Cold Air Intake (CAI) Discussion | Page 13 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Cold Air Intake (CAI) Discussion

I asked some of the Ford engine people about the purchase of a CAI. The Chief Engineer on the Explorer platform told me to not bother because there has never been any legit testing that proves a performance gain with CAI alone. I thought I knew better and bought one by INJEN.

It was a POS so it was removed immediately.

It changes one thing only and thats sound, I actually think MPG went down.

If someone tells you otherwise ask for factual test results, not hearsay and opinion.

The Ford guys mentioned that the CAI products are one of the biggest scams in aftermarket vehicle accessory world, the comment was "do you really think we wouldn't use a different design if it gave a benefit in MPG or HP?"


They look pretty and sound different, that's it.

As was said above, skip the CAI and buy a tune from Livernois, SCT, or one of the others, it changes the Sport to a different beast.

Exactly.....
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





We have actually tested the MDesign VS our Windstorm on a couple different vehicles and there is a difference in power between them. The Windstorm has actually made between 16 and 21 MORE hp than the MDesign.

Curtis%20Haley%20SHO_zpsfb3ebgmu.png
 






To add my $0.02, I'd get a CAI mainly for the sound and a tune for the performance.

Might not be the right thread, but does anyone know if the stock intake has any sort of resontator that can be removed for increased sound? My old MazdaSpeed6 had a resonating chamber in the wheelwell that I removed and it increased the sound of the turbo. It wasn't like it was a screaming turbo, but it gave that little extra turbo sound without being obtrusive or costing anything. I would like the same for the ExSport, but don't want to spend $$ on a CAI.
 






Don't take this the wrong way but testing by the company selling the product isn't really unbiased.

I was referring to independant 3rd party testing, someone with nothing to gain by the results?

Someone or company who doesnt get free product,but buys the product off the shelf and isn't associated in any way, shape, or form to the product manufacturer.

CAI only, no other tunes or changes, completely stock EcoBoost engine?

I will show this to a few friends in Dearborn at PDC and get some feedback.
 






Don't take this the wrong way but testing by the company selling the product isn't really unbiased.

I was referring to independant 3rd party testing, someone with nothing to gain by the results?

Someone or company who doesnt get free product,but buys the product off the shelf and isn't associated in any way, shape, or form to the product manufacturer.

CAI only, no other tunes or changes, completely stock EcoBoost engine?

I will show this to a few friends in Dearborn at PDC and get some feedback.

Based on the power numbers, I don't think it's a stock engine. Guessing a tune is associated to each one.

So, the next question would be, how do the tunes differ between the 2 intakes and does that have an effect on the power?
 






Based on the power numbers, I don't think it's a stock engine. Guessing a tune is associated to each one.

So, the next question would be, how do the tunes differ between the 2 intakes and does that have an effect on the power?

Speed density systems do not need tuning for a cold air kit.
 






Don't take this the wrong way but testing by the company selling the product isn't really unbiased.

I was referring to independant 3rd party testing, someone with nothing to gain by the results?

Someone or company who doesnt get free product,but buys the product off the shelf and isn't associated in any way, shape, or form to the product manufacturer.

CAI only, no other tunes or changes, completely stock EcoBoost engine?

I will show this to a few friends in Dearborn at PDC and get some feedback.

MDesign is actually super local to us, and we asked the owner whom is less than a mile from our shop to bring one over for testing...never happened. So, when we got a vehicle in that had one on it already we asked the owner to allow us to test on it. There are the dyno results that were posted by the client on the SHOForum.
 






Best bang for your buck:

New plugs gapped at .030", 160 degree Thermostat, 3 Bar MAP sensor, and 93 3 Bar Performance Tune.

Then,

Downpipes
Catback
Meth Injection

Next would be upgrading engine internals to handle turbo upgrades.

I would put the money towards the exhaust before a CAI. Maybe just go with a K&N panel filter for now, but it's your money, your choice.
 






Speed density systems do not need tuning for a cold air kit.

I was under the impression that the graph was a comparison of the MDesign and Windstorm intakes, is that correct?

What were the setups on the graph that you posted? Vehicle and mods.

Maybe I misunderstood Sgt’s question about being stock vehicle with only a CAI. My comment was that 365awhp on a ExSport(or SHO based on your later post) with only a CAI seems high.
 






The mods make no difference if you are looking at the same vehicle, same day and same time (within 20 mins or so). The only difference between the two runs is the Mdesign @365 and the Windstorm @ 392.

The XSport is based off of the same transverse platform as the Taurus, MKS, Flex and MKT. Making them a good comparison case. The car in the graph is full bolt on, for the record.
 






I was under the impression that the graph was a comparison of the MDesign and Windstorm intakes, is that correct?

What were the setups on the graph that you posted? Vehicle and mods.

Maybe I misunderstood Sgt’s question about being stock vehicle with only a CAI. My comment was that 365awhp on a ExSport(or SHO based on your later post) with only a CAI seems high.

No you understood correctly, I found that 365 at wheel HP to be a little high too.

Adding a CAI only without any tuning makes no difference at all and infact in some cases lowers MPG along with very bad drone.

Regardless, if someone wants a CAI then they should buy it.

My comments are based on face to face discussion with the engineers who built the engine, they don't sell aftermarket products.
 






The mods make no difference if you are looking at the same vehicle, same day and same time (within 20 mins or so). The only difference between the two runs is the Mdesign @365 and the Windstorm @ 392.

The XSport is based off of the same transverse platform as the Taurus, MKS, Flex and MKT. Making them a good comparison case. The car in the graph is full bolt on, for the record.

That's mainly what we were curious about, it was a full bolt on SHO, not just a CAI.

I also now understand the difference between the 2 curves is just the CAI change, zero other changes(including identical tunes).

So, if you have a full bolt on ExSport and want to add a CAI, you should end up with more power with the Windstorm design vs. the MDesign.
 






That's mainly what we were curious about, it was a full bolt on SHO, not just a CAI.

I also now understand the difference between the 2 curves is just the CAI change, zero other changes(including identical tunes).

So, if you have a full bolt on ExSport and want to add a CAI, you should end up with more power with the Windstorm design vs. the MDesign.

Correct, we have conclusive results displaying that our Windstorm CAI makes more power than the MDesign CAI.
 






Thanks for all the info guys!

So I think im going to go with the 2013+ Explorer Sport MyCalibr8or Tuner / Windstorm CAI / Even-Flo Thermostat Combo LPP350103. Do we know if forum member get a discount? 1100 is a big chunk to put out.
 






Thanks for all the info guys!

So I think im going to go with the 2013+ Explorer Sport MyCalibr8or Tuner / Windstorm CAI / Even-Flo Thermostat Combo LPP350103. Do we know if forum member get a discount? 1100 is a big chunk to put out.

How about free shipping on our Level 1 performance package?
 






Thanks for the reply. Every little helps. Do I need a 3bar map too?
 






Thanks for the reply. Every little helps. Do I need a 3bar map too?

I would recommend getting the 3BAR, personally. Reason being, not only is the tune more powerful but from a daily driver POV, it is far more predictable when plotting out your power under light throttle input. The tune feels more composed and to me it is more "fun" to DD.
 






I would recommend getting the 3BAR, personally. Reason being, not only is the tune more powerful but from a daily driver POV, it is far more predictable when plotting out your power under light throttle input. The tune feels more composed and to me it is more "fun" to DD.

Sounds good. Who do I need to call anyone specific? Or just the main line. Pm or post is fine.
 






Sounds good. Who do I need to call anyone specific? Or just the main line. Pm or post is fine.

​Jaimie Tejeda
jtejeda@livernoismotorsports.com
2500 S Gulley
Dearborn Heights, MI 48125
313 561 5500 ext.102
Livernois Motorsports & Engineering, LLC
Fax: 313-730-7500
"Like" us on Facebook
See us on YouTube
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





2016 sport cold air intake

I am looking for cold air intake for my 2016 explorer sport, the only company actually sell kit for 2016 is KnN. And the KnN part number for 2013-2016 kit are the same.

Based on this, can I safely assume the AFE or Airaid kit for 2014-2015 will work for my 2016?
 






Back
Top