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Which air intake kit?

jkexplorer

Well-Known Member
Joined
July 16, 2004
Messages
171
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City, State
San Francisco, CA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 XLT
I am interested in installing an air intake kit on a 2000 XLT, 4.0L SOHC. Based on the various threads here, the two primary choices appear to be KKM and K&N. A big plus for KKM is low cost, whereas with K&N it’s the fact that it is a complete installation kit with a replacement intake tube and the kit is emission legal in all 50 states. I am tempted to go with the KKM because of the cost, but what concerns me is that many KKM users on this and other forums reported an unpleasant squeal at around 2,500 - 3,000 RPM. Has this noise problem been identified and successfully resolved? Does the K&N system suffer from the same noise problem? This is primarily my wife’s car but I drive it whenever we go on vacations and would appreciate the extra power. My wife also would like to improve the performance of the car, but unpleasant noises for her are a NO NO.
Another question I have is whether either filter kit will improve the performance of the car at high altitudes (say 8,000 ft)? Typically the car is gutless at this altitude.
 



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Also conside the MAC intake from Explorer Express.
By far the best looking intake in the bunch.
 






boy someone did some research! I would also reccomend the MAC. Its about 70$ more than the KKM kit but it is carb certified unlike the KKM and comes with a replacement intake tube and all the brackets needed. You can find it at www.explorerexpress.com
 






Thank you for your suggestions. The MAC intake does look beautiful. The reason that I eliminated the MAC from my consideration is that after reading the various threads about this unit it appears that it may suffer from a variety of problems. Concerns that have been listed are poor sound, low end power decrease, fit problems, and some nightmarish installation issues. There is even a statement from an outfit that sells the MAC intakes to the effect that the product is a good one when you get the correct parts. But that the company is really screwed up! I am only repeating here what I've read. I realize that there is always a potential for some criticism of any after market add on, but in this case, for this product, the criticism is just a bit too extensive for my taste.
 






no squealing sound on my KKM equipped SOHC truck. i get a nice "whisp" sound sometimes when coming on/off the throttle... maybe thats what they're calling a squeal
 






jkexplorer said:
Thank you for your suggestions. The MAC intake does look beautiful. The reason that I eliminated the MAC from my consideration is that after reading the various threads about this unit it appears that it may suffer from a variety of problems. Concerns that have been listed are poor sound, low end power decrease, fit problems, and some nightmarish installation issues. There is even a statement from an outfit that sells the MAC intakes to the effect that the product is a good one when you get the correct parts. But that the company is really screwed up! I am only repeating here what I've read. I realize that there is always a potential for some criticism of any after market add on, but in this case, for this product, the criticism is just a bit too extensive for my taste.

fit problems & nightmarish installation issues ... ah that was one of my threads I guarantee it :banghead:
 






When I upgraded my intake I went with the K&N because after extensive searching through the threads on this forum it seemed to be the best overall. Granted it's the most expensive but I feel you get what you pay for. I self installed the kit in an hour and everything fit in perfectly. The engine is a little bit louder but it's not in a throaty or squealing kind of way. You really notice it when you get on the gas (e.g. incline on a freeway) in the 3000-4000 rev range. Plus since I installed it I got over an extra mile to the gallon on the highway, particulary on trips to Vegas and when I went to my parents house in NorCal.
 






The K&N is nice but....

it works best for on the highway use. According to the dyno readings sheet I got with mine the extra 5 hp that it gets is at 4,000 plus rpm. I like mine but you would have to have some really low gears to use the extra horses off-road. I went with it over the KKM because of it being emissions certified so I wouldn't have any hassles every two years when I have to take my X in for testing. The directions were detailed and very easy to follow so installation took no time at all.
 






Here is an interesting issue. I've never seen my car go beyond 3000 RPM, even on a highway. Rev limiter? If so, what benefits would the filter bring me at this RPM limit unless the rev limiter is cancelled.
 






jkexplorer said:
Here is an interesting issue. I've never seen my car go beyond 3000 RPM, even on a highway. Rev limiter? If so, what benefits would the filter bring me at this RPM limit unless the rev limiter is cancelled.


Are you sure about that? We both have 2000 X's and I'm pretty sure they don't have rev limiters. If you have the SOHC (and I think you do since you have an XLT) then you have a speed limiter at like 110mph. If you have the OHV like me then your ride pretty much maxes out just above 105mph. Either way it's the speed that is limited not the rpm's.

In city driving my rpms are around 2000 but accelerating on the highway or going up a decent grade incline my rpms are usually in the 3000-4000 range depending on if I have the OverDrive on or off.
 






my sohc only reaches 3000rpm when i want it to, i can cruise on up to 75mph at 2500rpm.

i am also interested in an intake.
my top choice so far is the mac...but i wasnt aware of the issues others have had.

can anyone with the mac intake clarify their installation and usage issues for us?
i think for $150 this could be a worthwhile upgrade in performance and mileage.
i do not however want my engine to get louder...maybe i should consider a hood mat.
 






I do have the SOHC engine. I need to experiment some more to see if I have a rev limiter or if that is just normal car operation. Yesterday I've tested the car at up to 75 mph with the overdrive on and on a fairly straight road, and I've not exceeded 3000 RPM. On prior trips, if my memory serves me right, I've observed that even when the car downshifts going up an incline, it still does not exceed 3,000 RPM before shifting back to a higher gear. Next time I will take it up to 90 mph, with the overdrive on and off and see if there is a difference. I'll look for a steep incline too. The issues for me, irrespective of having or not having the rev limiter, are as follows: 1) K&N website shows a dyno curve with an 8.69 hp gain at 5300 RPM for an air intake for my car (part #57-2528) when tested on a 1998 Explorer with an SOHC engine. Meaningless gain if any at up to 4,000 RPM. If most of the time the car operates below 3000 RPM, what benefits are derived from the air intake? Perhaps I am missing something and would really appreciate some clarification on this. 2) If there are no benefits during day to day driving of the car, I would still be interested in an air intake if I can get a positive answer to my other question, which is will the car operate better at a high altitude (8,000 ft) because of reduced air restriction with the air intake. I frequently go to Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada) and the car is just gutless when it encounters that thin air. I've also sent these questions to K&N technical support. It will be interesting to see if I get a reply.
 






You will get a little help at higher altitudes with a conical intake. If you look at the stock intake box and see the little hole through which your engine breathes it's pretty obvious what the major difference is. Of course, unless you have the throttle down so the butterfly valve is reasonably open all the extra air available won't help you. That's why the dynos show the major gains at over 4000 rpm because the vehicle is probably at WOT and sucking in as much air as possible.
 






No problems here with the KKM...but I noticed you live in Cali... If you go with the KKM be sure and keep your stock air box, and all attaching lines. California is very picky...you'll have to re-install your air box, and attach all the vacuum lines before anyone will even attempt to smog your truck. I live here in San Diego...and have to go for the smog every two years. I've gotten pretty good at taking my KKM and cold air setup out, and putting the airbox back in!!! less than 30 min.
 






Don't know about installation issues but...

n3m3s1s said:
my sohc only reaches 3000rpm when i want it to, i can cruise on up to 75mph at 2500rpm.

Try using the kick-down passing gear. That always takes mine up to the 4,000 to 5,000 rpm range. :bounce: :nono:

i do not however want my engine to get louder...maybe i should consider a hood mat.

Any less restrictive air filter system will increase the noise of the air going into the engine. It is a little noticeable when you leave a light if you put your foot into it but hardly noticeable at highway speeds.
 






The reason I bought a K&M FIPK, smog certified.

prozachappy said:
... If you go with the KKM be sure and keep your stock air box, and all attaching lines. California is very picky...you'll have to re-install your air box, and attach all the vacuum lines before anyone will even attempt to smog your truck. I live here in San Diego...and have to go for the smog every two years. I've gotten pretty good at taking my KKM and cold air setup out, and putting the airbox back in!!! less than 30 min.

30 minutes isn't a long time but I didn't want to hassle with changing it.
 






Tarron said:
Try using the kick-down passing gear. That always takes mine up to the 4,000 to 5,000 rpm range.

mine will get on up there without any problem...i just choose to baby the eX whenever possible.

i dont need any more repairs than i already...need.

i still think the hoodmat would be a good upgrade. i dont know how effective it will be in quieting the engine inside and out.
 






I installed the MAC intake system with the 75mm pro m maf, and the Ex actually ran better in stock form. ( the maf was calibrated for the other changes I made on the truck ) Then I put the original maf on the MAC, and the stock configuration still ran better. In between all this switching I did disconnect the battery, for those who would comment about that. Now I figured being in Florida, the heat absorbed by the metal tube was affecting the performance, so I wrapped the tube with metalized flexable duct insulation. After that, it really ran quite a bit better. I ended up sending all of it back for a refund, and went back to stock airbox with a k&n panel filter and it runs great now. I will say that with the 75mm maf and the tube (insulated) it did pull better on the top end, 3k on up. So, I guess the point of all this is: they make those tubes out of plastic or rubber for a reason, if you want good looks, chrome is nice, but it does nothing for performance. Heat sucks HP.
 






raginraj said:
Are you sure about that? We both have 2000 X's and I'm pretty sure they don't have rev limiters. If you have the SOHC (and I think you do since you have an XLT) then you have a speed limiter at like 110mph. If you have the OHV like me then your ride pretty much maxes out just above 105mph. Either way it's the speed that is limited not the rpm's.

Drove the car more aggressively today. At one point it seems to have downshifted twice and the engine reached about 3,500 RPM. Another time during hard acceleration reached 3,200 RPM. That is a first for me. You were right. Obviously no rev limiter at 3,000 RPM.
 



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jkexplorer said:
Drove the car more aggressively today.

C'mon dude, put the pedal to the metal ! :)
Floor it and you should get the S0HC up near the yellow line.
It shouldn't be that hard to hit 5000rpm :bounce::bounce:

I don't, however, recommend doing this everyday on the way to work. :nono:
 






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