Sounds like smart thinking to me..

Of course you know a lot of people dont give a squat about maintenance and just like the psychological feel of power and dominance they temporarily get from thier modifications. They eventually fix it by dumping them off on the next buyer at the used car lot. tisk tisk. Those will be the guys who swear Ford built them a POS and they are being ripped off by Ford... Never giving the prior owner due credit for screwing them over.

 

No problem, thanks Ken!!

 

So you're saying that a 90 degree turn and then another 90 degree turn (at least) is not restrictive and have no effect on performance.

I completely disagree. The CAI's are not hype. They truly do straighten out the airflow and improve flow characteristics. The stock unit is designed to balance air intake against noise. Look at the baffling inside the stock unit and you'll see what I mean. An efficiently designed system will make noise. That noise will be due to the high volume of flow and friction off the air against the casing. Not due to turbulence.

back to the question at hand. the stock filter is very very efficient. you have to make a compromise. do you want a efficient filter with decent air flow or a filter with lesser capabilities and greater air flow? It sounds like people with the drop in filters saw no difference.

yes, the filter can flow more air than the engine can use. How hard does the engine have to work to get its air is the real question? With the stock, quite a bit. With an aftermarket unit or even better, a CAI, usually a whole lot less.

I opted for the better performance of a high flow CAI setup over the restrictive OEM setup. Over the lifetime of my engine, I will see more particulate inside the engine. If I lived in West Texas or other particulary dusty areas of the country, I would've stuck with the stock setup. For the majority of the populace though, an aftermarket filter is a nice cheap upgrade to help your motor breathe easier and release a few ponies.

 

If you take a stock intake and paper filter, pull the IAT sensor and place a tube connected to a vacuum gauge. Then, run the engine at MAX RPM, and WOT to see if you can measure any vacuum. If the stock intake and OEM filter is flowing all the air that the engine is trying to pull, you will not measure any vacuum!! This is a very effective test to the flow capabilities
of the stock intake, and filter. You can even repeat this experiment after blocking off portions of the air filter to simulate a dirty air filter! This will
also answer your question: "How hard does the engine work to get it's air?"

 

actually, that is just an effective test to see if your air filter is dirty.

I'm not saying the motor isn't getting the air it's after. My point is that the engine is actually working harder to get air with the stock setup. A CAI or drop in will have less resistance to flow.

the effect is similar to putting e-fans on your vehicle and getting rid of the stock fan. Less parasitic losses will occur.

 

You are totally missing my point! A CAI might flow 2X the air of a stock intake, but if the stock intake is flowing all the air being pulled by the engine, there will be no improvement with the CAI!!!! Try the test I described, if you are having trouble understanding the concept, PM or e-mail me!! In addition to air volume, air velocity is another important point, especially when it comes
to proper operation of the MAF sensor.

As far as e-fans, check out this thread, and the URL links in this thread for some good information:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/544359-e-fans.html

 

You keep re-iterating what I'm telling you. Try breathing through a thick cotton shirt. Not easy, but not hard right? Now try doing the same thing with a loosly knit material (wool sweater). much easier. completely different world. in both instances you get the amount of air you required, but in the second case, you'll expend less effort to achieve the same result.

so, if the air you require if easier to achieve, and you expended less energy to obtain this air, what result would you draw?

This is a direct parallel to the air filters. Engine does less work to get air...less parasitic loss...more power gained (or saved?)

In the end, the motor will get all the air it wants. I've seen a diesel engine once collapse a 10"x15 foot section of stainless steel intake piping flat because someone shut the intake and it drew a deep enough vacuum. If you make it easier for the motor to breathe, it'll make (or save) more power.

as for the MAF, I agree. A poorly designed CAI will negate all positive gains recieved by opening up the intake path. A tuner is also a nice add-on to maximize your potential.

 

What Bob is trying to tell you is a CAI will make no difference in mileage or power the PCM on these engines are set so close for a perfect air fuel ratio that all the playing with the air intake won't make a bit of diff. I have discussed this with real ford techs but it is your money to waste.

 

Ok, one more time! If the OEM filter was restrictive, you will measure a vacuum with the test I described earlier. The most restrictive thing in the entire intake system is the throttle plate, that's why you will measure vacuum behind the throttle plate, NOT THE INTAKE BETWEEN THE FILTER AND THROTTLE PLATE.

 

Bob is correct. You could flow one million CFM of air through your intake, but if the engine only requires 500 CFM, whats the point? There is no gain. The minimum threshold of CFM for these trucks is easily attained with the stock setup. Also, the only conceivable reason for an intake upgrade, would be if you moved to a forced induction unit. With the forced induction, your stoichiometric point would also increase, and you would obviously burn more fuel. Like someone has said before this post, its your money.

 

They build them to be quiet and supply enough air to keep the motor running. That is why ford states on all thier performance models, less restrictive exhaust AND intake. Case in point, the 99 zx2 sr, ford put on a roush intake, 2000 zx2 sr, ford put on an iceman intake. The contour svt and focus svt had different intakes than the standard models, the exception is my focus st, it has the same breadbox nonserivable intake as the regular focus. Put on the AEM cai with filter located in the fenderwell, good for 6 hp at the wheels. Go to your local drag strip and see how many stock airboxes you see, are they all stupid. Talk to Jack Roush or Gale Banks about stock ford intakes, they flow enuogh and are still quiet, thats all ford is concerned about. Look on any mustang or focus forums, stock et's -vs- mods. It's a no brainer. "Mod hype", give me a break. Will just a filter or an intake throw you back in your seat, probobly not. It takes a combonation of intake, exhaust and a tune for real noticable results. It's hard just feel 6 or 7 hp in a 5000 pound truck. but in my opinion, every little bit helps. Is it worth the money, only the truck owner can decide that.

 

Just for interests sake is anyone else running a Green Performance oiled filter?

 

They add a few horsepower, they don't do anything, what's the meaning of life. Jeez, guys! All I know is I just put an AEM Brute Force CAI (polished) on my 2006 Scab and two things are certain...it looks and sounds WAY cool. The rest is pure speculation, given the infinite variables present on each installation.

Most of us spend way more money on shiny things that we know won't give us more HP than a CAI. Just the satisfaction of taking that plastic monstosity off was worth it.

More horsepower......?
Better/worse filtration......?
That cool BaWHAAAAAA sound when you mash it........PRICELESS!!!!

And regardless of how fast it really is, the satisfaction of Jethro pulling up next to you after you passed him at full throttle, rolling down his window all bug-eyed and asking "WOW, that truck's fast, is that a HEMI???"

 

ill say one for k&n but ONLY if you get a whole new intake becuase i got a new k&n filter didnt really notice anything but i know if you got a new k&n air intake system which is kinda expsensive in my opinion you'd notice a difference, if you looking just for cost effective i guess keep buying the OEM filters although........im not sure how much they cost and how often you have to change them.... mine i only bought it once and never have to buy another one...and wait until i have to clean it then ill prolly say stay with OEM filters... HA HA !

-Matt

 

i give up. Dyno charts are "hype" and the real world performance you see at the wheels with a CAI is apparently myth.

And these motors are not anywhere near a "perfect air/fuel ratio". if they were, there would be no room for tweaking with a tuner. There is a designed safety factor with the engine management that the tuner takes closer to the "safe" line over the stock line.

anyways, stick with an OEM filter unless you replace the entire air intake system. the OEM setup with a "high flow" aftermarket filter won't gain you anything but spending $45 bucks and a little more noise under the hood.