Which air intake kit?

[jkexplorer]

It's my wife's car. If I damage it, I fear for my life. I have an Audi TT. No problems going over 5,000 RPM with the TT.

 

[n3m3s1s]

yeah yeah ok

you don't have to rub that in...nice car btw

I'm better off with the 4x4 and zero speeding tickets.

 

[Foo]

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

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

Oh hell I get my OHV above 5000rpm everyday... it'll take it

 

[jkexplorer]

I got to tell you I don't know what it is about the car but it wasn't easy even getting to 3,500 RPM, and I did have it floored. Can't go over 80 mph for too long on the crowded highways around San Francisco. I am sure that if I manually downshift, keep it in a lower gear and, and floor it, going 5,000 RPM can be achieved. But what is the point? The original issue was what improvements can I get from an air intake during normal driving? That is not normal driving, at least not for me. It'll also get you a ticket here real fast.

 

[JPC]

You need to rename this thread "How high can we twist the V6 before it turns into a V3." I'm sorry, I thought the original question was about an air intake.....

 

[n3m3s1s]

ok sorry jpc...back on topic.

this may not be relevant to you since you already tried a mac intake,
but i found them for $135 instead of $150.

97-98 S0HC

99-01 S0HC

I'm not sure how much they charge for shipping, but I noticed that they add a handling fee of $7.50.
We might still be able to save a few bucks over EE and the Mac website.

 

[raginraj]

Oh hell I get my OHV above 5000rpm everyday... it'll take it

5000 rpm everyday? are u using that dry nitrous kit on a regular basis?

 

[Foo]

5000 rpm everyday? are u using that dry nitrous kit on a regular basis?

Everyday I drive it almost. The nitrous isn't even in yet... it's in the mail though .. back to topic.

 

[jkexplorer]

It may seem as if a discussion of achievable RPM with an Explorer is the wrong topic in a thread about air intakes, but I think that in reality there is a lot of relevance. One of the issues I have brought up is that “normalâ€￾ freeway driving for me on the XLT (up to 80 mph) is achieved at below 3,000 RPM. In fact it is probably closer to 2,600 RPM. To me then it appears as if an air intake kit for my type of driving is of little benefit since the horsepower increase with the air kit is realized at above 4,000 RPM. To achieve this level of engine speed requires far more aggressive driving then I do on the Explorer. I can do it, but why? Just a personal opinion, and maybe I am in the minority on this, but my idea of a performance improvement device is to buy something that will improve the drivability of the car without the need to drastically change my driving habits. I want the device to accommodate me not vice versa.

 

[n3m3s1s]

i agree with jk on this, couldnt have said it better myself.
i disagree, however, with the idea that an aftermarket intake will not be more efficient than the stock airbox regardless of rpm.
i have heard of dyno sheets that showed a 5 hp increase at high rpm.
which intake and which explorer(engine,how old) was that?
i doubt that yours would have very similar results.
it sounds like yours is in very good condition, this will have a large factor in how well an intake will improve your power and efficiency.
i would be happy with an intake if it only increased my mpg enough to pay for itself eventually. i have enough hp to get me around for now.
anyone have any stats for mpg increases for different intakes?

jk, i figured that you would be more concerned with mpg than with hp based on your driving technique.
i think we should take a closer look at our mileage benefits from the different intakes rather than dynomometer results.

 

[jkexplorer]

I would also be interested in an aftermarket air intake if there was user data that showed an improvement in mpg. I certainly don't have enough information to conclude that an aftermarket air intake is not more efficient then the stock airbox at any RPM and specifically low RPM. It may well be more efficient. In fact I hope that it is and that it also improves mileage. It would then give me justification to buy one. My comments were based on the data at the K&N website which 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. There is a slight hp gain between 3,200 - 3,700 RPM. Then the gain flattens out until at about 4,100 RPM it starts increasing again. I don't know if there are major differences between the test car and my 2000 Explorer XLT with a similar engine but the mileage of the test car, 44,358 miles is almost the same as the mileage on mine.

 

[jkexplorer]

A week ago I sent an e-mail to K&N asking them some questions about the performance of their air intake. No response to date. Re-sent the e-mail today and received a message from K&N notifying me that my request for information will not be delivered to the “recipientâ€￾ since it was classified as spam. Go figure…

 

[Pheonixx77]

I'm not trying to rain on anyones parade here but...mac is good, K&N is good...hell they're all good. Expensive but good. I bought a K&N filter at autozone for 30$, then i went to Lowe's/Home Depot and paid a visit to the plumbing section. fit some pipes, bought some PVC glue and a can of paint. I made an adapter from a 2" flat bushing and a piece of sheet metal. the entire cost including the filter was less than 60$ i get the same HP gains as all of you and a lot less cost. I'm just saying that you can, with some thought, save your self a hundred bucks. Unless the chrome tube is really worth it.
justmy 2c

 

[raginraj]

The chrome tube on the MAC intake is a poor insulator of heat. The air traveling through the intake system will actually get heated up on it's way into the intake manifold because the heat of the engine easily transfers through the metal tube. I went with the K&N partly because the plastic tube is pretty thick and a much better insulator. After running the X around for a while the tube gets hot to touch but you can still grab onto it and not burn your hand. The same is not true for the chrome tube from the MAC intake.

 

[celly]

The same is not true for the chrome tube from the MAC intake.

I beg to differ. My Mac intake is always pretty warm after I shut down the engine, but not that bad. I tested your theory recently and didn't find it that hot. It's easily touched with a bare hand.

I recently put on my MAC intake (earlier this week). I am a horrible mechanic. The instructions left a bit to be desired, BUT it was dead easy to figure out and it works as advertised. I really couldn't justify paying that much more for the K&N intake. Its function looks pretty much the same as the MAC. I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the K&N hype. Definitely a well made system, but not worth the extra $$$ IMHO.

I'm a satisfied MAC intake customer.

 

[Cypher]

I am also interested in whether an intake kit will improve mpg. Since im a light foot i only bring it up to 2500 rpm and by the talk here i wont get much more power out of it.

 

[celly]

I'm not so sure about MPG, but my X is so much more responsive with the intake on, than without it. I definitely love the roar of the engine as I stomp on it I also love the fact the filter is reusable. The setup is going to pay for itself over time. I live in a dry dusty climate where filters need to be replaced often. I'm getting worse mileage right now because I'm driving much more aggresively lately.

 

[boominXplorer]

well im getting interested in this whole debate. Cold air is always better going into a motor. The IAT is in the MAS so thats where it reads the temp and adjusts for air/fuel mix. The tube will not make a differance unless on a 97 and before which is when the IAT was separate. Even then It will not make a tremendous differance.

BTW rev limiter on a sohc is 6,300 (mommys truck)

 

[Saleen_SR71]

well i installed the MAC intake and only found one problem (97 eddie bauer explorer 5.0) i couldnt find where to mount the heat shield, my guess was that it was supposed to mount to the spots where the old air box mounted, but it would sit to hight and smash the filter when closing the hood.

 

[tytanutt94]

Found a cheap site for K&N filters...

Hi all, I just wanted to drop a line here since I fell across this discussion thru a fipk search. I also wanted to drop some info here. Through regular web sites I have found the FIPK kit for my 2002 XLT 4.6L somewhere around $350 give or take a few bones, but I just a few days ago ran across a site that sells the full kit for my truck for $250... and they ship by UPS (yes the big brown truck, not the postal service) the shipping is FREE, the website is www.4filters.com, my shipment will be in today. I'll give an update on missing parts, no instructions...etc... from the company and performance differences, no dyno just "seat of the pants" stuff. I'll drop in this weekend and let y'all know... Y'all have a good one!!