Has anyone installed and tested a K & N FIPK or a Volant complete intake kit? If so, do they increase hp and fuel
mileage or a waste?

thanks Duke T ,

 

I've been wondering the same thing. I'm not looking for more HP but more gas milage. There has to be some one here that can comment.

 

I have a generation 1 FIPK on my '97 SOHC. It does nothing for fuel mileage but is slightly noticeable in the seat of the pants whenever the outside temperature is below 90°F. The reason it won't help your mileage is because most of your driving is spent at cruise speed (i.e. low RPMs, with minimal load). Under these conditions, your factory air-box can provide more than enough air for your engine. Also, the restrictions don't come into play until you are at higher RPMs. I never measured the inlet to my factory air-box, but just from memory I think it is about 2 1/2". I work for a flow meter manufacturer and one of our products measures exhaust flow rate. Our 500 ACFM unit is used on engines up to 5.7/5.8L. If I remember correctly from my time spent at Ford's Allen Park test labs, a 4.0L engine can only pump about 400 ACFM of air at maximum RPM. A 2 1/2" line size is good for up to 400 ACFM. In other words, trying to suck anything above 400 ACFM through 2 1/2" or smaller will result in a restriction. The factory airbox is just large enough to provide adequate airflow to a 4.0L at the factory RPM limits. If you done any modifications that raise your RPMs or reduced your restrictions on the exhaust side, an FIPK will be more easily felt in the seat of your pants. An increase in mileage though you won't see.

 

Argggggggg. Is there any thing we can do to get better gas milage? I plan on keeping my 03EB for a long time so I don't mind spending a few $$$ now to save more in the long run.

 

Hi guys,

Just wanted to drop a quick note, I have the Volant cold-air intake kit on my 99 SOHC, and I love it. The nice rumble was an unexpected surprise, however I will say I had a night-and-day increase in HP.

When I first took it out, I was leery because I didn't feel a noticeable difference off the line, so I took it on the freeway... and my $200 paid for itself right away! My only complaint with the Exploder SOHC was my inability to accelerate quickly near and above 55mph. When I'm passing on the freeway, I used to have to floor the pedal to get the girl to downshift and overrev the engine. Now, I have complete accel/decel control without ever leaving 5th, or downshifting.

I do have an increase in MPG, only about 2-3 mpg with optimistic math, however I did a few other improvements at the same time so I can't tie it to the volant. I also put on motorcraft double-plat plugs, bosch MAG wires, new rotors and brakes all the way around.

Ok so the quick note idea got out of control, and now I have a question for anybody else who has a Volant in their 4.0 SOHC, could I get a pic of your setup, or a description of the connector pieces? I got an "open-box" kit, which is Best Buy talk for no instructions, and some of the components didn't seem to fit as well as they should... like the collars.

 

If I had the 4.0, I would get the Volant over the the K&N.


(What a thread resurrection!!!! )

 

Volant over K&N...why?

Please explain, I have never herd of Volant before...

 

Do they make a cold air intake for the V8, if so which ones are good ???

 

I think one of the site sponsors is a dealer for Volant - you might want to check there. For the price, the Volant is better constructed, and is more solid of a unit than the K&N. The Volant also comes with a 'cage' to help keep some of the hot engine compartment air from recirculating through the system. It helps pull more cold air than the K&N...

 

No one makes a true cold air kit fo rthe 5.0's. The closest thing is the K&N FIPKII and the MAC kit. The problem is you will still be pulling in hot air from the engine compartment. I am working on fabricating a tube to run down to the front airdam and go to the mass air and filter. This way, I will be pulling outside air instead of engine compartment air.

 

I had a CRAZY idea once, never tried it though....

Make a cold air intake kit that will double as a snorket (kind of).

The colder the air the more dense it is...right...The better for your engine(performance wise).

So why not have an air intake kit that gets the cold air from the cabin...your sitting in your rig with the a/c at full blast and you want better performance from your engine... why not share the cold air the engine? Now thats a cold air intake....CRAZY RIGHT...it will double as a snorkel too, no worries of getting mud, water or even sand.
You will have to replace/clean your filter alot less too.

Just a CRAZY IDEA!!!

 

Your engine sucks alot of air and I dont the inside of your cab would ever get very cool if your intake is sucking air from the inside.

There are products that are used to cool the air before it mixes with the fuel...

Just my thoughts...

 

Like I said just a CRAZY IDEA! Just wondering what people would think...but your right it would be kind of like running your a/c with a window open...

 

I have a 99 Explorer with the dog 4.0L.(OHV) I purchased a TRUE-REV SPORT INDUCTION KIT ™ from Kurtz Kustoms and made a huge difference. I also added a Diablo chip and left the bottom half of the air box in to allow fresh air to be pumped in with a fraction of the cost!