You need to be real careful Campbell. Nowhere does any cold air intake advertising even get CLOSE to the numbers mentioned above! I cannot remember EVER hearing anyone with these numbers!
Most that are confused by the NOISE the cold air intake makes only THINK they have minor gains if any at all.
Your 5.4 intake will preform as well and give the same horsepower and torque as ANY so called cold air intake.. AND it will give more is many cases. All you will get from an aftermarket one is more noise, and quite possibly, LESS performance!
Please do not make the mistake of believing the engineers at FORD are idiots! They are not and they have the experience and machinery to develope ANYTHING! They also have the TIME to spend on a project and the records of similiar past projects. The fellows on eBay have the local hardware store and a place to advertise..
I am stunned at the folks that are taking such an important part of their engine off on a whim! And then listening to the new sound, believing it to be horsepower.
Big Jim

 

I was curious about the caution on numbers mentioned related to cold air intakes so I went back up and looked a couple of times and I couldn't find any high numbers to be concerned about. In fact, I didn't see any number at all, so I'll add some.

The thing about mods is that each truck is different. You have to try mods with your eyes open. I don't participate in flames, but Jim is wrong on this one.

I'll be the first to agree that the after market boys will sell you performance add ons shamelessly. That's why you make a plan based on your performance needs. In the case of the air intake on the 2004 F150, Ford routed the snorkle through a hole in the side panel to pick up cold air from outside the engine compartment (a good thing). The issue is that they are pulling air through a 2" diameter hole (a very bad thing). When I saw this, I ruled out a K&N drop in filter. My belief is that the worst restriction is the 2" hole, not the filter. Therefore I was forced to do a complete intake system where I can normally work with the intake box and filter for less money.

I chose the Volant intake system precisely because it will not increase the engine noise. Unlike the other intakes on the market it is an enclosed box instead of a shield that uses your hood to form part of the box (less noise and cooler air). The Volant draws air through the tiny Ford factory hole, but it also has two rectangular openings facing the truck grill.

What I got after I put the Volant on was a noticable boost in performance along with increased, deeper exhaust noise from the factory exhaust. It was neither increased intake noise because I don't have any, nor was it a figament of my imagination. I also got a 1 1/2 to 2 mpg increase in gas mileage. I was tracking before and after, every tank. My mileage is even better now that the weather is warmer.

I won't quote rwhp gains but I will tell you I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Back to Jim's caution about being careful though, I'd second that. A lot of people spend serious pocket change putting catback exhaust systems on the new F150's. If you want them for cool sound or the appearance of dual exhausts, then great, but they aren't going to give you much power. Again, it's in the eyes (and a tape measure). Look under your truck and you'll see that the Y pipe after the cats is two 2 1/2 pipes converging into one 2 1/2 pipe. This, to me, appears to be the primary restriction. If you bolt a 3" stanless steel high performance cat back system onto a 2 1/2" pipe, you still have a 2 1/2" exhaust system.

I saw this right off and decided that a 2 1/2" performance muffler would give me any boost that was available without messing with the Y pipes, so I put one on. I didn't notice any increase in performance and only a very slight increase in gas mileage with the new muffler. Sounds cool, but that's not what I bought it for.

Oh well.

 

Back to Jim's caution about being careful though, I'd second that. A lot of people spend serious pocket change putting catback exhaust systems on the new F150's. If you want them for cool sound or the appearance of dual exhausts, then great, but they aren't going to give you much power. Again, it's in the eyes (and a tape measure). Look under your truck and you'll see that the Y pipe after the cats is two 2 1/2 pipes converging into one 2 1/2 pipe. This, to me, appears to be the primary restriction. If you bolt a 3" stanless steel high performance cat back system onto a 2 1/2" pipe, you still have a 2 1/2" exhaust system.

I saw this right off and decided that a 2 1/2" performance muffler would give me any boost that was available without messing with the Y pipes, so I put one on. I didn't notice any increase in performance and only a very slight increase in gas mileage with the new muffler. Sounds cool, but that's not what I bought it for.

I don't know about the newer trucks, but when I had my 95 F-150 302/5spd. I took it in to have a flowmaster system put on. The factory exhaust was two 2.5" pipes into the 1st cat, then a 3" pipe to the 2nd cat, and then 2.5 pipe out the back. What the shop did was to remove enough of the housing from the 2nd cat to hook up a 3" pipe. This made the entire system 3" all the way to the axle where it was split into two 3" pipes.

Of course if you are referring strictly to the "bought through the mail catback bolt-on systems", I can see your point. Had I gone that route, the only restriction would have been the connection from the 2nd cat to the new system. Judging from your description of the factory exhaust on the newer trucks, I could agree that any performance gain would be very minimal.

 

I appreciate the words of caution and will heed them upon hearing them again. It is always good to refresh ourselves about being moderate on our views and expectations.

As for FORD and their engineering, I think they are world class. I was a professional mechanic for 10 years before getting into the computer programming world. Sometimes decisions of engineering are based on local laws, EPA and emission goals and not based on the best performing designs.

For instance, I added a FlowMaster muffler and gained 1-2 mpg and much better response. I did use stainless steel 2.5 pipe too.

I also added the Diablo Predator program to my truck and am still trying to see if there is a gain. I am currently running the "Performance" program that shipped with the Predator with the torque modulation and shift firmness turned up. I cannot tell a whole lot of improvement, but I hope some folks here may help me tuning it.

If I cannot get a gain, I have a 30 day return and I will return it.

Please let me know if there is a gain to the intake systems ir are they just making more noise.

~F

As for the intake, I dunno

 

Campbell We must all get it through our heads zackly what performance means.. If you ever look closely at the advertised charts you will see that any "claimed" gains are in the 5000 rpm area. None are claimed for the rpm range that we commonly drive our vehicles at.. If you plan on going to the track there might be a small gain from adding the intake system and dual exhausts.. I am afraid the gain will be very small however, not even noticeable in most rides.
The heart of the engine are the heads and the camshaft. THERE is where work needs to be done. With a new cam and $2000. worth of heads your ride will be a whole different deal! Even leaving the existing intake and ehaust alone the cam and head work will make a big difference. This fact alone tells the story of wheather or not to change out the exhaust and intake.
Big Jim

 

Agreed on the defination of performance.

I am not interested in gaining more top end, especially at the expense of lowend. Usually that is what happens.

I really want better low to mid range. I am not doing quarter miles, I want low-mid range seat of the pants gains.

Also, I am just wanting to "freshen-up" my truck after having it for 6 years or so.

It is in near-new condition so I thought I would do that instead of buying new.

~F

 

With the advent of the bubble-gum-and-paper-clips tuner culture (and I realize there are some very legit and very good import tuners out there), the market for chintzy bolt ons such as no-name CAIs and mufflers has kind of exploded.

I was always under the impression that a new intake and exhaust went along with some other major modifications. Headers, port work, cams, etc. Top that off with a custom chip burn, cold air, and a fatter exhaust, and you can sweeten up the mod motor's already pretty-sweet power band.

Let's not forget (bum bum bum) bean counters. K&N's FIPK is grossly over-priced in my opinion, but it seems to at least be well made and effective. I would imagine that for Ford to build something like that on each car or truck would be quite a bit more expensive than the simpler intake they build. Plus, you have to realize that Ford has to maintain a relationship with their aftermarket. I'm not saying they don't build good product, because Ford really seems to be turning out quality stuff, but leaving room for improvement and stroking the aftermarket parts people to produce things like cold air intakes, exhaust systems, bolt-in electronics upgrades, suspension, etc, is win-win for Ford and the supplier.

And so concludes my rambling