ok am about to order my mac intake. i might be an idiot but is there a diff between a cold air intake or air inducton system? becous they call it a air inducton on the mac site and it dose seem to be cheeper but why?

 

Should be the same thing. I call it cold air induction. If it's on the mac web site and it's roughly 150.00, that's it.

 

A true "cold air" system will draw air from outside the engine bay. That is to say, it gets its air out from underneath the hood, typically from behind the grill I think.
The other systems are just "intake systems". The MAC is an intake system. It replaces the stock air intake / filter plenum with a chromed metal piece and provides an oiled media filter to replace the stock paper element.
It is not a cold air system.
Hope that helps!

 

But somehow u still gain 12.6 HP with the Mac "intake system".

What kind of air filter does the MAC come with when it arrives at ur door neways because I just ordered one?

 

Its a MAC filter, but it looks just like every other oiled media filter out there. It says MAC on the top, although some have the filtering material on top rather than a cap.

Congrats on the order homer, you'll love it with your mufferless setup.

Nate, it's all the same product dude. Order it up and smile.

Rman

 

I gotta get one too. 12.6 hp for 150 bucks isn't bad, no matter what you drive.

 

I have yet to see any reliable data demonstrating power gains on a stock engine from the addition of an aftermarket cone filter. Think about it, does anyone really believe that auto manufactures designed expensive plastic inlet systems to pull cool air from outside of the engine compartment because they didn't have anything else to spend their money on?

Cooler air equals more power. It’s a proven fact that each 10° air temp rise reduces HP by 1%. This is how dynos are calibrated for temperature changes.

If you data log the intake air temps you will find that the stock intake unit delivers ambient temperature air at a steady 55 mph cruise while the open filters deliver air that is 17-18 degrees above ambient under the same conditions. On our engines this works out to about 4 HP lost at 55 mph. Slow driving in traffic makes the temperatures on the open filter even worse and results in even more HP lost.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have an after market cone filter on my 4.2. It looks great, sounds good, and I’m happy with it. I just don’t think it adds any more HP than a billet oil filler cap or colored plug wires.

 

Wiat a minute. It's not just the cone filter. Did you put one on the end of your stock black plastic tube? If so, that's why you haven't noticed any hp gains. I think the material, shape and size of the tube, to speed up(or not slow down so much) air is more important when you buy a air intake system. It's all about air flow, and the filter at the end is only part it. And the expensive plastic air ducts all over the place from the factory are NOTdesigned for power, they are designed to be slient.

 

For once low, I'd have to agree with you. It's all about the tubing and how well it flows, and the MAC does give more power than the stocker any day. Someone dynoed a (well, I can't remember now) something like a 6 rwhp gain from just the Intake alone. (keep in mind that the 12.6 advertised gain is at the crank, not the rear wheels). So 6rwhp is pretty much equal to 10-12 hp's at the crank.

 

I knew that comment would get a rise out of everyone…

For the record my intake is an Airforce One. It’s a nice unit nearly identical with the MAC other than it’s build out of Stainless Steel rather than chromed. As I said, I like it! The aftermarket intake is well constructed, looks way better than stock, but does not give any extra HP.

The stock intake easily flows enough volume to supply a stock or nearly stock motor with the normal bolt on mods. It’s only on seriously modded motors (I’m too lazy to do the calculations so I’m going to guess somewhere around 80 to 100 hp over stock) that air flow requirements exceed the flow capacity of the stock unit. At that point you begin to pull negative pressure across the filter and you have to replace it with a larger aftermarket unit. Even then a intake that does not pull air from the engine compartment will out perform one that does. As for Talley’s dyno results… Well I believe his results, but we all know he is mod crazy and it’s very likely he’s far enough over stock HP to be beginning to max out his stock intake when he ran the test.

Face it guys, the seat of the pants dyno is the most unreliable power measuring device on the planet!

One of these days I’m going to surprise the heck out of everyone by agreeing with the majority. It’s just that today aint the day…

 

Actually...their dyno claims are probably 12.6 rwhp. Keep in mind its a GAIN or INCREASE of 12.6 That does NOT mean that, if you had 200rwhp, by adding this intake you'd have 212.6 rwhp. What talley showed, in his dyno, using warlock mufflers, was a 11 rwhp gain. That gain was not a new peak horsepower number. It was the biggest gain from before and after, which was right around 2850 rpms. So he did gain 11 rwhp, but it was at 2850, and only gained 2 HP on his max HP numbers.

If this doesnt make sense, I will try and rephrase it, or re-explain it. Just to give you an idea about HP claims.

Garrett

 

So, is buying an aftermarket air intake a waste of money, if you have a completely stock motor, when compared to actual gains?

Rich

 

I'd like to know the answer to that question too, becuase I just bought one!!!

Manster- Will it make my exhaust deeper/louder or something?

 

Garrett,

Picking one point on the curve is probably exactly what they did. The highest single point difference makes for good marketing and avoids a false advertising lawsuit. However, as you say, it does not mean your 200 HP truck now has 212.6 HP. Good explanation!

Rich,

It depends on your expectations to know whether it is a waste of money or not. If you are expecting a huge performance improvement it might not be a good deal. If you are looking to add a nice looking, great sounding mod to your truck, then an intake may be just the thing. Another point to keep in mind is that mods like intakes and throttle bodies can change the airflow and affect the power curve. When your truck behaves differently at a given throttle position it can give a very real impression of more gross hp whether it’s actually there or not. You’ve seen that I’m the minority in this discussion, and I would bet that the other people are unconvinced and still feel they have seen the advertised gains. Either way, it’s only $150 and the seat of the pants dyno will never register a couple HP gain or loss

 

Here's what I have to say:

I agree with low (for the first time). It is the shape, blah blah blah. And the factory intakes ARE designed to be SILENT. most 'normal' people don't want the sound.

Homer - it's a good compliment to your exhaust. While your exhaust gives some rumble out back, the intake will give some 'jet-like' whooshing sound under the hood. Very mean sounding, at least i think so.

And personally, I felt a pretty BIG gain in power and free-er powerban with my MAC intake. Not so much with the flowmaster muffler tho....