Air Intake Kit

[RufusExpo]

Hey on my 1993 Ford Explorer XL 4.0 its a stock engine but i just want more performance wise, someone told me if i put on a Air intake kit it will give me a difference, but there are alot of them out there which one should I get? and the ones i have seen sometimes dont have the part for the Mass air flow sensor and i know it deals alot with saving gas i had to replace one before

 

[Anime]

The KKM intake kit is made for first gen Explorers and comes with everything you need:

http://www.kustomz.com/054094.html


You should also consider getting a cat-back exhaust kit to go with it, the Dynomax Super Turbo kit is a good choice:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Dynomax/289/17415/10002/-1

http://www.amazon.com/Dynomax-17415-Exhaust-System/dp/B000CIT2QI

 

[RufusExpo]

The KKM intake kit is made for first gen Explorers and comes with everything you need:

http://www.kustomz.com/054094.html


You should also consider getting a cat-back exhaust kit to go with it, the Dynomax Super Turbo kit is a good choice:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Dynomax/289/17415/10002/-1

http://www.amazon.com/Dynomax-17415-Exhaust-System/dp/B000CIT2QI

Awesome man thanks im ordering the sir kit today and the exhaust on my truck needs to be replaced glad you threw in the other links,

Throttle body spacers are they a waste of money, i hear 2 sides i thought they were only good for carbs?

 

[Anime]

Throttle body spacers are a waste of money.

Adding an inch or less of straight tube before/after the throttle body, when the air intake tube is a few feet long, does not affect anything, or at least the 0.0000001% increase is not worth the $100+ price of the precision machined billet aluminum piece they want to sell you. It's also not worth the hassle of now having your air intake tube an inch or more forward and getting in the way of the hood closing and causing all sorts of other problems.

A spacer/riser works a bit on a carburetor, especially with a velocity stack (air funnel) on the end, because it increases the length by quite a bit, since the carb itself is usually pretty short, and so the increase in the velocity of the air is pretty significant, depending on the system.

If you want a REAL increase in airflow to go with your intake, you can mod the throttle body yourself:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185223

this works because you're smoothing the airflow over the butterfly valve AND slightly decreasing the amount of stuff blocking the airflow.

You could of course also buy a BBK throttle body for $200+

http://www.explorerexpress.com/throttle-body-9194-explorer-p-215.html

Make sure you check your plastic air intake tube for cracks/holes, and be sure to use all new gaskets when you take things apart. If you're super careful when removing the airbox from the intake tube, you can re-use the stock MAF gasket though, they are hard to get otherwise.

 

[Jason94sport]

You can also buy a S&B(or similar quality) cone filter & a 3" MAS adapter & stick that on the end of your intake tube. Much cheaper.

 

[Anime]

I prefer sending people to KKM, since they are the ones making a kit for the first gens.

If we all cheap out and get the universal adapters and air filters, KKM will not sell enough kits to continue making them, then everyone will be STUCK using universal stuff.

The kit is worth the money, at least the original was. The billet MAF adapter matches the factory MAF assembly perfectly, and the surfaces are so flat you don't even need a gasket for it to be airtight.

 

[mr cribb]

I made mine for less than $50:

302 mass air flow housing with 4.0 sensor guts

 

[mr cribb]

I got most of it for free, the main tube is from a 90-93 integra, 2x6 hanger cut fabricated to brace the mass air flow sensor. Then there is a spectre air filter, and one 90* bend to the throttle body.

I picked up a 302 MAF from a junkyard, removed the guts, and installed the stock 4.0 guts. Some people say this causes issues, however this has been on the truck since 4-2011 and I have had ZERO issues with drive-ability or running rich condition. I have cleaned the sensor once a few months ago.

 

[Bulldozer]

So you think moving the intake into the hot engine compartment, right behind the battery where there is almost no airflow, was really an improvement over the stock system that sucks cold air from behind the grill?

 

[mr cribb]

So you think moving the intake into the hot engine compartment, right behind the battery where there is almost no airflow, was really an improvement over the stock system that sucks cold air from behind the grill?

As I have stated I simply did this because I could. I understand there is no real performance gain, if I wanted performance there would be a 302 in here instead of my tired v6.

I was giving an idea to someone else, I don't need YOU to criticize my work. If you or anyone else on this forum doesn't like my idea, try constructive criticism and give some ideas of how to do it better, not telling me how my way sucks etc etc etc.

I never said my idea was perfect or worked flawlessly. How many inventions failed before the inventors got it right?

 

[Jason94sport]

So you think moving the intake into the hot engine compartment, right behind the battery where there is almost no airflow, was really an improvement over the stock system that sucks cold air from behind the grill?

Have you looked at how the stock intake takes in air? It's not just about hot vs cold(cool, ambient) air.

 

[surf]

Just thought I would share my thoughts on the slippery slope that starts with the intake. I have done the intake, aftermarket MAF, exhaust and BBK throttle body. I probably spent $550 total on these bolt on mods. Here is my assessment. I did the intake and cat back exhaust first. I noticed no improvement in gas mileage or power. I did enjoy the sound of the exhaust. Added the aftermarket MAF that was calibrated for the open intake. Again, no notable improvement except that the new MAF eliminated the ping that I could not resolve by cleaning. When I finally installed the BBK I did see a considerable difference in throttle response and I did notice the engine seemed to pull hard up until about 45 mph when power seemed to drop off. I also noticed at highway speeds I was able to accelerate a little better when passing. Overall I believe it is a mistake to expect a whole lot out of these types of mods individually. It is only when they are all combined that the impact of the mods is felt. I have enjoyed the results of the total package over time but be warned that you will probably spend more than you want to to get results and the money may be better spent on gears, tires or other goodies.

 

[Jason94sport]

Agree, to get the most out of these mods on any car you have to be able to tune it. Which is not possible with the X.

 

[Xeek]

^actually it is. just expensive and not a lot of places can do it.

and i actually have the kkm filter.i noticed an improvement with it on.
i actually have been soaking it in simple green over the last few months off and on trying to get all the mud and sand out. then ill purchase the kkm cleaner kit and see if it can be revived.

 

[malohnes]

In my experience, Surf has it right.

 

[Flip4ford]

As I have stated I simply did this because I could. I understand there is no real performance gain, if I wanted performance there would be a 302 in here instead of my tired v6.

I was giving an idea to someone else, I don't need YOU to criticize my work. If you or anyone else on this forum doesn't like my idea, try constructive criticism and give some ideas of how to do it better, not telling me how my way sucks etc etc etc.

I never said my idea was perfect or worked flawlessly. How many inventions failed before the inventors got it right?

"Easy there Francis"- I can see you have a hood clearance issues because of the wear marks on your fan shroud-- if it wears through your pipe will hit the fan- you might consider a bracket of some kind.

I have all the intake/exhaust mods listed above and headers-- maybe a little (maybe) a little improvement. Not the amount I was hoping for. 4:56 gears and a doubler was the best improvements ever.

Without spending allot of money the explorer is not a sports car so it will not perform like one.

 

[Anime]

If everything else runs right, the KKM and cat-back exhaust give pretty big gains for the cost.

Most of the time, people expect mods like an air intake to 'correct' problems, and it doesn't give a big bump in performance because the engine needs regular maintenance items just to get back to stock performance first.

If you add a LOT of performance items, you should be tuning with a chip anyway. Just a better flowing intake and exhaust is within the capability of the stock ECU.

 

[mr cribb]

"Easy there Francis"- I can see you have a hood clearance issues because of the wear marks on your fan shroud-- if it wears through your pipe will hit the fan- you might consider a bracket of some kind.

I only had one wear spot from the git go, which was the alternator. I have a 2x6 hanger holding it up after several tweaks to get it the way I wanted. I haven't noticed anymore issues in the last year and a half.

**Just a footnote here-- I obtained 90 percent of the intake materials for free, as in I saved them from the garbage can. This was a chance to see if I "COULD" make an intake and how well it would work. I did a crap ton of reading and understanding that an aftermarket intake won't do crap for performance gains.**

This is why I got so frustrated at the posting, that I perceived as bashing regarding my creation.

By all means is someone else has a better way of doing things enlighten me and educate me how to do it better.

If anyone else got offended, well I will apologize.

 

[RufusExpo]

Well whether it is improved or not the chrome looks nice i give you an A for effort, if you get a better Throttle body it will give you more power, the explorer engine can with modifications can act like a sports truck, the most you can do is rebuiled your engine, better heads, exhaust and lower it, the air kit gives a bit more power it just depends on your truck but the 302 would be nice sitting under the hood seen one at the junkyard im thinking about rebuilding but i would rather get the 302 mustang instead i like speed over rock crawling my explorer is a show truck.

 

[mr cribb]

Well whether it is improved or not the chrome looks nice i give you an A for effort, if you get a better Throttle body it will give you more power, the explorer engine can with modifications can act like a sports truck, the most you can do is rebuiled your engine, better heads, exhaust and lower it, the air kit gives a bit more power it just depends on your truck but the 302 would be nice sitting under the hood seen one at the junkyard im thinking about rebuilding but i would rather get the 302 mustang instead i like speed over rock crawling my explorer is a show truck.

Thanks for the kind words.

As for throwing anymore money at the engine at this point unless it is a dire need it probably won't happen. I can't justify upwards of $300 for a throttle body and I'm too ignorant to modify my current one for the sake of screwing it up. It runs fairly well for 224k miles, so I will leave well enough alone for now. I'm just going to finish up my exhaust creation and leave the rest alone.

I would do a mustang 5.0 swap if I can convince my "financial adviser" (wife) to allow the funding. I'm trying to gather the monetary info to put side by side rebuild the 4.0 or swap a 5.0, I know the 302 will require more fabbing to make right but just the thought of potentially doubling hp and torque excites me.