Cold Air Intake (CAI) Discussion | Page 17 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Cold Air Intake (CAI) Discussion

I wasn't a big fan of the AEM dry flow filters, sounded great on paper but didn't provide any flow benefits over the K&N or paper. I have not pulled out the air filter or airbox for my 2018 XLT, but the EcoBoost engines are ALL speed density... meaning there is no MAF sensor so you can pour oil straight onto the air filter and let it get sucked into the engine without worrying about MAF sensor contamination. As for the naturally aspirated 3.5L V6, it should have a MAF sensor because I can see the airflow vs. voltage table in the tune, but I couldn't find the harness on the airbox on my 2018.

In fact if you pulled the MAP sensor from your intake manifold on an EcoBoost, it's probably soaked with oil anyhow (or some PCV blow by residue).

I did extensive airflow testing on the different air filters, and none of them provided any sizable performance gains on the EcoBoost. They all flowed as much air as the engine needed, even the dirty paper air filter that I used for 3 years that had bugs and acorns jammed between the pleats that I used to run 12.4 seconds in the 1/4 mile. Just my 2 cents, but everyone wants a CAI to make their engine compartment look snazzy, but on the transverse 3.5 EcoBoost CAI kits, they just let in way too much hot air, or don't flow more than the stock airbox.
 



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screenshot of air temp vs. intake temp with STOCK intake on my 2017 sport. Not going to get any colder... CAI's are a scam.
Im4u1z7.png
 
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So the take away is... Don't waste money on a Cold Air Intake. Get a quality air filter in your stock box and get more fresh air into the stock box!
 












I had a livernois Windstorm /airaid cai on my 2017 sport. Noticed a difference in sound but ended up taking it off because I was getting a weird noise from it while driving. From what I remember there was a noticeable change in sound vs stock, but didn't really feel a difference in performance. To me the sport feels stronger with the factory system. The system I had came with a rubber seal that goes up against the hood so I'm assuming it keeps the hot air out.
 






I think METROPLEX has summed it up rather well. Kinda what I was thinking all along especially for otherwise stock machines. Thank you for the time and effort. Clarence.
 






Hello Everyone! My name is Eric!!
so, i have a 2016 Explorer sport in platinum white!! i have about 5 months left on my lease and i plan on financing it to KEEP!!!! That's when all the fun will begin!!! I don't have much planned but so far what i have in mind are the following:

Cold air intake- thinking about Injen's cold air or K&N, this one i need some suggestions.

PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS!!! :D
HAPPY MODDING EVERYONE!!
 
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Hey Eric - I take it you did not read this thread. I will assume no one will provide you a response due to the 14 pages this thread has produced. I would suggest you read page 13 to make a determination if you will really purchase a CAI. I purchased the Livernois Motorsport Level 2 Performance Package plus some other goodies, but will not be installing their CAI based on reading page 13. Good luck on your modding.
 
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I have a 2017 explorer ecoboost sport looking into getting a cold air intake for it and i seen a "AFe Explorer Sport MagnumFORCE Intake Stage-2 Pro Dry S 3.5 EcoBoost (2012-2019)" its used but in good condition. My question will be will the aftermarket cold air intake make some what of a difference or just get a stock replacement K&N filter. Thanks for any feed back.
 






You might get a bit more turbo and blow-off sound, but honestly, neither will provide any noticeable difference in performance (power or MPG).
 






To get anything noticeable from a CAI you need to have a custom tune to take full advantage of it. Keep in mind that reusable filters like Steeda, K&N etc. require very frequent maintenance. It is very important to not over oil the filter as this could result in oil coating the MAF sensor which will typically make the engine run lean. Not a good thing to happen for a turbocharged engine. For a daily driver vehicle you should clean, let dry and reoil it every 1-2 months to keep them effective at filtering the air properly. If you see a lot of dust in your area and drive a typical amount of miles then I would recommend cleaning it every month. Good air filter maintenance is especially important with turbocharged engines. They are far less tolerant of any amount of dust entering the air intake tract. I clean the one on my Steeda Mustang 2-3 times a year and I only put 3k-4k miles on it annually.
 






I'd actually recommend cleaning/oiling the K&N less often because they let so much dust through.
Allow some dust to build up so it can actually filter the air.

The efficiency of an air filter will increase as dust accumulates on the filter surface, right up to the point at which it needs to be replaced. This is why it is important to allow an air filter to do its job properly and not change it prematurely. In other words, an air filter that is allowed to reach the end of its life will work better than filters that are changed more often.

I personally won't run K&N in any of my stock vehicles.
 
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I'd actually recommend cleaning/oiling the K&N less often because they let so much dust through.
Allow some dust to build up so it can actually filter the air.
It is a double edged sword with reusable filters. They rely on the oil to trap and hold the finer particles. If the oil is absorbed by debris then the efficiency of the filter decreases and smaller particles are no longer trapped in the filter as efficiently. You shouldn't over oil the filter because this causes other problems. If one is used it should be regularly maintained as is recommended by the manufacturer. They are, by design, less effective at trapping particles than a paper filter. The tradeoff is somewhat better airflow. There is a reason manufacturers don't install reusable filters from the factory. I would rather not have one in my 2007 GT but it came with the Steeda performance package and changing it to something else is too much of a PITA.
 






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