What First...?
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 12,253
Likes: 763
From: Houston, Texas
Add an intake first, let the truck breathe some. I recommend the AFE Stage I intake or S&B intake. These are sealed intakes that draw air from the front of the truck as the stock intake does. While the 6637 filter is an easy mod that allows the engine all the air it could want, it also sucks in hot engine air which isn't good for performance. I myself am going back to a stock intake with a drop in AFE type filter until I can swing and S&B kit or the AFE Stage 1, it's costing me too much in fuel economy. I noticed better fuel economy when I used the AFE Stage 1 intake.
As far as a chip, Look into a PHP Hydra Gearhead, Tony Wildman, and PHP use it for their tuning on the 7.3 and it allows you to run tunes from multiple vendors.
As far as a chip, Look into a PHP Hydra Gearhead, Tony Wildman, and PHP use it for their tuning on the 7.3 and it allows you to run tunes from multiple vendors.
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Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
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Add an intake first, let the truck breathe some. I recommend the AFE Stage I intake or S&B intake. These are sealed intakes that draw air from the front of the truck as the stock intake does. While the 6637 filter is an easy mod that allows the engine all the air it could want, it also sucks in hot engine air which isn't good for performance. I myself am going back to a stock intake with a drop in AFE type filter until I can swing and S&B kit or the AFE Stage 1, it's costing me too much in fuel economy. I noticed better fuel economy when I used the AFE Stage 1 intake.
As far as a chip, Look into a PHP Hydra Gearhead, Tony Wildman, and PHP use it for their tuning on the 7.3 and it allows you to run tunes from multiple vendors.
As far as a chip, Look into a PHP Hydra Gearhead, Tony Wildman, and PHP use it for their tuning on the 7.3 and it allows you to run tunes from multiple vendors.
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Lead Driver
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Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
Don’t get sucked ( pun intended ) into the air filters make horse power B.S., I’ve spent hours on Dyno a swapi g out filters and once you have a filter sized for the engine there is no power gains to be made. Buy the filter that does the best job of filtering dirt and has a high dirt holding capacity.
An air filters job is to keep keep dirt out of your engine and hold enough dirt to not need to replace it frequently.
the problem with all of the oiled cotton type filters like S&B, K&N ect is they do not hold very much dirt and require frequent cleanings which becomes a PITA and most people let it go to long, what happens next is the dirt gets sucked into your motor and engine longevity is greatly diminished pretty much defeating the point of owning a diesel.
The ford AIS intake is designed and built by Donaldson, the world leader in heavy equipment filtration. When it comes to service intervals and keeping dirt out of your engine nobody does it better then Donaldson.
Ford brochure on the A.I.S. Severe duty filter
http://www.superdutypsd.com/downloads/AIS-Brochure.pdf
available for many sources but RiffRaff is cool to do biz with.
Motorcraft AIS Extended Life Filter Kit
An air filters job is to keep keep dirt out of your engine and hold enough dirt to not need to replace it frequently.
the problem with all of the oiled cotton type filters like S&B, K&N ect is they do not hold very much dirt and require frequent cleanings which becomes a PITA and most people let it go to long, what happens next is the dirt gets sucked into your motor and engine longevity is greatly diminished pretty much defeating the point of owning a diesel.
The ford AIS intake is designed and built by Donaldson, the world leader in heavy equipment filtration. When it comes to service intervals and keeping dirt out of your engine nobody does it better then Donaldson.
Ford brochure on the A.I.S. Severe duty filter
http://www.superdutypsd.com/downloads/AIS-Brochure.pdf
available for many sources but RiffRaff is cool to do biz with.
Motorcraft AIS Extended Life Filter Kit
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 12,253
Likes: 763
From: Houston, Texas
If you have a chip and/or injectors on your truck, it makes a difference. I've found that both of my trucks breathe and respond better with an aftermarket air filter even stock. When my 7.3 was as young as molson09's back in April 2006, I had replaced the stock muffler with an Aeroturbine and had an Afe Stage 1 intake with a Proguard 7 filter. Even stock the truck performed better and got better fuel economy, the truck averaged 16-17 mpg in that configuration with an easy right foot. The fuel economy and power got better when I added an SCT X2 and ran it on the 120hp setting. On the freeway, the truck never got less than 18.6 mpg.
When I upgraded to 160/singles, a chip, and 38R, I also went to the 6637 filter and noticed that the truck belched out more black smoke. I went through the usual checking to make sure my EBPS tube and sensor were clean, making sure the MAP hose wasn't broken or damaged, making sure all my boots and clamps were tight, and there were no other leaks. Clay then suggested the Big Boost 6637 filter, as soon as I installed it and things adjusted, I had little to no black smoke with the new air filter.
The point is that it does make a difference, but it depends on what you're wanting to achieve and what your needs are. If you're running the truck is very dusty conditions, an S&B intake isn't for you and you're better served with an AIS. However, if your truck hardly sees the off road and dusty conditions, the S&B will serve you and your truck well.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
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From: Northern California
Makes a diffrence if you have bigger injectors and turbo, with just a programmer and an exhaust the only diffrence you will notice is how often it needs to be cleaned even if you never see a dirt road.
They are are so bad at holding dirt even most off road race guys stopped using them and the ones that do use a massive filter and change them mid race.
Picture shows the diffrence in dirt holding capacity.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 27,354
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From: Lake Hartwell, GA
They may not make much, or any horsepower on their own, but they certainly let more air into the engine for horsepower to be made. For example, it is easily identified that the 6637 filter flows much more air than the stock/OEM air box. With a larger turbo or injectors, if you did not have the larger filter, or more free flowing air intake system, the HP generated by the larger turbo or injectors would not be able to breathe and would adversely affect the performance of the engine.