So I bought a S&B intake system a while back and have since removed it because I wasn't seeing a difference in economy or performance, and actually saw a decrease in economy with the installation of the Banks exhaust. I am planning on getting a Xcal II with troyer tunes. I need to know if my S&B will work, or should I spend another $300.00 for the Air Force One.

 

When you place your order with Mike you will be emailed a set of CPW'S (custom program work sheets) that will require you to list everything pertaining to your truck which will include your S&B and the exhaust.
From the Information you provide, Mike will use all his previous R&D information derived from both products to create your custom tuning.
The only thing I would change is the exhaust. Magnaflow has proven time after time that it will out perform the Banks, Flow Master, Gibson and etc..
You will be delighted with Mikes custom tuning.....

 

Hi mt b8,

Marc's post contained some very good info (as usual).

First, on your Banks exhaust - they do "OK" in terms of adding some peak horsepower at full throttle at high rpms, but they really are lacking everywhere else - you actually lose part-throttle torque, which is most likely why your fuel mileage went down - this is assuming you weren't' using more throttle checking out the sound & performance of your new exhaust, and a lot of people will do that for a while after getting a new performance part.

In all candor, sure, I'd love to see you do a combo deal with us and get you into the Air Force One intake system, since it works much better than the S&B, and our custom tuning - that is the ultimate tuner & intake combo.

However, the truth is that if you want to keep your S&B intake, we can tune for it, it does lean out the A/F ratios somewhat.

Now, how do you decide? Well, the first thing is to call us and get your special combo price deal since you are an F-150 Online member on our custom tuning & Air Force One combo - then you will know just how much more you would *really* be spending for an other intake kit -= and also we will talk to you about how much more power the AF! will deliver over the S&B, so that way, you will have a good idea of actual cost and power results, and I feel that is good info to know to really make that kind of decision.

It's a touch call for me, really - on the one hand, obviously I want you to get the very best results, and that means using the AF1 intake - on the other hand, it's easy for me to spend someone *else's* money!!!

SO it's a decision that you really need to make for yourself, based on knowing your actual costs on our combo deal and then the actual difference in performance between the AF1 and the S&B.

Tell you what - I suggest calling here, and ask for me personally, OK? Give my staff your F-150 Online screen name and tell them I asked you to call me personally, because due to my hectic schedule I'm not the easiest to get on the phone. But because I do all the testing & have all of the comparative data for those particular parts right in my head, I'll be happy to go over this with you and do it in a manner that doesn't give you a sales pitch, just the hard numbers, what you can expect to get either way, and then you'll be fully informed and can decide what really is going to be best for you. How's that sound?

 

Mike, your quote above worries me a little bit. I have a S&B intake and was under the impression it didn't cause a lean condition. Are you saying that it does cause the engine to run lean? If so, I'll definitely take it off. Thanks. Jon

 

Sounds good Mike.

 

Hi Jon,

Yes, *any* intake kit that actually adds power is going to lean out the engine - anywhere from a little bit to a LOT, and everything in between, depending on which unit it is.

There is only one exception to date to that rule, and that is the 3.0" version of the Air Force One intake kit - with that one, it does gain power, and does not lean out the engine - however, most of it's power gains are in the lower rpm range,s it does not add a really "significant" amount of power to actual peak hp meaning the power you make at 5000 rpm at full-throttle - there is always a compromise when making intakes for these 3-valve engines especially.

If you have an S&B intake kit, they are close enough on the low end that we generally find they do not cause the MIL light to come on and give a lean code, but they do lean out the A/F's under any heavy load, meaning any time you are operating in open loop - which is at about 70% or greater throttle opening, generally speaking, depending on the rpm you are at.

What I would suggest is to keep your investment in your current intake kit, and simply have us provide proper tuning for it - that will get you a much larger power gain due to the tuning, and get the A/F's back in line as well. I think that is a better solution that just ditching your intake kit and going back to stock - but of course, I am a performance guy, so I always tend to think in terms of adding performance, not taking it away.

See, intake manufacturers by and large do not understand engine tuning, and really do not understand what it takes to make an intake kit that offers *real* power - any intake kit that offers any significant increase in peak power is going to lean out the engine and need to be compensated for. Intake manufacturers do not do the kind of dyno time testing that we do here - they simply see if it will not throw the engine so lean that it immediately causes check engine lights and let it go - or if they even look at full-throttle A/F ratios, they in many cases just don't pay enough attention to it - not all, but that does happen a fair amount in these newer 3-valve engines.

In the F-150, prior to the 2004 model year, you could throw on just about any intake kit and while it would lean the engine out a little bit, it usually wasn't enough to hurt anything, and you could get by without the custom tuning (though IMHO that should still always be done for best results). That all changed with the introduction of the 5.4 3V engine in the 2004 F-150.

What I would suggest is giving us a call to go over this in some more detail, so that we know which kit you have and can then properly advise you, OK? I hate to see you yank it off and return back to stock, I;d rather see you enjoy what you have and ad something to it to gain more power and dial in the A/F ratios - and I don't mean to play "salesdude" when I suggest that, it's just that I'd like to see you be able to enjoy your investment, and add onto it along with getting the A/F's in line, and that is easily accomplished with our tuning.

Anyway, there are a couple of options, just give us a call at our number listed below if you'd like to go over any of this, OK?

Thanks for your post!

 

I like my AF1 3.25 with Troyer custom tunes and Magnaflow catback.
A bit concerned about how good the oiled cotton gauze filters. I know they flow great, but what about filtration?
Wondering if Mike has run any of the universal synthetic media cones on the dyno?

 

I have a question about this. What exactly changed in the 5.4L to cause such a lean condition with an added intake? I can see in a supercharged application maybe, but I don't understand how this can happen in stock form.

Doesn't the MAF and the O2 work together to correct A/F mixtures?

I can see custom tuning used to get the most power and the best A/F ratio. I would think that the ECU will self adjust and make the motor run rich without a tuner.

 

3 valves per cylinder.

 

MAF design and placement is totally different on the 5.4L 3V.

Search for the term 'transfer function'.

Or just call TP for a detailed explanation.

 

This is the exact setup I was thinking about getting. Can you give a little feedback on how you like it? Has it improved your mpg at all? What about sound? Last how much $$.

Thanks a bunch I would love to hear from someone that has what I am really strongly thinking about doing.

 

have you had any problems out of your s&b? any different vibrating noises?

 

im curiouse to know which S&B intake you have... the new one or the old one that uses the factory airbox also.

 

i have the new one, but only had it on a day.....getting some vibrating noises at shifts under a load.....

 

sounds like you are running lean.