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K&N Intake

Glad to see finally there are some more folks out there that understand how a mass airflow sensors works and an improvement in fuel economy will not occur. I think K & N does themselves no good by trying to claim better fuel economy. Higher HP maybe if in fact it flows more air than a conventional air filter. A few years ago I read a Consumer Reports article about how many millions of $ are wasted each year on air filters.Even a dirty air filter unless it is essentially plugged shut does not effect MPG.
 



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bigdude is right about mileage effects of a dirty filter on a mass air vehicle. On carbureted vehicles, it will make a difference, but if you are driving a carbureted car, you’re likely not going for gas mileage. Also, just because a filter looks dirty doesn’t mean it needs to be replaced. A dirty filter is an efficient filter and the more often you change or clean your air filter, the more dirt gets into the engine causing wear. A K&N is not an efficient filter and for most stock vehicles, you will not notice any gains in power, so all you are really doing is letting more dust into your engine.
 






Do you have a K&N FIPK Kit Installed??

I truly love my K&N FIPK kit and have no intention of changing, but would love to reduce the noise that it generates.

I am trying to determine exactly where the noise is coming from during acceleration. It feels like it is against the lower part of the front firewall so I was thinking of adding sound dampening material inside under the front carpet.

I was also wondering if the actual air intake tube itself was generating some of the noise and last, wondering just how good that hook insulation is?

I would be very interested in anyone's feedback. I have material ready to go, I am just unsure of the best locations to insulate.
 






Hi Mike, is this what you have ?

20120804_174803.jpg


I think the only way to reduce the sound is going back to the OEM airbox, once we take that part away, we remove Ford's sound dampening device for the intake.
 






Yes, that is what I have. I agree with you but not 100%. I would think there is/are methods to dampening some of the noise since it does reverberate into the engine area.
 






Someone a while back posted that the extra "boxes" on the stock intake served as sound baffles. So unless you add something like that, I don't think you can put enough sound deadening fabric on the firewall to muffle it.
 






I don't think I can muffle "it", you are right, but the reverberation coming from it is going to come through the firewall and hood so there are areas that are not covered currently. Can't hurt to investigate a little.
 






The air intake shouldn't vibrate. If this is the case then the installation is wrong.

I have put K&N air intake systems on EVERY vehicle I own and they ALL increase the sound of acceleration but there is no vibrating coming through the firewall.

When I put one on my 2008 Tacoma, when I would idle it vibrated, LOUDLY, but I had the filter too far down on the tube and the first was vibrating on the shield. Do you think this is what is happening?

I will be installing one on my wife's 2014 very very soon. I will let you know the progress as it comes too.
 






2014 ford explorer sport. Cold air intake?

Hello all,
I just picked up a 2014 ford explorer sport. It has the 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine in it. I was thinking about putting a K&N cold air intake on it. I am reading many mixed reviews on the subject. Also will it help performance and fuel economy wise? Thank You
Aj
 






Welcome to the Forum ajbeep.:wavey:
As per my PM, I have merged your thread with this existing one. From what I've heard on some of the TV car programs, these intakes do not increase mpg. There have been occasions where members have actually removed theirs and reinstalled the OEM setup. There have also been many others that are very happy with their installation.

Peter
 






Hi All,

I am looking at improving the engine sound of my 2014 XLT and I looked at the K&N CAI kit.

I've read some mixed reviews so I was wondering if some of the owners on that thread that have had the system for a couple of year can provide some feedback on a few points :

1- Did you get any problems to engine because of too much dirt going in ?
2- Did you get any problems to MAF sensor because of oil ?
3- Is the noise level much higher only after 2K RPM ? I mean I want it to be louder when I step on it but when I cruise at 70MPH I don't want it to be bothering the cabin.
4- Does it change at all the exhaust sound ?
5- Do you find engine reacts normally even with increased airflow ? Or does it have to have a Catback to "breathe" properly or even get tuned ?
6- Do any of you live where it is cold in winter (like really cold as I am in Canada) and does it make a difference on engine behavior ?
7- Do any of you tow with that system ? I have a 4000 lbs travel trailer.

Thanks in advance for all your answers, please even if they are partial don't be shy to answer.
 






Regardless of if they claim an increase in MPG and HP having a reusable filter in there is worth it enough for me (not CAI, just filter). I'll be putting one in our explorer when its time for its first change.
 






K&N air filter mileage boost

We have 15,000 miles on our '14 Sport and typically get around 22 to 23 MPG on the highway. I replaced the air filter with a K&N filter and drove about 200 miles on the highway and averaged 26 MPG! I've had K&N filters in my musclecars for years for performance reasons and was pleasantly surprised by the MPG boost it had in our Sport.
 






I just saw this thread....so i have a mdesign intake...not KN...and wondering if the vibration i feel at certain RPMs in gas pedal and floor would be related at all to the change i made since before it..i really didn't notice it..i guess the only want to tell is to put stock back and test drive it? But it's not connected directly to engine and or anywhere near the floor board...
 






K & N filters will not have an impact on gas mileage. Your engine management system, specifically the mass air flow sensor controls fuel input. If you assume the K & N filter flows more air the MAF would put a smaller amount of fuel in at the same throttle position. This could give you more power but the exact same amount of fuel is injected for the same cubic feet of air. I don't believe K & N any longer claims MPG gains. I guess the combination of a K & N and and an after market exhaust system could reduce your gas mileage.
 






Hey, what are your thoughts on the Performance Intake? I just ordered one for my 16 Sport from K&N and i've heard others complaining about the noise it adds... is this really an issue? I'm rethinking installing this thing, I don't want that constant 'drone' from it while driving on the highway.

thx
 






Hey, what are your thoughts on the Performance Intake? I just ordered one for my 16 Sport from K&N and i've heard others complaining about the noise it adds... is this really an issue? I'm rethinking installing this thing, I don't want that constant 'drone' from it while driving on the highway.

thx
I moved your post to this forum. If installing a CAI, it is advisable tto use one without a metal tube type intake. The metal will heat up and thus heat the air being drawn through it thereby defeating the purpose of 'Cold Air Intake'.

Peter
 






I moved your post to this forum. If installing a CAI, it is advisable tto use one without a metal tube type intake. The metal will heat up and thus heat the air being drawn through it thereby defeating the purpose of 'Cold Air Intake'.

Peter

See the Mdesign uses mostly if not ALL carbon fiber for the tube..now i am not sure how that is with heat..but it's better then metal no?
 






Well, this has all been very interesting, this post. It seems that the same issues/praises can be found on just about all of the 'car forums' out their although, I have limited myself to my car interest in Mustangs over many years and those forums. Not unusual to find the same concerns here, on an Explorer forum.

Let my just say that I have used K&N filters and CAIs on all of my Mustangs over the years and never had issue one with them. Proper servicing, in my view, is what prevents these 'maf issues' that many have inquired about or have had problems with. I can't help but think that many of the claims remind me of old wives tails ;) but, that doesn't take away from the fact that many may, indeed, have legitimate issues. I have not and don't expect to into the future.

I also have a '07 Ranger 4x4 with a K&N CAI installed. Been on it for 6 years with a service done once. Never skipped a beat so, either I'm really lucky or I'm doing something right. I tend to think the latter.

So, with that in mind, I received a K&N CAI for my Ex yesterday via Summit and the big, brown truck and will probably install it tomorrow.

I'm not concerned at which point I might notice the power gains as much as knowing when I need it, it will be their. If it's about the 3k rpm range, that's just about right for passing or just letting the Ex get out of it's own way. :) A lot of talk about not seeing any gains in the lower rpm range is not followed by, reasons to have it their in the first place unless you are looking for a low end torque monster of which the Ex is not. Normal driving range has no 'performance value' anyway, IMO.

Now, getting back to the gains that may be seen in the K&N CAI, the package contains a sheet with dyno results in which it says max HP @ 5500 rpm will reach 226.77 rwhp. This number was taken from the results of testing a '11 Ex with the 3.5L, or course and I was wondering if the HP ratting of an '11 was lower in the '11 models than they are in the newer ones that followed, I have a '15. My guess is the '11 has the same as the '15 but, I haven't looked it up. My point is the enormous parasitic loss form crank to the wheels. I measure the % @ almost 27%. I find that % to be quite alarming. For a basic FWD?

It has been my experience over the years that for a RWD car, this loss is more in the range of 15% for a manual gear box and 18% for an automatic. I can verify the numbers for RWD, manual as I've done dyno's with my Mustangs and these numbers had little variation in crank to wheel loss. I'm wondering if any of you have done a before and after on a dyno with this set up on their EX.

The torque gains are a little funny as well as stock, at the crank, the 3.5L has 255 ft./lbs. But, the parasitic loss in percentage is much less.

Mind you, this is a K&N sheet I'm looking at. Using the % numbers I'm used to and are pretty much the standard, I would be losing 10HP in HP changing to the K&N CAI according to their numbers. Of course, not having numbers rung up on a dyno on my Ex, I have no idea if the high % in parasitic loss is, in fact, true.

I have never done a dyno on a FWD vehicle and would find it hard to understand if it got more parasitic loss compared to a rear drive car. I would think the EX would have less loss unless the transmission/PTO combo takes away that much.

Anyway, I've gone long enough in this thread and await some good replies. :salute:
 



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The HP and Torque numbers are the same for the 2011 as they are for the 2015 with the 3.5L V6 engine.
290 HP @ 6500 RPM
255 (lb-ft) @ 4000 RPM

Did you kit include a metal or carbon fibre intake tube. Metal will heat up and heat the intake air, thus reducing the effect of "cold air intake".

Peter
 






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