Hey Guys,

Haven't been in the chips forum lately and from the looks of it, it's pretty dead, minus some Edge stuff.

Wanted to see if anyone has heard word of a possible troyer group buy on the Xcal2 or running a deal on a XCal2 and AF1.

Let me know!


Duke

 

There is always a package deal (price) on the X-Cal/ AF1 combination. Give them a call......

 

Yeah I'm contimplating it. I've been extremely stuck on the fence for about a year now. I'm really debating it again because I'll have 22 inch rims soon and will need to switch the tire size between stock and 305/45/22 twice a year since I'll be running the 18s in the winter.

Not only that, but who doesn't want a little more giddy-up and go?

I think my biggest problem is fear of "buyer's remorse" on the AF1 intake. I'm just terribly affraid of not liking the noise and being stuck with it.

Duke

 

The only sound you will hear, and its not what I would call noise, is when you kick it in the @ss. You will then hear the air being sucked into the TB. It sounds like an old 4-barrel Quadrajet or Holley carb. kicking in. I know some here have complained of a drone or continuous noise after installation, but I have NEVER heard one do this and I have been around a lot ot them after installation...Go ahead and take the plunge, you will be glad you did...

 

I was REALLY WORRIED about the noise from the AF1. Right after I ordered it I found a post on here that someone took theirs off and sold it because they couldn't stand it while towing their travel trailer.

I can tell you that after a 2000 mile trip pulling my travel trailer with the AF1 and the XCal2 that it IS LOUDER than stock. The only time that it was somewhat annoying to me was pulling some of the longer grades through the mountains. Like Marc said, I too think it sounds like an old 4-barrel Quadrajet. I just turned up the radio.

I WON"T be taking mine off and selling it!

 

I sure wish I knew what a old 4-barrel Quadrajet sounded like!

Gosh, I guess the only way I'd be willing to risk the money was if I could return it if I didn't like it or if I ended up buying one off someone for cheap. But if I did an AF1, I'd want to do the bigger intake tube and do XCal 2 tuning with it. I guess I'll have to be a "on-the-fence" guy till then.

I wish I wasn't so hesitant, but I just don't want to risk the $600+ bucks on the AF1 and XCal2 and then not like the noise and be stuck with the AF1.

Duke

 

Not trying to be funny, but I think I'd be concerned about buyer's remorse over the loss of sidewall flex with 22" wheels and tires. Hope you have been able to drive a vehicle equipped with 22's in the rain and also checked your stopping power with that setup.

Good luck.

enb

 

I understand your points. However, there have been quite a few people on here with the 305/45/22 tire a haven't had problems with traction more so then stock. Traction with these stock tires in the rain is horrid so I can't imagine it getting much worse.

I'm attempting to upgrade the brakes, and at a very worst point they'll just get ceramic pads. I understand I'll lose some brake power, but I can't imagine it'll be that bad. I've personally asked several with a similar setup and they said they didn't have a horrible time with braking or traction. Actually for most, traction improved dramatically because of the higher quality tire being used. It's not like these are going to be thin walled tires either. There will still be a substantial amount of sidewall since it's a bigger diameter tire.

Guess I'll have to hope and wait and see if Troyer ever adpots a one day return policy on the AF1, I'm just worried about the risk of not liking it.

Duke

 

Go for the AF1 3.25" intake and xcal2 combo from the folks at Troyer. I'm real happy with the results. As far as the sound when you nail it, it's definately quieter than my first car, a`70 Olds Cutlass with a 4-barrel quadrajet carb with the air cleaner cover flipped upside down !

 

I know, I want to. But once again I'd be all over it if I had the ability to return the AF1 the day after if I didn't like the noise.

Duke

 

Hi.

What you need is a nearby F150Online'r, whose willing, some tools, time & some cold ones to do temporary install. You'll know immediately afterward if you like the noise or not. Or simply drive his truck, if it's similar enough to yours.

There are no guarantees based upon one's personal perception of an aftermarket component's perceived sound. It's gonna be louder than stock for sure - Ford designed theirs to be quiet.

I like the sound of wide-open quadrajets The thing is flat amazing.

Cheers
Grog

 

EXACTLY!

I just don't think there is anyone around here with an AF1 near Minneapolis or even in Minnesota for that matter.

Duke

 

Hi Duke,

Here is what I think are the most important points:

1.) It is NOT any louder than stock unless you put the engine under a heavy load - period.

It is not any louder at idle, you cannot hear it in the cabin at idle.

You cannot hear it in the cabin at cruise.

You can hear it in the cabin *only* when using heavy throttle or when the engine is under a heavy load - and then all you hear is the engine pulling harder because you have more air going thru it and the engine is making more power. It's not like it's something that would be LOUD, like a poorly-designed exhaust system, for example.

In other words, there is no "resonance" inside the cabin, which is something that people want to know about, and I think rightfully so. It's not going to spoil the character of these quiet trucks, etc. Out of the thousands of AF1's we have sold, we have had a grand total of 1 guy who said he didn't like it - and as you can probably guess, he was a type who should really never change anything.

My personal truck wears the AF1, not only because it gains the most power, but also because it is in fact the highest quality and the quietest intake kit we have ever tested.

The fact is, you are not going to get any intake kit that actually adds power while NOT making ANY more noise whatsoever at full-throttle - sorry, but that just will not happen.

I want what I think most other people want - which is, their vehicles relatively quiet until they get on them (or put it under a heavy load), and then they want to hear the sound of a healthy V8 doing it's job - which is precisely what you get with the AF1. It's quieter than the Airaid, for example, which, while a good kit, does have a tendency to "honk" a little bit under load at about 1800 rpm - something the AF1 does not do.

I have personally driven many F-150's with the AF1, we have owned numerous F-150's wearing the AF1, and have never heard a thing inside the cabin until the engine was put under a hard load - like towing a heavy load up a hill where you have to use heavy throttle, or flooring the throttle just to have fun & go fast - and then, what you hear is a very pleasing sound sorta like what you hear with a nicely designed exhaust, only it's on the intake side and quieter than that. In other words, you can hear the engine gaining rpms a bit better than you can with the stock intake, which is, for me, exactly how it should be - and I do NOT like noise for the sake of noise - I like to have a quiet cabin where I can listen to the radio, carry on a conversation, and not get resonance droning, vibration, etc.

See, I think the concern for most people is that they do not want to spoil the smooth character of their new vehicle with an intake kit that makes noise all the time - and I agree completely! Especially in the case of the new 2004 & up F-150. I too, do not want to hear "noise" all the time. However, when I get on it, I *do* want to be able to hear the engine gaining rpms in a pleasing way.

It's just not something that would ever disturb anyone who is the least bit interested in performance, is how I feel about it. I really don't know how else to put it, but you'll notice that you do not see a pattern of people consistently posting here about how loud it is, or how they can't stand it's noise, etc - and this is a pretty discerning group.

I hope that helps you to understand this a bit better - and if you'd like to go over this in a bit more detail so that I can describe this to you in person, please do feel free to call - I understand your concern regarding noise, and share it, as I too, like a quiet cabin - except when it's time to nail the throttle or time for a little rock and roll played at the appropriate volume!

I hope that helps & best of luck whatever you decide,

 

Hey Mike,

Thank you for the detailed review of sound levels! I really appreciate your time and consideration and recognize that a thing like sound is hard to quantify. I really want to do the XCal2 and AF1 (larger diameter size), however at the current price I think I'm going to have to hold off until the fall. I just spent quite a bit of money on rims and nav. I would have a hanging party consisting of family and my gf if I spent more money on the truck right now and didn't put it towards the savings account for a house.

I should have more disposable income in the fall and who knows maybe they'll be a group buy between now and then. Either way, baring someone sending me a troyerperformance significant discount coupon (which obviously don't exist) I regretfully need to wait.

Thanks again,

Duke

 

You're more than welcome, Duke, glad to help - you're right, it is hard to quantify or describe a sound via the written word - especially for me, as I'm a terrible writer! But I think that description should be accurate.

Last - I don't know if this will help you or not, but we are running a special on the AF! and our custom tuning right now, so you might want to give us a quick cal to get your F-150 Online member pricing on that combo deal - I don't know if that would make the difference in you being able to do it at this time or not, but you should at least know about it so you can decide, of course - and good luck whatever you do!