short ram intake question/ is it worth it?

[joeyd71]

my explorer is currently all stock.
however i am contemplating going to a short ram intake very similar to this one:
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/eautotuning/Ford_Short.jpg

it appears that the actual part that i would be getting is before the MAF sensor, therefore i would not have to relocate the MAF sensor, correct?

and also, is a short ram intake really worth it? am i going to see a difference in performance or gas mileage???

thanks,
joe

 

[rileyrs]

i wouldnt use one of those cheap china ebay intakes, they can be very low quality, and they come with poorly made filtering elemts, that can coat your maf in tons of oil, not filter well, and even slow down air flow.
and are far from an actual ram air intake.

now all this is worst case scenario, but some of them are like this,
if your making an intake, just get a maf adapter and buy your own good quality cone filter,
or get a real intake kit from someone like k&n or aem.

 

[junkYARDbuilt]

slam it on there and drive it, it'll sound cool and you'll like it.
If you don't, you can always go back.
the only car i ever had that i didn't rig one in is the Ex. I dont want to be sucking up water when I'm out playing.

 

[2000StreetRod]

What ram?

If I did the math correctly, when your engine is pulling 500 cubic feet per minute thru a 3 inch diameter intake tube the intake air speed is 115 mph. Even when driving at 75 mph you won't get any ram. It will just be a little easier for the engine to suck in the air. There is some performance advantage to increasing the intake diameter because it lowers the air speed and therefore reduces friction.

 

[joeyd71]

thanks for the advice...
the one i am looking at doesn't seem to be a cheap ebay one. it is slightly used from another guy who just totaled his explorer. i just used that picture as a reference.

but since the only thing i am replacing is just before the MAF sensor, i shouldnt have to find a new home for the MAF sensor, right?

 

[rileyrs]

no the maf can stay where it is,
if it looks to be good quality, id say go for it.

if you want to make it a good system, id recomend using the tube, then if you ever decide to replace the filter use the biggest dry flow synthetic cone filter you can fit, youll get more air, and you wont coat your maf in filter oil.

btw, junkyardbuilt, theres more to an intake than simply making it sound cool and not sucking water, if you wanna keep it dry, then you need a snorkel. a cai will not change anything, from a non-silenced air box, in fact a cone filter is more likely to get splashed than a sealed, non-silenced air box.

 

[junkYARDbuilt]

btw, junkyardbuilt, theres more to an intake than simply making it sound cool and not sucking water, if you wanna keep it dry, then you need a snorkel. a cai will not change anything, from a non-silenced air box, in fact a cone filter is more likely to get splashed than a sealed, non-silenced air box.

I undertand that a cone is more likely to get splashed, that is exactly why I don't have one on my explorer.
At the same time, putting an almuinum tube with a cone filter in the engine compartment isn't exacly "Cold Air" intake. It should be routed down and away from the engine to allow it to breathe the coldER air from under the truck. Even then any horsepower gain would be negligable. Okay, now it can breath EASIER, but not neccisarily MORE with the factory throttle body and mass airflow sensor. Now assuming you modify these components to breath more air? So what? Now you get a ton of air and no extra fuel or spark to accomidate this. which leads to more costly upgrades before you ever really start seeing horsepower.
I'm not saying the intake is a bad idea, I like it. But I like it cause it sounds cool, not because I have unrealistic expectations of major power gains or changes in fuel economy.

 

[volver]

This works great.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2313005#post2313005

You can feel the difference on hills and once the engine is hot. Cost was 50 dollars for the K/N filter and then another 50 for the other parts.

 

[rileyrs]

a good intake does not need to be compimented by bigger inectors. that is only the case if you have true forced inductions, the engine only draws as much as air the vaccum can suck in.
also, sorry bout that last post, i read yours wrong, i thought you said you put a cai on to avoid sucking in water, my bad.

 

[junkYARDbuilt]

a good intake does not need to be compimented by bigger inectors. that is only the case if you have true forced inductions, the engine only draws as much as air the vaccum can suck in.
also, sorry bout that last post, i read yours wrong, i thought you said you put a cai on to avoid sucking in water, my bad.

it's okay, honest mistake.
So did johnyd go with the intake or not?