Aircharger or FIPK better?

[Bushw@cker]

Well I ordered a K&N FIPK for my explorer and I knew they also made an aircharger kit for them. So I asked the guy about an aircharger kit for my explorer before I ordered the FIPK and he looked it up and said they didn't make one, so I thought I may have been mistaken. I could of swore they did so I looked it up tonight and confirmed that they do after I bought the FIPK. Well anyway, should I spend extra and get the aircharger kit instead? The FIPK gets here friday and i can get a refund. Would the performance increase be pretty equal or not? If it were a lot better I might consider spending the extra 70-100 bucks on the aircharger. I don't know so some suggestions and information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Bushw@cker

 

[Alec]

Do you mean gen I vs. gen II FIPK? If you ordered a gen I then cancel and get the KKM for less money; its the same thing. The gen II includes a heatshield and new intake tube, which may help a bit but not much.

 

[Bushw@cker]

According to a source I found, they only make the gen II FIPK for an explorer that was only sold outside the U.S. So I guess the answer to the question is, no. There is a Aircharger kit and Fuel Injection Performance Kit. I wasn't really sure about a KKM though. I have noticed that 1997 explorer's have quite a few different oem air filter configurations and I wasn't quite sure if I would get the correct one when it got to me. It seems not many people got OHV engine for 1997 year since the SOHC came out that year meaning all diagrams and pictues I find show SOHC engines with different air intake housing than mine. According to the KKM site there is only one type of kit for 4.0 L 95-97. I was worried I might get one that wouldn't fit. Boy am I paranoid? New to modding, heh

 

[Foo]

http://www.truckperformance.com/products/?productID=580893


is this what you are talking about?

 

[Bushw@cker]

Yep.

 

[Foo]

good, becuase I need to decide what to pick also... KKM, Air Charger, or Just the K&N lol

 

[Bushw@cker]

According to that site, if you have the OHV engine, the FIPK will give you more hp than the aircharger kit though I can't attest to that myself. Anyone want to verify?

*EDIT* There is so much stuff I can do my explorer! I wish i had all of the money to do it and then have a really nice one. Oh well, I will start off small with intake and exhaust, then move to a chip and then so on as i get more $$$$.

 

[Foo]

Persoanlly I would pay as much attention to those numbers as my teachers, AKA ... none

 

[Bushw@cker]

Yeah they don't mean a whole lot until you test them in them in the real world. Its a pretty big difference though so you would think the FIPK would make more hp even it is only going to make 12 instead of the 16 it claims....

Just deflate the numbers and keep the same ratio and the FIPK still makes more hp......

Accordign to them but they probably don't know jack sh*t

 

[Alec]

looks to me like that "aircharger" is basically a gen II FIPK with less of a heatshield. In other words, not worth the money.

Get the KKM, it's half the price of the KN FIPK I and the exact same thing.

 

[Foo]

What makes the KKM so special exactly? I am probably being ignorant but it looks almost exactly like the filter inside my explorer...

 

[Alec]

It's the same as the FIPK I and half the price.

The open element filter lets more air in, giving you a bit more power, some more engine roar at WOT, possibly more mileage, and less of a chance of sucking up water.

 

[Stomper]

Don't question the performance moderator gods that are giving you advice.....just do what they say.....so it is said, so it shall be done. LOL!

The special thing about the KKM is that it's the same thing (maybe different color) as the K&N FIPK for much less money. You're buying the K&N name with the extra $50+ dollars. A K&N FIPK or KKM install makes a VERY noticeable difference in both power and quicker throttle response, because you're allowing the engine to "breathe." It's like trying to go for a jog with a scarf over your mouth and nose, you can do it but you'd run faster if you didn't have the air restriction.

The only reason I'd see you going for a Gen II with with the airtrack replacement is if you're doing something like I did and adding a dry NOS kit. Where you have to modify (drill&tap) the intake plenum, and you don't want to ruin your stock equipment.

Whatever you do, it's worth removing the lower airbox too. Else, you're just sucking hot engine air. Good luck.

 

[TheJMan]

From what I've heard, the FIPK is CARB certified, while the AirCharger is not... I don't know why they make both, instead of just selling the FIPK where there is no question about CARB certification because both kits look almost identical.