I have the K&N intake system. I'm waiting on my tuner from Mike and was wondering if the is really a big performance differance from the two. I will be going to his next dyno day and will change it out if its really needed. I know he will have to reprogram the unit it I would have to switch it out, thats not a problem. Is this something that can be done while waiting from your turn on the dyno? (for you guys that have already gone). Would Mike be able to do this at the next dyno day for me?


Thanks for your input.

 

Get the AF1 its worth it!

 

First off, I'm no expert but from my experiance at dyno day what I came away with was other than AF1 CAI's may allow you to reach peak levels but not sustain them for any duration. I know I left IN. with a other than AF1 and returned with AF1 installed

 

I don't think it's as much of a performance issue as it may be a rich vs. lean condition issue.

I believe that some testing has been done on several of the intakes. To my recollection and reading, the AF1 was one of a vast array tested that didn't cause the vehicle to go extrememly lean.

This, in my opinion, would probably be more of a driver than the performance issues... Performance is great but, it's no good if your engine life is comprimised significantly by it.

 

Thanks guys, I guess I'll just have to wait and find out. Overall, I want whats best for my truck, as I will be driving it for a long, long time. I cant wait for Mike's tuner to come. I may be asking you guys for some help when I need to datalog. I'm a newbie to all of this.
Thanks.

 

I'd recommend only AF1, and we'll help you anyway we can, just ask....

 

I'm wishing now I went with the AF1 from the start. I wanted to get it installed before last dyno day, just ran out of time. But after seeing the numbers of the guys with that intake, most were averaging 10+ rwhp over my pull of 244 ( strategy also reset before the pull ) with similiar setups. I now have one on order. Here's the thread where I asked Mike on the AF1 or the Airaid if you haven't already check it out. My Airaid's outta here and will be installing the AF1 w/ 3.25" intake tube !

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=235641

 

For me, I'd go (and am going) AF1. I had one on my other F-150, no CELs (I must've read the instructions ) It was a little 6 banger, but with the AF1 AND the cat-back Magnaflow, WOW.

I just bought a brand new '05 4.6l and the first two mods are XCal II with AF1.

I gotta save up for the Magnaflow now

Added bonus....it looks the best. Oh yeah, TP recommends it.

 

This is something that gets discussed a lot, and we really love it when we have each of our F-150 Online dyno day events, so that members can get a chance to actually see in person which intakes really do the best job.

What it all boils down to this this - the absolutely best intake kit for performance, at any throttle position and at any rpm, is the Air Force One.
Now there are 2 models, one has a 3.0" tube (inside diameter) and the other has the 3.25" tube - the 3.0" tube gets very nice power gains, more than any other kit from any other manufacturer, and the tuning changes required are little to none.
Now for the absolute highest power, the 3.25" Air Force One is the way to go, as it not only adds *another* 10 RWHP on average over say, the #2 manufacturer's intake kit (which would be Airaid), but it also extends the power band out another 500 rpm - so instead of peaking at 4700 rpm and dropping off, it just keeps building more and more all the way to 5200 rpm.

Now we simply DO NOT care what the name is on the outside of the box - what led us to Air Force One many years ago was our testing, which showing more power than other kits, as well as superior IAT's - and it's the same way today.

Now we had the (dubious) privilege of actually doing the majority of the R&D on the Air Force One kits for the 5.4 3V F-150's, as there were many concerns on these newer 3-valve engines with them going lean when making any kind of intake change - and over a lot of time, we came up with a pair, one in 3.0" that you can slap on any untuned truck that will be fine as long as the truck is running properly from the factory, and then for those who want the ultimate in power, the 3.25" version that *does* require tuning changes - and we can simply email those tuning changes out to anyone who has that kit - for example, we had a very nice gentleman that came all the way down from Michigan and had another intake kit on, who decide he wanted to upgrade to the AF1 - well, we had his truck on the dyno, got everything out of it we could, and to update his tuning once he gets his new AF1 with the 3.25" tube all we have to do is email him a new set of times.

Anyway, sorry if this confuses anyone, I just wanted to give a brief overview of what we see doing the best job - out of the (so far that we know of) 26 intake kits we have seen & tried on these trucks, nothing out-powered the Air Force One with the 3.25" tube, which peaked it's power at 5200 rpm - and the Air Force One with the 3.0" tube was right behind it, peaking the power at the normal 4700-4800 rpm or so, making AF1 the #1 manufacturer in terms of power gains for the 5.4 3V F-150 - the second best results we have seen have come from the Airaid kit, which also does a nice job - and as many here know, for about 8 months the Airaid unit was the *only* kit we approved of, as it took quite a while to get the AF1 where we really wanted it, with 2 different configurations, etc.

Everyone who was here for this past dyno day marathon 3-day event clearly saw the difference that the 3.25" version of the Air Force One made, and that is the ticket for those who want the most possible performance enhancement from modifying the air intake tract.

Now for those who like Volant - the Volant didn't do a bad job, it was OK - it made fairly decent power (a bit below Airaid & AF1 of course), but it has a shorter power curve, in that once it peaks it's power it drops off the torque very quickly, as it's just not designed to breathe well on the top end - this may simply be due to how they approached trying to make it lean out the engine as little as possible. So it's *average* power production was down from either Airaid or Air Force One, due to how it dropped torque very quickly after it peaked, and this showed clearly in the power plots. It is a nice looking kit to be sure, but it's design prevents it from being able to breathe well enough at higher rpms to add any significant power up top, that's all. If you already have it and like it, there is no pressing need to replace it (even though a couple did decide to do so at the event).

So to each their own, we just want everyone to be happy with whatever they decide - this is just how we see it.

 

Thanks Mike.

You didn't mention the K&N intake in your post, so I guess it just doesn't rank in performance as does the AirForce One. Once, I get my tuner I plan on coming down there for a dyno run this summer (Hopefully, you'll have another one for us guys that were in the group buy that haven't recieved ours yet).

At that time I'll probally be upgrading to the 3.25 AirForce One. Anyway, for now, I'll see what I can get out of the tuner with the K&N.

P.S I knew I should have done some research before purchasing the K&N.


Can't wait to get my Xcal2 from you. Thanks for all you do.

 

Ho Cottonhead,

Ahh, sorry about that!

The K&N is not a "bad" kit, it just doesn't make the kind of power that the 3.25" AF1 does.

What needs to be remembered is that companies like K&N are far more concerned with not causing any need for tuning changes than they are about making actual power gains, at least, as far as these 3-valve engines with their new mass-air systems are concerned.

With the K&N, we don't see peak gains, though we do see some gains in the lower rpm ranges, which is pretty typical of most 5.4 3V F-150 intakes, by the way.

So it's not a "bad" kit by any means, and I'll be happy to datalog & dyno it for you if you come down to our next dyno day, no problem! It's just not getting the best result, is all - and I have to admit I have a pretty strong bias here - meaning, I don't care for the typical black phenolic resin-based plastic intake kits that cost less to manufacturer being sold at the same price as a true aircraft-grade T304 stainless steel intake system - while that actually is good business from a manufacturing standpoint, it's just that from a consumer standpoint, if possible, I prefer to have the nicely mirror-polished T-304 S/S in aircraft grade, since it cots about the same and gains more power.

I hope that gives you a bit more of the info you were actually seeking.