5.0L Cold Air Intake

[celly]

If price is the concern, you're better off leaving your truck stock.

Excuse me? All I said is the K&N kit is a rip off and you're MUCH better off with a MAC kit which is a better kit IMHO and much cheaper to boot. Win:win.

Put the $80 savings towards Torque Monster headers or a SCT tuner to see more performance gains out of the 5.0. Air intakes are nice (mine is one of a kind and I like it a lot), but the gains are nowhere near what the manufacturers claim, unlike custom tunes or headers.

K&N is all about marketing and they suck a lot of people in with their claims, IMHO (apparently you as well).
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[Fifty150]

Over the years, I've thrown all sorts of money into cars & motorcycles. Intakes, exhaust, underdrive pulleys, electric fans, HID headlights, suspensions, vent visors, lift kits, lowering kits, tonneau cover, auxiliary coolers, extra capacity differential covers, bug shield, deep cooling pans, superchargers, flip down windshield, off-road lights, custom paint, rims, saddle bags, roll cage, Holley carbs, heavier injectors, tuck & roll upholstery, custom tuning, dyno tuning, my name in lights, et cetera. Not one mod is cost effective, nor will you ever really see a return. In some cases, I spent more on the car than the car was worth.

Think about it. You're putting money into fixing a car that isn't broken. Just leave it alone. Then you really save. I know that I'll never recover the thousands of dollars worth of mods by saving pennies on 1-2 mpg at best. But if I get a Cold Air Intake, then I'll want headers, hi-flow cats, and a cat-back exhaust. I start to make a little bit of power, I'll need a SCT X3 & custom tune to manage the PCM. While I'm at it, I might as well think about..........and there it is! It gets out of hand.

But for someone concerned over the cost of any mod, then they should just leave their vehicles as stock.

By the way, K&N's list price is just that. Nobody really pays that price. I've seen that same exact K&N kit go for less than $150.

 

[celly]

I've seen that K&N kit for less than list too, but usually in the $200 range. Please share a source for the $150 K&N. Not doubting you, but it's news to me. Considering they don't even throw in a new intake tube like their kits for other applications, even at $150 it's not a great deal, IMHO.

I completlely disagree with you above though. Yeah, my truck wasn't "broken" before headers or custom tuning, but it sure was a lot less enjoyable to drive than it is now. Cracked and restrictive manifolds are very common in the 5.0 so an upgrade to TMH was money well spent for me as was the tuning (stock V8 Explorers are tuned for soccer moms).

Besides, this thread is about the air intake. For the marginal gains these kits give, keeping cost down isn't a bad idea. When I entered the intake market 4 years ago, MAC was the best value. Instead I modded a Volant kit I had for a different Explorer. Gains were slight. A new exhaust installed just after was more noticeable to me, but the tunes I got a few weeks later were even better. The headers were the best mod, even though they cost more. Ford should have included a similar design as OEM if you ask me.
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[Fifty150]

Ever wonder about why even on supposed "sports" cars, they throw restrictive exhaust manifolds on the engine? I guess to me, it would make sense for all cars to come with even length exhaust headers. But who are we kidding, right? It just would make too much sense for all cars to come with electric fans, electric water pumps, underdrive pulleys, and cold air intakes. All trucks should come with, at the very least, 4.10 gears. After all, you bought a truck, not a Geo Metro.

The K&N 57-2513-1 Fuel Injection Performance Kit Air Intake Kit
is listed on Amazon.com right now for $132.88.

 

[Kriegen]

@Fifty150, I'm sure you could fab something to allow it to work on something other than the 97 5.0 but it's not a bolt on for anything after 97

Here are the vehicles it fits

Ford Explorer 1995-1997
Ford Ranger 1995-1997
Ford Ranger 1995-1997
Mercury Mountaineer 1997

 

[beach]

Ever wonder about why even on supposed "sports" cars, they throw restrictive exhaust manifolds on the engine? I guess to me, it would make sense for all cars to come with even length exhaust headers. But who are we kidding, right? It just would make too much sense for all cars to come with electric fans, electric water pumps, underdrive pulleys, and cold air intakes. All trucks should come with, at the very least, 4.10 gears. After all, you bought a truck, not a Geo Metro.

The K&N 57-2513-1 Fuel Injection Performance Kit Air Intake Kit
is listed on Amazon.com right now for $132.88.

Who the heck would spend that on what is basically just a filter and some adaptors? You could buy that filter and get your own adaptors/mounts for way less, crazy part is thats the cheapest I've seen, others have paid a lot more, may as well light your money on fire lol. I mean theres not even an intake tube. Or get one of the Amsoil EA's and slap in. The housing itself isn't restrictive, cut it to pull air from behind the headlight with the silencer removed and EA filter and you have a cheap setup and noticeable gain.

 

[celly]

Who the heck would spend that on what is basically just a filter and some adaptors? You could buy that filter and get your own adaptors/mounts for way less, crazy part is thats the cheapest I've seen, others have paid a lot more, may as well light your money on fire lol. I mean theres not even an intake tube. Or get one of the Amsoil EA's and slap in. The housing itself isn't restrictive, cut it to pull air from behind the headlight with the silencer removed and EA filter and you have a cheap setup and noticeable gain.

That was my point. K&N is a rip off, even at the Amazon price. It's only an option anyhow for the early 5.0 so MAC is still a viable and best option for the whole kit, IMHO.
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[scottnh1970]

That was my point. K&N is a rip off, even at the Amazon price. It's only an option anyhow for the early 5.0 so MAC is still a viable and best option for the whole kit, IMHO.
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MAC intake way to go!:biggthump:

 

[Fifty150]

I suppose most of us could remove the factory air box, get a hose clamp and attach a filter of the right diameter around the end of the OEM intake hose, then prop it all up with some make-shift brackets. You could get an oiled filter for about $60 - $75 tops, a $2 hose clamp, and find some scrap metal and hardware for no more than $10; then you wouldn't have to buy anyone's intake. You wouldn't need MAC, Airaid, GReddy, Volant, K&N, AEM, or anyone else. After all, even mandrel bent intake sized pipes are readily available from Kragen. Even the heat shield is simply a piece of bent metal. I've always wondered if I stuck some Dynamat onto the heatshield for insulation, would it work any better? None of these kits includes a new MAF sensor, or come with anything to re-program the PCM with (except Ford Racing intake kits for Mustangs). What are we really paying hundreds of dollars for? Just a sticker with the C.A.R.B. E.O.#? Even exhaust systems can be frabicated. I see pipes in different lengths, mendrel bent connectors at different angles, and all the connectors & hangers. Why pay up to $800 for a couple of pipes, a muffler, and a tip. You can make the whole thing for about $80.

 

[celly]

I suppose most of us could remove the factory air box, get a hose clamp and attach a filter of the right diameter around the end of the OEM intake hose, then prop it all up with some make-shift brackets. You could get an oiled filter for about $60 - $75 tops, a $2 hose clamp, and find some scrap metal and hardware for no more than $10; then you wouldn't have to buy anyone's intake. You wouldn't need MAC, Airaid, GReddy, Volant, K&N, AEM, or anyone else. After all, even mandrel bent intake sized pipes are readily available from Kragen. Even the heat shield is simply a piece of bent metal. I've always wondered if I stuck some Dynamat onto the heatshield for insulation, would it work any better? None of these kits includes a new MAF sensor, or come with anything to re-program the PCM with (except Ford Racing intake kits for Mustangs). What are we really paying hundreds of dollars for? Just a sticker with the C.A.R.B. E.O.#? Even exhaust systems can be frabicated. I see pipes in different lengths, mendrel bent connectors at different angles, and all the connectors & hangers. Why pay up to $800 for a couple of pipes, a muffler, and a tip. You can make the whole thing for about $80.

You sure like to debate just for the sake of debating, don't you?

 

[Fifty150]

You sure like to debate just for the sake of debating, don't you?

......just stirring the pot