mac cold air of kkm

[fvumbaca]

basically i'm looking around for some opinions on an intake....i'm new at this and i'm starting small..so i decided to put in a new intake for better sound and performance...i dont really want to use a k+N kit but i was looking around the net and saw this mac kit and a lot of the guys here suggested the kkm one too...what the difference between the two? i know the mac one is cold air...and what the benifits of that? And has anyone used a pacesetter cat back exhaust, because i'm thinking on getting one. thanks for the help guys

 

[aldive]

I would go with the KKM. There is no need to worry about cold air since the intake air temp at any speed over 10 MPH is not much hugher than the ambient. The KKM will add some umph as well as mileage.

Good luck.....

 

[DarkFox1]

I disagree, my kkm didn't add any "umph" or any mileage. I can't speak for the other brands, or for other people, according to the dealership I am losing some serious HP because of my kkm taking in engine air. Dont get me wrong tho, the kkm is a nice kit, it just doesn't do anything. Maybe if you had some kind of ram air or CAI added to it you could make a nice combination to gain some power. But as far as I know, swapping out the stock box with a kkm doesn't do anything but make your exhaust sound meaner.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
I disagree, my kkm didn't add any "umph" or any mileage. I can't speak for the other brands, or for other people, according to the dealership I am losing some serious HP because of my kkm taking in engine air. Dont get me wrong tho, the kkm is a nice kit, it just doesn't do anything. Maybe if you had some kind of ram air or CAI added to it you could make a nice combination to gain some power. But as far as I know, swapping out the stock box with a kkm doesn't do anything but make your exhaust sound meaner.

You are certainly welcome to disagree but for me, the KKM gave more seat of britches power as well as better gas mileage. Could it be the way you drive? If you like to “hear” the KKM sucking air, then you definitely will not gain any mileage.

The intake air temp at any speed over a few MPG is no more than 10 F over ambient. Seriously doubt that causes any problem.

I run my KKM here in rather HOT Florida with absolutely no problems, only pluses.

And,,, by the way, how does the KKM make the exhaust sound meaner?

 

[DarkFox1]

well, theres a "sweet spot" if you wanna call it that, a point where the 4R70W refuses to downshift, yet you are giving it heavy throttle to climb a hill the exhaust gets VERY loud and deep. Overall the idle tone is deeper and the exhaust is louder with the kkm installed over the factory air box.

I really dont know, I can hear the kkm at idle, I only drive mny vehicle hard becuase I have to, if I dont I have people tailgating me and flicking me off, in order to keep up with traffic I need a goot 3000-4000 rpm for 1st or 2nd gear for every take-off. even then most of the time people catch up and or go around me because I'm too slow.

I'm probablly the only person that has a problem with the kkm from what I've read, I dont understand it. the dealership says its my problem, yet everyone else seems to think its a solution, either way, it hasn't done anything for me.

 

[Robert]

DarkFox1 - Did you put your factory box back on to see if the problems went away? I concur with Al. I am in Arizona and have a K&N FIPK on my '97 SOHC and have no problems related to it sucking in hot engine heat. Mine also only runs about 10 degrees hotter than my outside air thermometer reads once I start moving. I still think the dealer is telling you that becaue either they don't want to mess with it or they are naive. I have been told some pretty tall BS tales by several dealers around here when it was apparent that they didn't know what they were talking about. They just act like they do since most people don't know better and the dealer's hate to look like they don't.

 

[DarkFox1]

no, I tried making a heat sheild, but I failed miserablly.. I can't make crap. I haven't put it back on becuase I hate resetting the computer, when ever I do it drives great for a week, then sucks really bad after that and starts drinking gas like its going out of style. The last time I reset the computer the engine idled so smooth and quiet I didn't know if it was running or not.. this went on for a week, then of course, it went back to the way it was. I guess I should try it later, but I just hate resetting the computer so I try not to do things that involves disconnecting the battery unless I'm sure its worth it.

When I reset the computer I idle for 10 minutes, then granny it around the 'hood then I turn it off, is this the proper thing to do?

 

[Guy Groves]

The KKM is a good filter, but a heat shield will help. You want to get cooler air into the intake. Without a heat shield you are getting more convective as well as radiant heating. The X intake tube over the fan and next to the radiator doesn't help. Some heat shielding / insulation around this tube will also help lower intake air temperature.

I don't know what the MAC kit includes, but I have never been overly impressed with their products. If it provides a K&N or similar cloth / gauz air filter it probably isn't much different from the KKM. If it does include a heat shield then you don't need to build one your self.

The CAT back exhaust is a good mod to make as well. I would recomend the Flowmaster (better muffler than the pacesetter).


DarkFox1 ...
To reset the computer you must disconnect your battery for 20 minutes. When you re-program it, then drive as you described: idle for about 10 minutes, then drive normally. The system is constantly learning.

Have you checked for error codes?

Have you regularly changed the transmission fluid? It sounds like you have a trany problem.

 

[DarkFox1]

I'm 20k into my 2nd transmission. I have no error codes. I've been to the shop over and over and over about that, I too think its linked to the transmission, but they tell me theres nothing wrong. they describe my acceleration as "damn quick" and say its just fine. They tell me I'm demanding too much and if theres anything wrong, its my "engine mods" (kkm and flow50) I dont nessecarily beelive this, but this is the only answer I'm getting from them. My dad has gotten so tired of me wanting to take it to the shop that I even mention it having a problem he gets mad at me. It currently has about 66k miles on it. The transmission LUNGES into geas.. the more gas I have the harder it shifts, occasionally it wont sihft at all, it will get stuck between 2 gears. Also it will jerk if I'm cruising at about 45 barley pressing th gas.. jerk when I press it and jerlk when I let off. I was told by the ford licesnesd transmission specialist at my dealership that the transmission is "just picky" and "is supposed to do that" I was also told "theres nothing we can do until its doing it all the time" I've been thikning its the engine.. maybe I'm jus being brainwashed by lazy mechanics?

 

[aldive]

I don't know if anything is wrong with your truck or not, BUT, I think I would find another mechanic for an evaluation. Don't let them blam your intake or muffler on a "problem" if there is one.

Good luck....

 

[james t]

if you have no shift kit and the tranny shifts hard, and jerks at part-throttle cruising, there is something wrong with it, period. i disagree with the "tranny specialist", it is NOT supposed to do that. also, if you need to get up to 3-4000rpm's in 1st an 2nd gear to keep up with traffic, it is slipping. i can drive mine fairly easy (with traffic from red light) and shift at 23-2500 and slowly pull away at the same time. gettin' it up to 4000, and im pulling away HARD. i suggest talking to the regional manager about your problem, before you are on your 3rd tranny...

 

[DarkFox1]

ok, 1st. can I get an opinion on this from an every day shop? without them taking anything apart? ?IE, being free? and 2. f you hold your pedal still.. at high throttle.. when you are accelerating, do you get a surge of power? mine pulls very slow then pulls hard at about 3k rpm then slacks off, then sort of levels out at the top of the gear. Is this normal? is this slipping and if its not, are there any other symptoms that I should be aware of?

 

[Guy Groves]

Darkfox1,
It sounds more and more like a trans. problem. Bottom line is that the Ford tranny in the X (auto or manual) is not a very good trans (I'm being kind).

On the other hand there is one thing you mentioned above that disturbs me. When you disconnect the battery and reset the computer the vehicle runs great for about a week. Then things deteriorate....

What really are the problems and what error codes are you getting? Everything you have describes so far would indicate transmission troubles.

If a transmission has not be maintained regularly when it is maintained there will most likely be other problems after it is maintained. Some wrenches recomend that you leave an abused transmission alone because maintenance might make it worse (I can't say that I agree with this, but it is a popular belief).

If you do your own maintenance you might be able to do a basic trans. rebuild yourself. You don't have to get ito the gears. There are kits to replace the basic items in the transmissions hydraulic system. The most fundamental kit will include a new filter and gasket for the trans oil pan. The next step up kit will probably include a set of springs, ball bearings (used as valve stops), and possible a few other disposable components. The shadetree mechanic can do most of this work themselves.

The bands are usually seperate from the basic kit and require a little more effort, but is still doable by the shadetree mechanic.

 

[DarkFox1]

no error codes.. ever.. at least not that I know of. There was some problem about a year ago that the PCM had to be reflashed.. that coust a pretty penny. 2nd transmission... this one has 20k on it. I dont abuse my car........ its garaged every night, I wash it quite often, and havde regular mantainence done on it by the dealership. The only thing I have done myself was the KKM and computer resets from working on other electgronic peripherals (audio lighting etc.) I do drive it hard.. but the difficulty of keeping up with traffic and/or simply getting up to speed in a comfortable and timley manner demands such. Currently the only thing wrong that I know of (aside from the slowness) is something under my hood is rattling when my A/C is on.. looks like a/c compressor clutch #5... in 5 years.

 

[Guy Groves]

Why did you need a prom re-flash? and why wasn't this covered by Mercury? I seem to recall reading something about this somewhere on this site.... do a search.

Did your problems become evident just after the reflash?

You only have 20K on a new or rebuilt transmission? This should not happen.

Mecury has replaced the A/C clutch 5 times in 5 years???

Your problem is really simple....
You MUST go to a different dealership for service. It sounds like these clowns don't have the slightest idea of how to maintain a vehicle.

I never take my vehicle to a dealer for service. I have had too many bad experiences in the past. The problem is in the way their pay structure works. A wrench must work fast to make money, doing the job right does not count for anything. They would like to see your car again, and again, and again ....

Your A/C clutch for example. Whenever any part driven by a belt goes bad the first evidence is usually at the belt pully. The problem is usually behind the pully however. In your case I would be more suspect of the compressor itself. If the compressor piston, or bearing holding the main shaft of the compressor goes bad it shows up when the clutch goes out. Yes you can replace the clutch and the problem seems to go away for a little while because the new clutch is taking up the stain of a wobble in the shaft. Eventually the clutch fails again.

ALWAYS get a report from the service department of before and after trouble codes, this should be on your work order / receipt. I have checked out Ford dealerships on this one and find them to be totally untrustworthy. I recomend you learn how to ecxtract the trouble codes yourself as a verification test, and don't tell the service department.

I really recomend that you find a good mechanic, avoid the dealers (this is not to say there are not any good mechanics employed by Ford / Lincoln, they are simply to few and far between). Find one that knows your type of vehicle. Interview them, ask questions. If they won't talk to you go on to the next candidate. Once you find a good wrench, treat him well and stay with him. He will return the favors.

 

[DarkFox1]

thanks for the info. The PCM had to be reflashed on a VERY cold winter day because the car would not stay running at idle. Once the temp warmed up it stayed running enough to get it to the shop (despite a VERY VERY rough idle at redlights) we sat at the dealership nearly 2 hours, then they came to us, said the PCM had to be reflashed and charged us $250. They said at the time it was not covered under warratny. I did read about this being false, but cannot locate the receipt for this, so thats money down the drain.

there have only been 4 a/c clutches so far, but the one its on now (the 4th one) is making an annoying noise.. its been doing this since mid winter. Its not very loud, only hear it when the windows are down.

In this 5 years I've also had an exhaust header crack, which is to be expected sinc ethis is an extremley common problem with our vehicles.

The transmission is interesting.. I got so frustrated with it I didn't even bother going the 2nd time... ok.. so the transmission was acting up, just like its doing now, I would press the gas and it'd jerk.. let off the gas it'd jerk again, it would shift hard, sometimes take a very long time to shift, and get stuck in what seemed to be neutral between gears.. also at times it would (and it does all this now btw) delay nearly 5 seconds before actually engaging the drive when shifting from say.. reverse to drive, or park to drive. One time I nearly got in a wreck because of such.. I put it in park at a red-light and the guy behind me was in a hurry. Anyway.. I took it in the 1st time with these problems, immediatley they replaced it, it took them a solid week, then it came back with 3 pages of replaced items and a $700 warranty charge (he said it would have cost that much had we not bought the extended warranty) ON THE DRIVE HOME.. it was doing the exact same things.. only not as bad. I told my dad, but he informed me that its in my head and to give it time to break in. Well.. its broke in and its doing all this stuff still.. just as bad if not worse. But its so "intermittant" that they "can't find anything wrong"

 

[Robert]

DarkFox1 - You can go to www.ford.com and go to the "My Ford" link. Register your vehicle and it will show you any recent service history done at any Ford dealer. The dealers only started transmitting the history a couple of years ago so right now it only goes back so far. You might want to try it though in case you find the history. Your dealership will also have the history in their system much longer. Go in and request a copy of your receipt. I have done this before. Finally, $250 for a reflash of the PCM! The typical charge is 1 hour of labor ($72 locally). Of course, they probably charged you for 2 hours of troubleshooting on top of that. Yes, your PCM is covered under the Ford warranty for 8 years/80 K miles. It should have been covered at the time.