Here's a few pics, the first one is from inside the tube through the firewall, you can see the rod that activates the wiper arm.

 

I think that setup is cool.

 

The K&N filters may not be performance enhancers necassarily, but they do seem like they let more air into the engine easily. Also their filters are MUCH better at protecting your engine from dust and such than those cheep fram filters. Seems like a much better system.

 

Explain your logic here please.

 

I was about to say why do you think they let more air in. might because the holes in the filter are bigger. so you let more air in you let more crap in. now don't get me wrong i use one and like it but i don't worry about much crap getting in there my engines been through alot worse then alittle bit of dust. but being under the assumption that it moves more and filters more with being the same size and the paper ones is just wrong it aint physically possible.

Kyle

 

Well, for one they are cleanable, so I do it on a regular basis as its costs nil. Also the surface area of one must be much greater than the stock making it easier for the engine to pull air in. The materials are also much higher quality than the paper used by fram. I noticed my v10 runs much better on the K&N filter. It uses the same everything on the intake other than the filter itself. Where I most noticed it was towing large loads on hot days. So if not the entire CAI system, just putting one in the stock airbox seems like a good idea. The CAI systems are what I meant by larger surface area.

 

I've stopped using oiled cotton filters because I've seen first hand the damage they can cause to throttle bodies and valves. You keep saying they're much higher quality but there's nothing higher quality about them. They are just a different type of filter. I switched back to a paper filter in everything but my motorcycles and I'm considering switching that one too. I also noticed no difference in driveability after switching back and forth, just cleaner air flowing into my engine. Another big plus is that I don't have to worry about stripping, waiting for the filter to dry, then re-oiling and worrying about over oiling the filter. Just pull the paper one, throw it away and drop in the new one.

 

well i see it like this.... auto manufacturers design the air intakes to be quiet....

and they dont flow a whole lot of air and by the time it goes threw that air box then the tubes its already hot.....

so what is the problem with useing the K&N highflow filters? u say its going to be sucking hot underhood air... but it isnt that hot under there and if it does get hot the intake tubes and the air box are going to get hot and really heat the incoming air up...

as to where the K&N is going to flow even more and when u get moving the hot air it was flowing is going to be gone and all the extra air its flowing is going to cool the tubes off faster....

and cold air intakes arent going to make any difference when idle they are flowing the same as oem ones.... the added benifit comes when turning some rpms getting the suction going right?... and by that time u have cool air flowing all in the engine bay and the factory air intake is just going to be sucking threw a little hole.....

if i am mistaken anywhere here feel free to add this is speculation after all.....

but i find it easier to breath threw a water hose as to a sturring straw

 

I have read an acticle that measured intake temps with different intake setups. The K&N system yielded the hottest intake temps and by far the worse mileage, but improved hp. The only down side is that it was done on an obsolete element that did not have the heat shield to protect the element from extra heat from the engine.

So i believe that the newer design has improved on the system that was used in the test I read and may perform better. I do not like the idea of pulling more dust into my engine, but I suppose there is a trade off for everything. I think it would be interesting to see if these filters yielded better results with cooler under hood temps, like with vents are header wraps. Also, duct work to get more cool air to the open element might be kind of cool to see. K&N Setup I have now leaves the stock snorkel in place.

 

The cleaning and oiling process of messing with KN is a pain. Besides that its easy to over oil it. It can also destroy electronic sensors.

It does not filter as well and lets in more dirt than a good Motorcraft, Wix, or Purolator filter.

I have had a KN replacement filter years ago and the FIPK and both did nothing at all. The FIPK actually made gas mileage worse.

The quaility of construction of the FIPK is lousy as well. It was mis-shaped at the thottle body and didn't seal completely. My friend's was the same way. My replacement filter started to come apart. The one on our 97 Cobra did fall apart.

I now run a good stock filter and the I6 tube, and thats the way its staying. The Cobra now has the stock air cleaner with a Motorcraft filter.

By the way just because the air box gets warm the air coming in is still cooler. Also auto makers may design their air cleaners to be somewhat quiet, but they don't design them to hinder performance or fuel economy. It may leave room for improvement but its the best choice and flows enough air.

Most exotic car enthusiasts and shops do not want anything to do with KN either.

 

Sounds in line with warmer intake temps. The FIPK you had, did it include a heat shield and did it keep the stock snorkel?

 

I picked up a 300/460 upper intake/snorkel at a junk yard a few weeks ago but haven't put it on yet. Would someone be able to explain why this is a better design?

 

The 302/351 air tube pulls in air with a snorkel that is located on top of the radiator support. It is sandwiched between the support and the hood. In order for air to get into the engine it takes several 90 degree turns before it ever enters the airbox. The I6/460 air inlet tube pulls in air from an access hole punched in the radiator support, so it pulls in fresh cool air directly behind the grill. Only one 90 degree turn before entering the airbox.

 

You can also improve the 300/460 tube by lopping off the front curved section. If the grill opening had been a little wider(like the 80-86 trucks), it would in a great position for a ram air effect.

While the underhood CAI kits may not be the best, they are still an improvement. On my 85, I installed a carb hat with a 4" tube running to open element filter located in the front corner of the engine compartment. My vacumn guage showed a positive increase after that. It may not be cold air, but it was more air.

 

I found some good data on underhood temps (it's for a Ch3vy Silverado and it's a pdf) check the very bottom of this http://www.mvfri.org/Contracts/Final...atures%201.pdf

in most cases is about 130*F or higher at the 'center of hood' even at 70 MPH .. and the air is moving way to fast for much heat transfer to happen .. it's moving upwards of 3000 feet per minute ..