I've read too many horror stories about the various Cold Air Intakes on this forum and others.... They either don't fit correctly or they are too loud, mostly complaints of the extreme loudness...

So I want your opinions on whether or not I should throw down money for these 2 things:

I already have:

Magnaflow SI/SO 16612 Cat-Bat Exhaust

I am thinking about buying these 2 things for added performance:

K&N Drop in Air Filter
Superchips XCalibrator2 Tuner w/ ****** Perf. Tunes

Will the Magnaflow, drop in K&N and Tuner give me a nice performance gain?

I know it won't be as if I had a Cold Air Intake but I am thinking it might be enough of a gain?

Please advise.....

 

Which engine? The 4.6 gets little or nothing from the intake. The 5.4 stock intake is not all that good.
Chris

 

I have the 5.4

 

The Volant cold air intake is not as loud as the open filter style.

 

With the 5.4 you can get more performance through the gears with the intake swap.
If you want more power, it’s a decent choice. The downside of more noise is not as big a deal as some make it, and most whistling noises and moaning can be traced to the install and can be fixed.

Based on about three hundred posts from users most seem to get more power and no problems.

There is a little more hassle having the intake. The dealer will ignore a custom exhaust unless it’s something stupid.
And a K&N will be ignored by most dealers, (local ones sell the filter…) or it can be yanked before you stop by for service or warranty work.
The PCM can be re-tuned to stock.
But it’s a drag swapping an intake before every visit to the dealership.

Some will ignore the intake, others will blame it for any warranty work they don’t want to do. Don’t be surprised if you have the e-brake problem, and the dealer tells you it’s the intake causing the shudder. It has happened…
So put in a nice Air raid or AF1, if you want all the power you can get, or just go with the K&N if you want.

For those that complain about the K&N, two things; 1. You don’t oil them till about 50,000 miles (they are pre-oiled) so forget all the hysteria about getting oil on the MAF (which you can clean in seconds with ‘tuner cleaner’) and 2. It doesn’t filter as well. Look at a stock exotic car air filter then ask yourself if the owners of 20,000 dollar motors are willing to use bad filters…
Just for the record, particles that are very small (think smaller than talcum powder) actually do no more than make your oil dirty. There is a reason filters filter just so small.
Most aftermarket air intakes use 'clones' of K&N filters.

Anyway, have fun and good look.
Chris

 

Chris,

thanks for the insight.....

i think i am going to go with the XCalc2, Drop-In K&N and do the DWV mod.......

or maybe just the filter and DWV.........

 

Have you thought about the airaid mit intake tube? I put one on mine with the k&n drop in filter, works great, its wide open and costs about 92.00 delivered from Autoanything. Mine did give me a little bit more in the seat of the pants driving......just a thought.
Doug

 

Do you need to reprogram the computer with an intake install? Any issues with the MAF or anything else throwing codes after an intake? Worth the money?

 

I would NOT use the DVW mod on that 5.4 3 valve. You may be courting disaster. Far too many of these motors run lean ( some as high as 14.5-15.0 from the factory) and you will be allowing in more air with this "shadetree" mod. You can get away with it on the older 2 vavle engines, but not on the new 3 vavles. The stock intake is designed the way it is for a reason....
As far as intakes, I run the Air Force in conjunction with my Mike T----- tuned X-calibrator2, but you DO NOT need to add aftermarket intakes with the X-Calibrator if you don't want to. I have many friends that do just that...Its all up to the individual.
The only reason I run the AF1 is that I have witnessed its 20-25 HP increase at the lower RPM range on the dyno and choose to do so...