Best Intake/Exhaust Mods help MPG

[black97mounty]

Hey guys. Have a few questions. Tried searching but couldnt find the correct answers.

Ive been looking into some CAI's and catbacks and am wondering which are the best quality and which will yeild the most MPG gains? Im not worried about gaining any power, as my mountaineer is just for the winter. I drive a 98 full bolt on/geared cobra mustang in the spring/summer/fall.

Question #1. what is the best intake I can buy for my 97 mountaineer. It has the cone style airfilter box, not the flat style like the newer. It was built in 1996 before the switch.

Question #2. which catback would best suit my needs? Would I be better off just cutting out the muffler and welding in some pipes? I want to gain some sound, but really want better gas milage.

I only average like 13-14mpg's. She just turned 101k and had new plugs,wires,airfilter,fuel flter at 98k. also cleaned IAC and MAF at the same time. Vehicle also has new 235/75/15 Bridgestone A/T's w/ revo technology, new shocks, all new brakes. So i know the poor mileage is not due to tires, brakes dragging, poor plugs etc.

Thanks in advance. Links would be very helpful aswell.

Grant

 

[Lazzman]

I love my Volant It has a box that covers the filter and keeps it cleaner, it also eliminates heat soak. Though it is pricey at $250- sometimes you can find them way cheaper though on the net.

Lots of people on the board love the MAC intake and it is a great value at $149.

For the exhaust don't waste your time with a catback kit, you will get better results for a cheaper price by taking it to a custom muffler shop. I paid $250 for a 2.5" catback system with a Flowmaster 50 series SUV muffler, with a 3" chrome angle cut tip.

There are other mods that will get you good gas milage. Aldive is the resident milage king :notworthy I,m sure he could help you.

 

[black97mounty]

I love my Volant It has a box that covers the filter and keeps it cleaner, it also eliminates heat soak. Though it is pricey at $250- sometimes you can find them way cheaper though on the net.

Lots of people on the board love the MAC intake and it is a great value at $149.

For the exhaust don't waste your time with a catback kit, you will get better results for a cheaper price by taking it to a custom muffler shop. I paid $250 for a 2.5" catback system with a Flowmaster 50 series SUV muffler, with a 3" chrome angle cut tip.

There are other mods that will get you good gas milage. Aldive is the resident milage king :notworthy I,m sure he could help you.

yeah, i had duals on my old 92 explorer sport. Had it custom done. It was a single in, dual out ravin r55 series muffler finished up with 3.5" tips. Looked and sounded great.

I went to the exhaust shop again, but had bad news. I was told that if I ran duals it would interfere with my fuel lines, and if I ever had to drop the gas tank, the exhaust would be in the way and have to be moved.

It could be done, but would be a pain in the arse later on down the road.

Also, since the 5.0 has like 5 or 6 cats, my exhaust guy said that even if he put on a ravin r33 series muffler (loudest they have) and took out the resonator, I wouldnt gain much sound. He said I would have to remove the cat(s) after the rear o2 sensor (which is illegal, but I'd do it anyways) and then do a nice setup.

Would I be better off just getting a single or dual outlet muffler. I dont NEED dual exhaust, I just want more MPG's.

Thanks
Grant

 

[Explorer96xlt]

The 5.0 only has four cats, take out the back two, considering the front two have your 02 sensors and will make your computer go crazy. I have the Mac catback, and the mac intake, they both sound great, and i have gained about 3-4 MPG.

 

[tktrain]

I just had a conversation last night with my friend who owns a performance oriented muffler shop. He suggests running without a muffler on trucks and leaving the cats in place. It will be louder, but shouldn't be too loud till you get into it. Also, if you think it's too loud it would be easy to go back in and add a muffler back in the new larger pipe. Keeping the cats will keep John Law happy too.

The only things I did on my intake side was to add a K&N and swiss cheese the front and right side of my filter box. I also polished the ID of the 90 degree elbow EGR adapter with a die grinder and sandpaper rolls.

 

[Turdle]

If you really want a gain in MPG, first thing I would do is change all driveline fluids to amsoil products.
I would go with a walker turbo muffler--dual in single 2.5 inch out. ( you want your maximum efficiency to be at 2300 rpm's). My flowmaster 50 dual in out is just too loud for everyday driving. Also, dual exhaust is getting hard to have installed, as it isn't just a straightforward job. My pipe does come close between spare and fuel lines--it hasn't caused problems yet, but I am not totally comfortable with it. It is far enough from fuel lines--but only about 1" from spare. ( what if I want oversized spaer???)

Any maf adapter, with a cone style filter will do--( to open it up), later, go to a re-usable type.You may get an enjoyable sound from this, and find you actually burn more gas keeping the grin on your face, so keep this in mind.



I would get a good useful scanner tool, to monitor your progress.
You need one that will monitor fuel trims--

I have been playing with a borrowed one, for the price I recommend it as a first scanner
60 bux, but it does need a computer-laptop to work

scantool.net

 

[gijoecam]

Paging Dr. Aldive, Paging Dr. Aldive.....

Search for the 'Quest for 30' thread by Aldive. There are tons of tips in there.

-Joe

 

[scaperrotta06]

has any purchased the mac intake on http://racerwalsh.zoovy.com/ its $161.00 shipped and about the scan tool what all can it do? thanks

 

[Turdle]

and about the scan tool what all can it do? thanks

check it out
http://www.scantool.net/index.php

 

[MountaineerGreen]

There are some cone filter adapter kits on ebay, just a flange that bolts to the MAF.

Cough, cough............... Torque Monster Headers........ cough

 

[jah81592]

MAC cold airs are good, but so are Volant your choice. As far as exhaust I recommend a bolt on cat back system such as MAC or JBA. Custom system usually aren't mandrel bent and dual exhaust doesn't mean squat! Go with the single 2.5"-3" would be your best bet.-James

BTW- I am getting about 19.5-19.8 average in mine with the turbo and 55# injectors when I stay out of it. When I drive spirited I have seen as little as 104 miles to a tank of gas so I guess as bad as about 6.5mpg!

 

[toypaseo]

Mileage can suffer some for the rolling resistance from the tires.

Mods to my 96 XLT are a Hypertech Programmer tuned to 93 octane, K&N FIPK, and tires set to 2 pounds below max. My MPG averages between 14 to 18, but I usually take advantage of the Hypertech power. My best is like 24, that being almost all interstate or highway, cruise control as much as possible, and the climate control set to off. My Dad used to average 18, but that was mostly puttin around town 30 MPH or less.

 

[black97mounty]

Just had the trans fluid flushed yesterday.

Vehicle has brand new Bridgestone Dueler REVO tires, set at 32psi.

all brakes are brand new, no dragging there.

Plugs (AP764's gapped @ .054) and napa premium wires. both new.

New air filter and fuel filter.

MAF and IAC are both squeaky clean.

SO the MPG's should be good. I just filled up yesterday and got 11.8mpg. AWD+V8 is not a good combo. I just turned 101k miles.

Maybe a dirty EGR passage?

My dad's 98 explorer Eddie Bauer 4x4 w/ the 4.0 SOHC gets 18mpg consistantly in the city. The car has over 140k miles.

 

[black97mounty]

also, Ive got no need to go fast or be loud in the mountaineer. I just want some better MPG's

I drive a 98 cobra mainly in the spring,summer,fall so thats where I get my loud and fast jollies. As some of you may know it has the 4.6 32v DOHC V8. It has a JLT ram air intake, BBK longtubes, BBK offroad H pipe (no cats) and some 2 chamber mufflers. That car is L-O-U-D. Its tuned and put down 290rwhp/293twtq SAE corrected. The car also has 4.10's outback. along with a full suspension setup and some nice high perf wheels/tires, it makes for a fun ride. The car is now in storage and is a getting a 1.5l KB blower as soon as it get out april 1st. I hope to make 380-400rwhp

anyways, keep the tips coming,

So far im leaning towards a MAF adaptor & K&N filter.

I want a mac catback, but dont know if it will fit. I have the dual inlet WELDED flange, not the slip fit.

I think I'm just going to go with a Ravin r-33 series muffler and do a single exit sytem.

Gimme your opinions guys.

Thanks

 

[Turdle]

also, Ive got no need to go fast or be loud in the mountaineer. I just want some better MPG's

I drive a 98 cobra mainly in the spring,summer,fall so thats where I get my loud and fast jollies. As some of you may know it has the 4.6 32v DOHC V8. It has a JLT ram air intake, BBK longtubes, BBK offroad H pipe (no cats) and some 2 chamber mufflers. That car is L-O-U-D. Its tuned and put down 290rwhp/293twtq SAE corrected. The car also has 4.10's outback. along with a full suspension setup and some nice high perf wheels/tires, it makes for a fun ride. The car is now in storage and is a getting a 1.5l KB blower as soon as it get out april 1st. I hope to make 380-400rwhp

anyways, keep the tips coming,

So far im leaning towards a MAF adaptor & K&N filter.

I want a mac catback, but dont know if it will fit. I have the dual inlet WELDED flange, not the slip fit.

I think I'm just going to go with a Ravin r-33 series muffler and do a single exit sytem.

Gimme your opinions guys.

Thanks

Ok
I would like to know something.
Go for a drive--get it up to 70mph and hold it steady there.
How many rpm's does the tach read at steady 70 mph on level road?
I want to be sure the torque converter is locking.

 

[green99_svt]

if the tcc was not locking up there would be a tcc slip code within a few miles.
p01870 if my memory serves.

just a thought on this topic also. for a few hundred dollars for maybe 1-2 mpg increase would be more money than if you just drove it the way it is for the winter and buy gas a little sooner. i would say that the difference for the just the winter may be 2 tanks of gas= 80 dollars or so. custom exhaust 200 or more. owning a cobra myself i would save the money for that kb.

 

[Turdle]

if the tcc was not locking up there would be a tcc slip code within a few miles.
p01870 if my memory serves.

Mine would quit locking when a stored, or hidden rich condition was present.
No CEL, or flashing OD light whatsoever.
In my case it was triggered by a malfuntioningPro-M MAF tuner.
Nonetheless, it did occur.
It took a scan tool to catch it. www.scantool.net
My Davis Car Chip tool gave no clue BTW.

A hard PCM reset ( battery disconect) would get it locking again.

you should see no more than 2300 rpm's at 70mph cruise.

 

[green99_svt]

Mine would quit locking when a stored, or hidden rich condition was present.
No CEL, or flashing OD light whatsoever.
In my case it was triggered by a malfuntioningPro-M MAF tuner.
Nonetheless, it did occur.
It took a scan tool to catch it. www.scantool.net
My Davis Car Chip tool gave no clue BTW.

A hard PCM reset ( battery disconect) would get it locking again.

you should see no more than 2300 rpm's at 70mph cruise.

your right, if certain parameters are not met the pcm will not command the tcc to lock. however the pcm will most certainly set a 1870 if the tcc is commanded and there is no rpm drop or if the engine rpm and the tss do not read within a few percent. these things get very clouded when aftermarket tuners and chips are involved. as they can change the parameters for when codes are set and manipulate the readings sent to the processor.

 

[rocket 5979]

also, Ive got no need to go fast or be loud in the mountaineer. I just want some better MPG's

I drive a 98 cobra mainly in the spring,summer,fall so thats where I get my loud and fast jollies. As some of you may know it has the 4.6 32v DOHC V8. It has a JLT ram air intake, BBK longtubes, BBK offroad H pipe (no cats) and some 2 chamber mufflers. That car is L-O-U-D. Its tuned and put down 290rwhp/293twtq SAE corrected. The car also has 4.10's outback. along with a full suspension setup and some nice high perf wheels/tires, it makes for a fun ride. The car is now in storage and is a getting a 1.5l KB blower as soon as it get out april 1st. I hope to make 380-400rwhp

anyways, keep the tips coming,

So far im leaning towards a MAF adaptor & K&N filter.

I want a mac catback, but dont know if it will fit. I have the dual inlet WELDED flange, not the slip fit.

I think I'm just going to go with a Ravin r-33 series muffler and do a single exit sytem.

Gimme your opinions guys.

Thanks

Uuuum, your going to make more than just 380rwhp in your Cobra with that KB 1.5, unless you don't plan to run an IC... I forget, but is KB offering that kit in a big bore version now??? Are you a member on ChicagoSVT.com? If so, what is your screen name?

 

[rocket 5979]

your right, if certain parameters are not met the pcm will not command the tcc to lock. however the pcm will most certainly set a 1870 if the tcc is commanded and there is no rpm drop or if the engine rpm and the tss do not read within a few percent. these things get very clouded when aftermarket tuners and chips are involved. as they can change the parameters for when codes are set and manipulate the readings sent to the processor.

HOLY **** ARE WE GETTING INVADED BY CSVT OR WHAT!!! Hey man how goes it? I am the guy with the Kenne Bell Explorer that talked to you at Gurnee McD's a few months back.