Best Cold Air Intake

[BigBlackMerk]

i have been looking at k&n and also the volant CAI's. which one do you guys think is better and if not either im open to suggestions

 

[FordGT55]

I personally went with a MAC Performance air intake. Looks good and is less expensive than both volant and K&N.
Their site:
http://www.macperformance.com/store/category.cfm?SID=3&Category_ID=515
What mine looks like:

 

[celly]

They all work the same. MAC is always a great kit, dollar for dollar. Make your own. Just don't skimp on filter.

 

[corpsegrinder]

is that one of the cheap ones off ebay and if it is does it work im tryin to get my mpgs up and i got 4 kids so payin 200 for a intake is not really an option

 

[SkyJumper]

3 things to remember when it comes to CAI's.

1) All of the quality CAI's out there available for our application are basically modeled to do the same function. Allow for cooler air in larger quantities.

2) Most all differences in these kits are basic, the filter being used, material used for the tubing, and heat shield if applicable.

3) You can create or purchase a cheap CAI's to do the same function as a high dollar kit. The secret ingredient in all kits is the filter used and the material used in the tubing.

I have found that if I use metal piping kit to route the air, the metal creates or uses hotter air to flow into the intake. The metal piping is smoother and less restrictive in air flow, but has a tendency to absorb the engine bay heat more. With that being said it really defeats the purpose of trying to achieve cooler air to get to the intake manifold. It may look way more cool to have a shiney tube in the engine bay, but is it more effective?

I have experienced that with a plastic tube, that it does not absorb the engine bay heat as much as a metal tube. Now some will say that a plastic tube can cause disruptance in air flow due to imperfections with the lining of the tube. But come on, we are not able to really see that with our applications, we are not in race form. So why bother yourself with that.

So, I guess I would say that a plastic molded tube designed for our application allows cooler air to get to the intake manifold than that of its counterpart, that being metal tubing. The plastic does have the ability to deflect and absorb less engine bay heat. And that is a plus in my book, as that is what we are after with these kits, cooler and more air flow.

Other other end of the spectrum with using these kits and achieving the maximum benefit that a CAI is intended for is upgrading the exhaust also. If you remain stick in exhaust, and add a CAI, what are you achieving? The HP numbers may be slightly higher with a CAI only, but the full benefit of HP gain is to do both, intake and exhaust. Then as you go along with your objective, you will later add better fuel flow and deliverance. But that is another chapter in the world of HP gain.

Hope this helps to shead some light by expressing my experiences.

 

[MrQ]

On my first gen, I just bought a cone filter, a round MAF housing and hooked it up to my existing tube. I must admit the engine sounded better, but I saw no real gain in performance. Granted I didn't have a heat shield around it and the stock air tube was rather restrictive. It really comes down to what you are willing to spend on the components. But the filter is critical, don't skimp on that.

 

[celly]

I've used both a plastic type tube and metal. Measuring Idle Air Temp using my Scangauge, I have found no differences in temps at operating speeds. The "plastic vs metal" debate is an old one and based more on emotion and opinion than empirical data, IMHO.

Use the materials you want, but I can't stress enough the importance of filters. I've used MAC, K&N, Green and the AFE filter that came with the Volant kit. By far my favourite (and current filter) are Dead Link Removed. NO OIL! Just hit them with a shop vac from time to time.

Also, I find K&N to be very oily out of the box. Too much oil and you foul your MAF. The best "cloth and oil" filters I find are made by Green, IMHO. Solid, well made and the optimal amount of oil out of the box.

I truly believe all the kits (store bought and home made) work the same. Performance gains are subtle. I find they work better with an upgraded exhaust and custom tuning. I've never noticed any true MPG savings either.

 

[shadowless127]

You can get an MAF adapter for a cone filter off ebay for under $20, just make your own.

 

[Joe Dirt]

If you're scraping money now, do not buy a CAI expecting to gain noticeable MPG's.

 

[swshawaii]

Your stock air box is close to a true CAI as you will find. (Or Volant)
Ditch the silencer, and use a high quality drop in filter. Done.

 

[SkyJumper]

If you're scraping money now, do not buy a CAI expecting to gain noticeable MPG's.

Best advice given yet

 

[celly]

if you're scraping money now, do not buy a cai expecting to gain noticeable mpg's.

+1

 

[BigBlackMerk]

thanks guys for the advice

 

[Spdrcer34]

If you are looking for mileage gains.....Torque Monster Headers will get you over 20mpg..
Ryan

 

[joecrna]

Interestingly, I have and do use both. K&N shows a defined HP gain for all of their kits and I do believe in using only thermoplastic tubes do to the old metal tube heat gain debate. I have not only seen inlet airtemp differences while offroading at slow speeds but also transmitted torque increases while under load in racing conditions. On a street car, who knows?

I then switched to a Volant CAI, they look cool and I think a boxed design makes more sense to isolate the intake from underhood temperatures. I also needed a box for my specific offroading taskes. I worked fine and looked very good but the tube lacked all the bosses for vacuum connections and the tube didn't seem to provide as straight of a shot to the throttle body as the K&N.

In the end I went with a hybrid system. K&N tube, Volant box and an Amsoil dry cone filter. Crazy expensive, very small power gain, no MPG gain, looks great and accomplishes what I want when offroad. In the end it comes down to what you want out of a CAI; looks, sound, HP, MPG, protection of the air intake point or some combination. Like everything automotive, they are all tradeoffs. You must set your own priority.

Personnaly I like the idea in post #10 for most people. Put a good filter (Amsoil) in the stock box modified to accept a cone filter and be done with it. HP gains will be small (read unnoticable except on the dyno and with many other mods) and MPG gains simply won't exist. If they did, the factory would most likely use that type of intake and sacrifice the extra intake noise.

 

[celly]

In the end I went with a hybrid system. K&N tube, Volant box and an Amsoil dry cone filter. Crazy expensive, very small power gain, no MPG gain, looks great and accomplishes what I want.....

Sounds a lot like my FrankenCAI I've created.

Mine:

-Volant box
-Amsoil Ea filter
-C&L MAF body
-MAC metal intake tube, cut to fit. (K&N or Volant don't do them for the 5.0)

Lots of Turdle induced powdercoating to make it look nice too.

 

[2TimingTom]

And let's not forget: colder air = denser air = more fuel to keep exhaust stoichiometric (which the ECU will do in closed loop operation).

But let's forget air temp and just assume that the intake provides MORE air- the ECU is still tuned to keep the exhaust stoichiometric in closed loop anyway.

Same goes for power.

Transition the ECU into open loop and it all changes though. But if you drive around in open loop a lot, fuel economy isn't high on your priority list.

 

[Omnilux]

I've used both a plastic type tube and metal. Measuring Idle Air Temp using my Scangauge, I have found no differences in temps at operating speeds. The "plastic vs metal" debate is an old one and based more on emotion and opinion than empirical data, IMHO.

Use the materials you want, but I can't stress enough the importance of filters. I've used MAC, K&N, Green and the AFE filter that came with the Volant kit. By far my favourite (and current filter) are Dead Link Removed. NO OIL! Just hit them with a shop vac from time to time.

Also, I find K&N to be very oily out of the box. Too much oil and you foul your MAF. The best "cloth and oil" filters I find are made by Green, IMHO. Solid, well made and the optimal amount of oil out of the box.

I truly believe all the kits (store bought and home made) work the same. Performance gains are subtle. I find they work better with an upgraded exhaust and custom tuning. I've never noticed any true MPG savings either.

Just wondering what the part # for that filter is? would it work with a MAC intake?


Thanks

 

[celly]

Just wondering what the part # for that filter is? would it work with a MAC intake?

It's been a lot of years since I ordered mine. I used Amsoil's resources to figure out which one I needed. The key measurement is the "Flange Internal Diameter" (Flange ID). I think the MAC setup is 3.5". Then just make sure you pick one that will fit under your hood.

Click Dead Link Removed for how to come up with the measurements, and Dead Link Removed to check out the different sizes.

EaAU3560 looks a lot like the one I use, but I can't be 100% certain.

 

[joecrna]

Interesting that we both chose to use the Volant box but not the rest of the kit!