Which intake system??
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 293
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From: Trempealeau Wisconsin
Which intake system??
I have a 04 FX4 SC, 5.4L, 3.73LS gears. Right now I have a IMCO performance muffler 3" in/out, Edge Evolution programmer (just ordered), and in the spring I will be putting on 285/60/18 tires (either Toyo or Nitto). What would be the best intake system for my truck?? I was looking at either the Airrad or Volant system, but I am open to any others also. What do you guys think?? Help me out... Thanks Paul
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,821
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From: South Dakota
I agree.
I used to run the K+N's and the aftermarket oiled filter intakes, until I saw a turbo on a PSD with a K+N filter. That poor turbo looked like a aluminum boat prop that had found some rocks. That PSD would literally suck the oil off that K+N element...it was so bad that the owner would have to fully re-oil the element every 4-5K as the element was whiter than a sheet of paper (i.e. no oil catching dirt).
The Mac Intake that I had on my '02 F150 (back when I believed in them) took out 3 Maf sensors, before I decided to re-ebay it to someone else.
There will be people who say that I must have over oiled the elements, installed correctly, etc. If that were truly the case, you wouldn't see the amount of nay sayers that you do on the net.
I can flood any decent sized server with tests that say K+N filters aren't nearly what they are hyped up to be.
If you still want to go with a aftermarket intake, The Volant is by far the best as it is the only true cold air intake.
I used to run the K+N's and the aftermarket oiled filter intakes, until I saw a turbo on a PSD with a K+N filter. That poor turbo looked like a aluminum boat prop that had found some rocks. That PSD would literally suck the oil off that K+N element...it was so bad that the owner would have to fully re-oil the element every 4-5K as the element was whiter than a sheet of paper (i.e. no oil catching dirt).
The Mac Intake that I had on my '02 F150 (back when I believed in them) took out 3 Maf sensors, before I decided to re-ebay it to someone else.
There will be people who say that I must have over oiled the elements, installed correctly, etc. If that were truly the case, you wouldn't see the amount of nay sayers that you do on the net.
I can flood any decent sized server with tests that say K+N filters aren't nearly what they are hyped up to be.
If you still want to go with a aftermarket intake, The Volant is by far the best as it is the only true cold air intake.
Last edited by superrangerman2002; Jan 22, 2006 at 06:07 PM.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2001
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I would suggest staying with stock intake. It handles more air than your engine requires. If you just want a different intake, get one that is not an oil type. Here are some links for you to look at.
http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm
This one above is a comparison on a diesel engine which has much larger requirements than your gasser. Read it for what it's worth and don't try to read anything into it.
http://trucks.aempower.com/
This would be the only after market unit I would consider. Again, read all of the information and attempt to separate the advertizing hype from reality.
Hope this info is of value
.02
http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm
This one above is a comparison on a diesel engine which has much larger requirements than your gasser. Read it for what it's worth and don't try to read anything into it.
http://trucks.aempower.com/
This would be the only after market unit I would consider. Again, read all of the information and attempt to separate the advertizing hype from reality.
Hope this info is of value
.02
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,007
Likes: 575
From: Brentwood,CA
your stock intake will outperform the aftermarket ones. you can wrap the stock ones with heat shield.
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Joined: Jun 2005
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From: San Diego
The F-150's stock intake configuration is pretty dang good as it is. There is not a lot of room for imporvement there, which is why there is a lot of people saying to keep the stock intake.
An aftermarket intake on a lot of cars can and do make a lot of power, just not in this case. A better filter element and a thermal wrap, which will keep the ambient engine bay air from heating the air any more will help a little.
An intake that removes the filter element from the engine bay will give you the best results, but it will get dirty fast and often. All the naysayers that say this will kill your engine, I don't buy it. Your engine will die of natural/other causes long before the immeasurable increase in contaminants a better flowing filter will allow.
An aftermarket intake on a lot of cars can and do make a lot of power, just not in this case. A better filter element and a thermal wrap, which will keep the ambient engine bay air from heating the air any more will help a little.
An intake that removes the filter element from the engine bay will give you the best results, but it will get dirty fast and often. All the naysayers that say this will kill your engine, I don't buy it. Your engine will die of natural/other causes long before the immeasurable increase in contaminants a better flowing filter will allow.
Super Moderator
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: MA
There are very few filters that are better than the OEM Motorcraft, I disagree with you there. Ford is no slouch outfit. They have put tons of time and money into designing these units. The only update you really need to do is thermally wrap it. You can use something as cheap as the aluminized tape at Home Depot or the like...or you can get some real trick stuff (Design Engineering is the one I am familiar with http://www.designengineering.com/pro...asp?m=sc&cid=7 ).
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: San Diego
Since when did Ford start making parts like air filters. The item in the box you buy that says Motorcraft on it was not made by Ford. There is no assmebly plant with a big blue oval on it cranking out air filters, oil filters, motor oil, windshield wiper blades, floor mats, watches, keychains and a whole long list of other things that say Ford on them. The OEM filters are outsourced to a vendor, usually the ones they can get the best deal on.
I know a guy who makes glass for Ford, but he doesn't work for Ford, but his product has a Blue Oval on it when it leaves enroute to the assembly plant. Does that mean that glass is somehow better than if it was on it's way to a mobile home plant?
Look at your OEM tires and tell me Ford gives a crap about normal wear and tear replacement parts...
I know a guy who makes glass for Ford, but he doesn't work for Ford, but his product has a Blue Oval on it when it leaves enroute to the assembly plant. Does that mean that glass is somehow better than if it was on it's way to a mobile home plant?
Look at your OEM tires and tell me Ford gives a crap about normal wear and tear replacement parts...
Super Moderator
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: MA
Your tires do not carry the Motorcraft name though. My tires are Goodyears, and are a damn fine tire. Although they may use multiple vendors for Motorcraft products, there is a specification which they build against.