mike @ 5Star does a nice job with the 5.4L with the SCT products.
The guys at PHP do really well with the Edge converted to Gryphon. This is the heads up dash mounted display showing gauges, etc. whereas the SCT is just a plug in, program, and remove, unless you get the Livewire model.
The tuner will give you slight HP increases (maybe 10) and much more useable torque at a much lower RPM which really aides your daily driving. That combined with firmer shifts, a better torque converter lockup strategy, and slightly better driving habits should yeild the MPG increases you're after.
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Mckinney, TX
Thank you MCDavis... Appreciate the information here. I will take a look and see which one will work out best. This truck is still new, only 12,000 miles on it so the warranty is still very much active. But as these gas prices keep rising the cost\benefit might be sooner then I think.
Great truck\motor and all; but now the 14\15 MPG around town is costing real money. Knew that when I bought it... was thinking\hoping the gas prices not get back up there this soon.
Great truck\motor and all; but now the 14\15 MPG around town is costing real money. Knew that when I bought it... was thinking\hoping the gas prices not get back up there this soon.
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: RVA
You're welcome!
I feel your pain...really I do. I keep a log of all mileage and fillups. I'm stuck right at 13.33 avg mpg over the span of 7 months (6500 miles) I've had my F150. I LOVE the truck, and of course I knew what I was getting into. Previous vehicle was a '99 V8 Explorer. Luckily for me, and unfortunately for the truck, I have just a 4 mile commute so I only fill up about every 11 days on average. I'm pretty excited when my wife gets a new Honda this summer so that can be our primary around town vehicle.
I feel your pain...really I do. I keep a log of all mileage and fillups. I'm stuck right at 13.33 avg mpg over the span of 7 months (6500 miles) I've had my F150. I LOVE the truck, and of course I knew what I was getting into. Previous vehicle was a '99 V8 Explorer. Luckily for me, and unfortunately for the truck, I have just a 4 mile commute so I only fill up about every 11 days on average. I'm pretty excited when my wife gets a new Honda this summer so that can be our primary around town vehicle.
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Freshman User
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From: Mckinney, TX
Yes... your Honda will help you a lot. I am in the process of increasing our kid count from 2 to 3... thus this expy IS the daily driver for the wifey. And why now I am really looking into ways of tweaking as much as possible.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: West Bloomfield, MI
The tuners are somewhat limited for our '07+ Expeditions. I'd really like Edge to come out with a tuner as I had one in my '04 F150 and really liked it. Since I've had to look elsewhere, the SCT and Superchips programmers seem to be available. I don't know much about either company and I'm kinda hoping Edge gets on the ball. I have a gut feeling that as soon as I buy something, Edge will release their tuner for my vehicle.