hey i have a 99 5.4l and was wondering if anyone has used a cold air intake or knows which ones are the best in all round hp, tq. etc. any ideas?

 

I don't think there really is a "best" cold-air intake. They are all pretty much the same in that they are a piece of pipe with your stock MAF sensor and a filter on the end. The most important thing is that the MAF placement and the filter placement don't end up hurting performance rather than helping it. The big name companies like K&N, Airraid, Volant, etc have done their homework and all have pretty much equal quality and results. Sure, one may claim 1hp more than the rest but they are all about the same. Some creative people have gotten just as good results with a good filter and some DIY piping. Just stay away from the $39.99 Ebay specials, they tend to use inferior materials that will rust or corrode over time. Make sure whicher one you go with has a heat shield to keep from sucking in all the hot engine bay air. I went with the K&N, Series 77 over the FIPK, simply because it looked better and I actually found it cheaper. I know K&N puts out quality stuff so I wasn't worried about that. It has added a little pep to the engine and I have picked up about 2mpg. Basically it comes down to build quality, price and customer service, beyond that all the big names are gonna get you about the same results.

 

I have a K&N Gen II FIPK on my 5.4 and I think it's a great piece. However remember these CAI's by themselves will alway's provide horsepower gains, but they are 99% of the time marginal at best. If you were to add Headers,cat back and maby even a throttle body, reflash the computer we'll then you will notice a "seat in the pants gain" But by themselves dont expect much more than a throatier growl comming from your engine bay and hopefully 1-3 mpg (which was my reason for buying)
Like speed24 said buy a quality piece if you get a gain of 2 mpg you will make your money back in about 1.5 years. Not too bad

 

I had a K&N system but after looking at the pro's & con's, I decided to pull it back off. First, you are now sucking hot engine bay air into the manifold. Second, do a search on K&N filters and crankcase oil. People have sent their oil out to be analyzed and the K&N lets much more dirt and silica into the oil and into the insides of your engine grinding away. Is it worth the 2 extra ponies?
Of all the systems, the Volant system seems best as it still pulls cool air from the fender well like the original does.
My 2 cents.

BigMan69

 

The Gen II has a heat shield and the Volant is still going to allow tiny particles into your engine

 

The Series 77 also has a heat shield.

I read that whole article about how much worse K&N filters were than everyone else. Sure, they had the highest flow rate but the lowest filtration rate, but
that comparo was kinda misleading. That's like putting all 50 Mrs. USA pagent contestents up on a stage and then trying to pick the ugliest one.

 

thanks for the input. i have chosen to get the volant intake because it sucks in all the cold air from the fender and it looks the coolest thanks again.

 

Good choice! You won't be disappointed!

 

I'll never understand what's wrong with the stock setup. Nobody can tell the difference in power by driving a vehicle with one of these kits when compared to a stock setup. It sounds different but that's all. I think the workmanship of any of these kits is less than that of the stock setup. Plus dirt gets into the engine! Help me out here, guys.

 

isn't the volant system pretty much the same as the stock setup?

 

Your right! there is a power increase but you cannot notice it by any means, some people believe they can feel it because there engine is louder but thats just a bunch of BS. I just moved to a dusty climate for 3 years so I'm actually taking my GEN II kit off and puting it away until later or I might just sell it!

 

I agree w/ Matt03Expy. Most of the kits put the filter inside the engine compartment. There is dirty, hot air under the hood. The stock system brings in cold, clean air thru the fender! Keep the stock system and put in a K&N stock replacement filter. If your expy is stock then it isn't lacking in the intake [breathing] dept. If you plan on doing lots of other upgrades then the intake might be a restriction, otherwise Not.