- Joined
- October 12, 1999
- Messages
- 6,568
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- City, State
- Pennsylvania
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '17 F-150 FX4
(Copied from my other post.) Okay, okay, yesterday's review of the Volant was harsh. But, the cuts and scrapes of fumbling with the stock air box bottom are slowly healing, and I feel a little more at ease with the unit. I've had a day to test it out, so I'm going to give this another shot. Here goes.
Volant Cold Air Induction Kit #19540
First thoughts:
It sure looks pretty, although the kit is missing a clamp and four lock washers. Volant offered to send the pieces to me, but I chose to pick them up locally to save myself some time. A clamp (not the size Volant includes, but as close as Lowes could come) and four washers cost me $1.50, so not all is lost. In addition, an extra rubber connector is included, but this will prove to be a valuable addition.
Installing the Volant:
First I removed the stock air box lid and my K&N drop-in air filter. I then unscrewed the clamp that holds the stock intake tube to the throttle body. After pulling out the breather tube and unclipping the MAF harness, I removed the stock tube. All that was left was the stock air box bottom.
An hour later, the bottom was still left. I'm not a weak person (well, physically... morally - we'll leave that up to the Big Man to decide), but this thing had me on the ropes. I pulled, profaned, pulled, threw a tantrum, pulled, considered leaving the stock unit in place, used a 1x2, the 1x2 broke, used a crow bar, got scared of damaging engine pieces, pulled, and finally it came out. This is where most of the marks on my hands and arms came into play. Ford must want folks to keep the stock air box, because they don't make it an easy pull. After I had the bottom loose, I popped the breather tube plate from the front engine brace/wall and removed the entire piece. Half-way there, I thought.
Now all that remained was the Volant (and the wives and the sons and the daughters... stupid Gordon Lightfoot plug). I assembled the filter, box, and MAF and then the tube and all connectors inside then took it outside. I first connected the new intake tube to the throttle body using the supplied clamp and the Lowes clamp. Volant included two rubber pieces to attach the tube to the TB, so I used the larger one that was snug (as opposed to the smaller one that would be more snug but require more profanity). After claping it on both pieces, I was confident it was sealed. I still am confident. I stuffed the breather tube into the port (their rubber seal isn't too great). Then I stuffed that mother of an airbox into the stock location, leaving the stock air intake tube plate off to limit the amount of air resistance. After shoehorning the tubes and connectors, I tightened all clamps, reattached the MAF harness, and rechecked all clamps one last time.
Success! Sort of. I disconnected the battery for twenty minutes so that the stock computer memory would be erased and the vehicle would relearn how to suck air. I also spent a fair amount of time looking for the screw I lost from the plastic SOHC cover, but alas, no luck. It'll be a salvage yard purchase the next time I get there.
After 20 minutes (it may have been longer, but I'll err on the lower side), I reconnected the positive, closed the hood, and wondered if anyone heard my profanity an hour earlier.
Running the Volant:
I'll first discuss the issues.
(1) The Volant airbox is snug laterally, but vertically it has about an inch of play. Others haven't had this problem, but I believe it's because their engine bar is smaller than mine. I'll be subject to envy because of this, but I shall persist and ignore their jealousy. Unfortunately, this space proved to be an annoying issue because when I hit bumps that jostle the front end up and down, the sound of the air box clunking off of the base plate can easily be heard in the cab. Although it won't cause any damage, it is annoying.
(2) On cold start-ups, the Volant sounds hollow (as one described it) and the air flow louder than normal. This stops after a few minutes of driving, and probably has something to do with the system warming up and expanding.
(3) At 1/5 to 1/4 throttle, a high pitched whistle/whine is heard. It's not excessively loud, but it's there. I know some folks have had problems with whiney wives and K&N FIPKs, so I am not too concerned. I think it may have something to do with the air box lid (it is screwed on, but it has gaps in places) or a leak, but I haven't quite found a fix yet. I tested the unit with and without Karen in the Trac, and the whining persisted, albeit louder when she was in the passenger seat. Therefore, I am sure the cause is the Volant.
And now for the happy words.
(1) Although I feel Volant should develop a fix for the gap and clunk, I realize I am on my own. I will probably end up using templates from the front engine support/wall, side engine wall, and base plate to cut 1/4 inch rubber sheets that I will glue to the steel. I'll probably then place Dynamat or some other sound killer on top of the rubber (cut to the same shape) to further secure the box and kill any clunking noises. My hope is that the combination of making the unit tighter in its place and using sound-deadening material will solve this issue. If I have any Dynamat left over, I will sound proof Karen's mouth. However, I fear I may need to get an extra square yard or seven to accomplish this.
(2) As stated, this cold air start-up noise seems to be normal on some, so I will live and let live. At least it reminds me that my car is sucking more than ever before (but in a good way).
(3) I don't know how to stop the whistle, but as God as my witness, I will not sleep until I find the evil nemesis that is causing this. Well, I'll sleep tonight. I'll start my period of aware vengeance tomorrow. Unless I get tired, of course. But mark my words - I will stop it from whistling, because damnit, it doesn't even know the words.
Final Thoughts:
So does the Trac feel faster, you ask?
Well, I don't feel like I'm driving a Corvette, that's for sure. But then again, I don't drive a sports car - it's a truck, and it's slow. I can't really feel a difference, but I'm not good at using my body to sense the difference between two tenths of a second quicker to 60 MPH. It may be faster, and the torque may be higher, but I'll leave that up to an eventual dyno visit.
Do I intend on keeping it, or will I trade it to you for some pogs and a Kent Merker baseball card?
Hell yeah I'm keeping it. This thing is like a girlfriend. Frustrating at times, downright angering other times, stubborn, and so forth. But in the end, it's absolutely beautiful looking, fun to have, and sucks really well. The Volant. Stay focused here, you pervs. But really, after I get the sucker secured into its little cubby hole of the engine bay, it shouldn't have any issues.
Do I have anything else to say?
Well, not really. Ask me questions, and either I'll answer them or someone else with a Volant will chime in and answer. There's only a handful of folks with Volants, but we consider ourselves better than you, and we don't mine helping the plebians with their many questions.
Will you quit using questions to introduce new points?
Will you stop being so stupid, stupid?
Enjoy, folks.
P.S. The link below is for Job 2 Tracs. For Job 1, you'll need #19640.
http://www.volantperformance.com/pdetail.asp?ID=209
Volant Cold Air Induction Kit #19540
First thoughts:
It sure looks pretty, although the kit is missing a clamp and four lock washers. Volant offered to send the pieces to me, but I chose to pick them up locally to save myself some time. A clamp (not the size Volant includes, but as close as Lowes could come) and four washers cost me $1.50, so not all is lost. In addition, an extra rubber connector is included, but this will prove to be a valuable addition.
Installing the Volant:
First I removed the stock air box lid and my K&N drop-in air filter. I then unscrewed the clamp that holds the stock intake tube to the throttle body. After pulling out the breather tube and unclipping the MAF harness, I removed the stock tube. All that was left was the stock air box bottom.
An hour later, the bottom was still left. I'm not a weak person (well, physically... morally - we'll leave that up to the Big Man to decide), but this thing had me on the ropes. I pulled, profaned, pulled, threw a tantrum, pulled, considered leaving the stock unit in place, used a 1x2, the 1x2 broke, used a crow bar, got scared of damaging engine pieces, pulled, and finally it came out. This is where most of the marks on my hands and arms came into play. Ford must want folks to keep the stock air box, because they don't make it an easy pull. After I had the bottom loose, I popped the breather tube plate from the front engine brace/wall and removed the entire piece. Half-way there, I thought.
Now all that remained was the Volant (and the wives and the sons and the daughters... stupid Gordon Lightfoot plug). I assembled the filter, box, and MAF and then the tube and all connectors inside then took it outside. I first connected the new intake tube to the throttle body using the supplied clamp and the Lowes clamp. Volant included two rubber pieces to attach the tube to the TB, so I used the larger one that was snug (as opposed to the smaller one that would be more snug but require more profanity). After claping it on both pieces, I was confident it was sealed. I still am confident. I stuffed the breather tube into the port (their rubber seal isn't too great). Then I stuffed that mother of an airbox into the stock location, leaving the stock air intake tube plate off to limit the amount of air resistance. After shoehorning the tubes and connectors, I tightened all clamps, reattached the MAF harness, and rechecked all clamps one last time.
Success! Sort of. I disconnected the battery for twenty minutes so that the stock computer memory would be erased and the vehicle would relearn how to suck air. I also spent a fair amount of time looking for the screw I lost from the plastic SOHC cover, but alas, no luck. It'll be a salvage yard purchase the next time I get there.
After 20 minutes (it may have been longer, but I'll err on the lower side), I reconnected the positive, closed the hood, and wondered if anyone heard my profanity an hour earlier.
Running the Volant:
I'll first discuss the issues.
(1) The Volant airbox is snug laterally, but vertically it has about an inch of play. Others haven't had this problem, but I believe it's because their engine bar is smaller than mine. I'll be subject to envy because of this, but I shall persist and ignore their jealousy. Unfortunately, this space proved to be an annoying issue because when I hit bumps that jostle the front end up and down, the sound of the air box clunking off of the base plate can easily be heard in the cab. Although it won't cause any damage, it is annoying.
(2) On cold start-ups, the Volant sounds hollow (as one described it) and the air flow louder than normal. This stops after a few minutes of driving, and probably has something to do with the system warming up and expanding.
(3) At 1/5 to 1/4 throttle, a high pitched whistle/whine is heard. It's not excessively loud, but it's there. I know some folks have had problems with whiney wives and K&N FIPKs, so I am not too concerned. I think it may have something to do with the air box lid (it is screwed on, but it has gaps in places) or a leak, but I haven't quite found a fix yet. I tested the unit with and without Karen in the Trac, and the whining persisted, albeit louder when she was in the passenger seat. Therefore, I am sure the cause is the Volant.
And now for the happy words.
(1) Although I feel Volant should develop a fix for the gap and clunk, I realize I am on my own. I will probably end up using templates from the front engine support/wall, side engine wall, and base plate to cut 1/4 inch rubber sheets that I will glue to the steel. I'll probably then place Dynamat or some other sound killer on top of the rubber (cut to the same shape) to further secure the box and kill any clunking noises. My hope is that the combination of making the unit tighter in its place and using sound-deadening material will solve this issue. If I have any Dynamat left over, I will sound proof Karen's mouth. However, I fear I may need to get an extra square yard or seven to accomplish this.
(2) As stated, this cold air start-up noise seems to be normal on some, so I will live and let live. At least it reminds me that my car is sucking more than ever before (but in a good way).
(3) I don't know how to stop the whistle, but as God as my witness, I will not sleep until I find the evil nemesis that is causing this. Well, I'll sleep tonight. I'll start my period of aware vengeance tomorrow. Unless I get tired, of course. But mark my words - I will stop it from whistling, because damnit, it doesn't even know the words.
Final Thoughts:
So does the Trac feel faster, you ask?
Well, I don't feel like I'm driving a Corvette, that's for sure. But then again, I don't drive a sports car - it's a truck, and it's slow. I can't really feel a difference, but I'm not good at using my body to sense the difference between two tenths of a second quicker to 60 MPH. It may be faster, and the torque may be higher, but I'll leave that up to an eventual dyno visit.
Do I intend on keeping it, or will I trade it to you for some pogs and a Kent Merker baseball card?
Hell yeah I'm keeping it. This thing is like a girlfriend. Frustrating at times, downright angering other times, stubborn, and so forth. But in the end, it's absolutely beautiful looking, fun to have, and sucks really well. The Volant. Stay focused here, you pervs. But really, after I get the sucker secured into its little cubby hole of the engine bay, it shouldn't have any issues.
Do I have anything else to say?
Well, not really. Ask me questions, and either I'll answer them or someone else with a Volant will chime in and answer. There's only a handful of folks with Volants, but we consider ourselves better than you, and we don't mine helping the plebians with their many questions.
Will you quit using questions to introduce new points?
Will you stop being so stupid, stupid?
Enjoy, folks.
P.S. The link below is for Job 2 Tracs. For Job 1, you'll need #19640.
http://www.volantperformance.com/pdetail.asp?ID=209
