Does anyone know of any upgrades to let my Aviator breathe a bit more air? It's got power, especially after you movinga bit, but it seems a little smoothered off the start.
Being the 4.6 v-8 I would think performance upgrades would be available but I'm not getting hits!

Thanks

 

You can remove the air intake silencer. It isn't much but it's supposedly good for a few horsepower, especially on a V8. I also hear it gives the engine a pleasant sound too. Removing it should be similar to the process of removing it on any RWD vehicle with a 4.6L V8 so doing a search on Google for something along the lines of "Remove Air Silencer" ought to bring up some information. Most likely you'll see articles on performance websites for the Mustang but the layout under the hood should be similar despite the big *** Lincoln cowl that Ford puts over the Aviator's engine.

This website:
http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou..._silencer.html
is one of the places where I found out how to remove the silencer on my Thunderbird, even though the site tells you to do a bunch of things you don't have to; this is supposed to be a free mod and yet they try to have you buy things. Essentially, the order of the main components of the air intake from the engine out is as follows:
1) The engine
2) The intake manifold
3) The Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF)
4) The air intake box (where the air filter's housed)
5) The air intake silencer (or resonator, as it is also referred)

In this way, the silencer is basically the first part of the intake through which air passes. Its chamber reduces the noise that air makes as it is sucked into the engine. But, since it is basically a baffle, it reduces the amount of air that can be taken in at one time thus reducing how well your engine can breathe. Removing it eliminates this restrictiveness without compromising the safety of the engine because all air taken in still has to pass through the air filter. One thing that I imagine could happen though is the rate at which debris is taken into the filter is increased due to the greater air flow, but not so much as to make this procedure unfeasible, just check the filter periodically, as you should already, to make sure the build-up isn't too excessive. Driving through or other exposure to excessive amounts of water (such as in a flooded area) could damage the engine through water being sucked into it but the risk is probably no worse than a vehicle that has its silencer intact. So, probe around the internet, and your engine bay, and see what you can find. Also, look for information on 2002 and newer Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers. Chances are that much of what can be modified on one can be done on another, even though you have a 32-valve engine. Most likely the silencer, in your case like mine, is held on by only a few nuts or bolts and will pop out, with some forcing and harsh language that is . However, you may have to remove the front-passenger wheel well splash guard, or even the wheel itself, in order to remove it as it may end up being pretty big, like mine was. In any case, any performance gains from any future air intake mods you might make would be reduced a bit if the silencer were allowed to stay in place so there's one incentive to get rid of it. Good luck, and hope you find this helpful .

Now to figure out how to remove this thing on my Ranger.....

 

THANKS for this info, it was a breath of fresh air! Some pun intended....