"Cold" Air intakes
 

I have seen several different "cold" air intakes, and I was wondering if they really are worth it. A lot of them just have a high flow filter and a smoother/straighter intake track than stock, but without a box to seperate it from the engine is it even going to increas power/gas milage? You are taking in more air, but it is hotter, so wouldn't that negate any gains?

A long study was done on the Ranger board about this way back when.

Basically, at WOT, the intake doesn't produce any vacuum, therefore, it doesn't need more space to flow more air. So unless you've got some nice performance mods, it's going to make no noticeable gain save for the sound increase.

Now...a properly sheilded intake (i.e. the filter is seperated from the rest of the engine compartment with a heat sheild) is a nice improvement over the stock intake. Power gains? No. Combine it with an exhaust and a chip and you'll see a good improvement in power and MPG though.

They can make a nice whistling noise... :-missingt

Only way you will get anything from them on a stock engine is to replumb it to get the filter out of the engine bay and into clean air. And that is not a guarantee. It all depends on how well your engine 'breaths' to begin with.

So if I was to put a "cold" air intake where the filter is in hot engine air on, along with an aftermarket exhaust would it be worth it as compared to the stock intake?

I've been wondering the same thing. I can see increased power from a high-flow intake if it's coupled with a high flow exhaust but i can't see getting a noticeable power improvement from just the intake kit but rather just an increase in throttle response.

However, I've done a lot of searching and Outlaw Power seems to have a true cold air kit. Their box is temperature resistent and completely encases the filter. The box is bolted up to the fender well to get your air like the stock intake. the tube also seems to be made of the same temperature resistant plastic as the box. Plus their dry filter design seems to have a lot of thought and innovative ideas put into it which all make a lot of sense. I'd like to hear from someone on how it performs.

definitely see some difference with a cai, tuner, & exhaust. check out the volant with the ram air intake. seald box unit with a constant supply of outside air. I like mine alot.

So if I skipped the chip or tuner, would it be worth the money?

if you mean skip a chip/tuner and go with cai to see dramatic results, no... not a chance. if you mean get a catback and intake instead of chip/tuner? i think it'll be easier on your truck - let it breath/exhale before you try and make it work harder http://campaigns.ford-trucks.net/for...cons/icon7.gif

That is what I was thinking. Even if the intake is sucking in "hot" engine air, it is gonna flow more, that combined with a freer flowing exhaust would help in the miles/gallon area, as well as the volumetric efficeincy area. Then I could put a chip/tuner in later down the road.

i'd still recommend a cai... outlaw, volant, etc. make nice ones.

I raced Honda's for 6 years, street and strip. A cold air intake will actually leave the engine bay, or as stated above be seperate from the engine. you will always see power gains in an intake, whether it be cold air or short ram. a short ram is an intake that has a cone filter on the end of a tube inside the engine bay. the gains in power are very small either way, but the cold air intake will get better gains. it wouldn't be on the market if it didn't do something other than make noise. I would say to get it, the cold air.

Think of it this way, if you plan to continue to mod your truck, its one step closer in do that. That was the second thing I did after I freed up the exhaust on the bottom end. I plan to free it even more with headers and a true dual, which compliments a cold air intake, because the motor can now crap out the air that’s it breathing in, and it will simultaneously realize that, and the motor will breathe air in faster, having cleaner faster combustions. Its okay to get it as long as you continue to free up the exhaust ect...It kind of like, would you upgrade to a new tire on just the front of the car, the answer is no, you plan to do all 4, so cold air intake is like the front wheels, and the nice exhaust system is like changing out the rear wheels as well..

i've had good results with my 3 mods...regardless of what the naysayers say, the K&N has a heat shield that DOES seperate it from the engine compartment and allow you to suck "cold" air from the fender.

You should keep the stock setup (since it is a cold air style, and flows sufficiently), but use a thermal wrap on the entire assembly to shield it from heat soak. This will keep Ford happy, as well as provide a denser charge and increase power. Check out the results of this project from a few years ago: http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/

I like the Outlaw Power CAI myself. It seals to the fenderwell and draws in outside air. I've been pleased with mine.