hey folks,

just wondering if i could pick the brains of all you ladies/gents who have a cold air intake(or similar) system. i'm looking into it myself and would appreciate the advice. my truck is an '02 s'crew, 2wd, 4.6l, xlt. i have a sido exhaust already, plans are for a tuner and intake next. i'm looking for a little better performance, but i'm not really worried about the milage...its still a truck at the end of the day... thank-you in advance for your replies

sherm

 

I have the Volant Cool Air system in my Expedition. I would say skip getting the intake because all it does is produce more noise. I did not expereince any power changes when i installed mine. Nor did i get any better mileage after installing it. Since i recieved it as a gift it did not cost me anything, but i probably wouldnt have bought one on my own. IMO, just save up for a tuner(Superchips, Diablo, etc..) Good luck!

 

I say forget all of these intakes that have tubes, get the new JLT intake that simply puts the MAF on the throttle body and puts a filter on there. $150 sure does beat these other intakes and makes more power.

 

The MAF right next to the throttle body,and an open filter on that?
That's gonna cause all kinds of problems. Reverberation from the airflow into the intake right next to the throttle body is gonna cause a nasty MAF response,and all kinds of load calculation issues. Pulling in hot underhood air through that open filter will cause a LOSS of power-even though it sounds like it's making power-it's actually making less.
JL

 

Well, the reviews say something else. Theres people that took off their K&N intakes and put on this JLT intake, they seem to have a much better throttle response. As for hot air in the engine, the intake is right infront of the fan, there ain't any more hot air on it than with an open filter in the side of the engine compartment. Only downside to this intake is the offroading splashing, thats the only reason I don't want one.

 

There are three things wrong with that setup.
1. The reverse pulsations out of the engine upset the air meter.
2. The fan is constantly buffiting the air meter and affects the signal to the PCM. The old 5L Mustangs that used a conical filter in the engine bay had the same problem.
3. The original air intake took air form outside the engine bay.

I need proof of their claims and not he said they said.
After all, the company is practicing the art of extracting money from people.

 

I'll put this very simple.Prove it.
Show me a dyno graph of the same vehicle on the same day,with the air fuel trace. I'll guarantee you that any gains in power on these are from the "cold air kit" skewing the air fuel mixture lean.
ANY "cold air intake" that pulls in hot underhood air is bad,and will yeild less power than the OEM airbox and inlet tubing if air fuel and spark are kept equivalent.Spark is retarded based on ACT(air charge temp),and the engine will be more knock sensitive,so the knock sensor is going to pull even more spark advance out of it to keep it from knocking. There are hundreds of hours of dyno time in the OEM tune for setting up the MAF for the actual distance it is from the cylinders,and the response of the MAf based on throttle variation at that distance. By changing this distance-you're altering the load calculation and this alters the spark advance and shift scheduling of the vehicle.
There's so much more to it than just "bolting on" power from a "cold air kit".
99% of the people that claim that these "kits" make more power do so based on the noise that they make,and the feeling that they need to justify the money that they just spent.
Take this post however you will-it's just fact,and any vendor that tells you otherwise is simply telling you whatever they need to just to seperate you from your money.
JL

 

Lol, cool it down boys, there are better things to fuss over in life that pieces of metal. I'm simply stating what i've heard. By all means, don't take my world for it, research it for yourselves, you do have the internet at your disposal...obviously.

 

We are only in answer to what you posted.
We gave technical reasons for our positions based on long time experience and knowledge.
You must understand that not everyone eats that kind of lunch to easy.
I do know that late models have their air meter closer to the TB as well as the filter but the design is different and accounted for. They are even worse when it come to changing air intake systems trying to out do the factory design.

 

I've always wanted some type of cold air intake for my Mustang and F-150. But each time I think about all that hot air being sucked in all the time, I decide to leave it alone. Considering the size and shape of the OEM filter my own thoughts are it is about as efficient as you can get. I've heard some that make a nice sucking sound when you womp on it, similar to flipping the top of the air cleaner cover over on an old carb engine. Between that and a set of cherry bombs, that was our "mod" us kids did back in the 60's (poor man's mod)

Spotty..

 

You could always get a new hood with functional RAM-AIR. I might do it this summer seeing as my hood has a couple of deep scratches and dings. With the cost of the body work and new paint being up there, might as well go all the way with a new hood (with functioning ram-air).

 

I think for the most part you are absolutely correct, but there is at least two intake kits that utilize the fender opening. I'm sure one of them is volant which is a good product but we go back to the price of these intakes which can reach $400 and up, too much for little gains in my opinion.

 

i have an airaid on my 4.2l...i like the looks but i havent really noticed any gained improvement...feels like it goes better on cold mornings but no numbers to back it up..just "seat of the pants" feel