I'm about to send my Evolution to PHP to get Gryphonized and also have a Roush cold air intake on its way in the mail...word on the street though is that once I get custom tunes on my programmer, the cold air intake (once installed) will basically add nothing to hp gains...from what I understand, once the custom tunes are on the truck, the normal hp i would normally gain from an intake would be essentially overwritten I guess from the programmer...basically what I'm asking is if it's true that once I get a custom tune, putting an intake on will do absolutely nothing with performance? I have a ram air hood so this intake lines right up with the outlet of the hood so I figured it would allow more airflow and add more hp than an enclosed intake or even the Gotts method...any thoughts or confirmation on this issue?

 

You can have the custom tunes written for the CAI but I would strongly recommend doing the gotts intake if it's not too late. If the intake is not taken into account when you have the tune written you will still have an increase in performance but you will also risk having the truck run lean. You could probably modify the intake to still use the stock MAF sensor and still use the ram intake. What engine do you have?

 

I have the 5.4 3v...yea, I know it might run lean which is why Im gonna wait until I get my programmer back...The intake just came in and is still wrapped up so I can still return it but I just figured I might get more hp gains from the direct ram air fed intake vs. the Gotts intake...I guess that's what I was trying to ask: I know Id have to get the tune written in consideration for the intake but would I still get the same gains with the cai as I would with the Gotts (taking in account that I have a ram air hood)?

 

I think the gains of a ram air hood is negligable compared to a regular CAI and the gotts intake has similar gains but does not need any kind of special tuning. I dont have a dyno sheet but I do have proof of an increase in airflow compared to the stock intake. If the ram air doesn't drone like the other regular CAIs you can get a little more power out of just because some of the cam timing doesn't need to be pulled. Personally I would go with the gotts but since you have the ram hood why not use an intake built for it. Just make sure the intake/hood is noted on the custom tune order form.

 

Yeaaaa I was thinking the same thing...I just didnt want to get like 5 extra hp out of the intake and be out 300 bucks...Id rather just return so I just want to see if it's worth it or not, thats all...thanks for input Longshot!

 

Try taking a pic tomorrow of the engine compartment with the hood up. Also take some pics of the aftermarket intake before you ship it back. You could probably build one yourself. You could design a kazbek mod.

 

You possibly get a slightly better air charge at high speed with the ram intake than any of the "standard" CAI's (including the Gotts mod). However, 70-80 mph is not really going to "pack" a lot of air mass into the intake plenum unless there is a honkin' big inlet.

I'll have to say though, it's gonna look "killer" and I'll be happy to see a pic of it installed.

I actually don't know how the intake will effect the tuning. Bill generally has to set the intake valve timing back to stock to kill the "drone" on many of the commercial CAI's and you'd need some wide band data logging to really get the A/F mixtures right with what you have. A dyno's not going to tell you much of anything.

It isn't that the effect of the intake is totally lost with a custom tune, it's just that the net effect is less than it is for an "untuned" vehicle. The total effect of both together is less than the sum of each acting individually. (At least that's how I understand it.)

- Jack

 

The aftermarket intake will give you about 3 to 4 more HP over the Gotts mod. That is assuming you have a custom tune recognizing the intake modification. Just not worth the $$ but may be worth it cosmetically. Only you can decide.

 

Jack, thanks for info..I guess I'll just run it past Bill when I send it in...I just thought mine might be considered a special case because of my hood...Ill definitely post pics up when I install it..just gotta wait till I get my Gryphon from PHP (everyone keeps saying it takes like 10 weeks for it to be completed because of the high volume of programmers being sent to Bill). And Bluejay, that's what I keep asking myself: It looks nice and might give me a little bit more hp over the Gotts but is it worth the $300? Decisions, decisions...

 

Now you got me thinkin...

 

A home made one?
Wouldn't you think that the placement of the MAF would be crucial for the correct air flow reading per specs of the custom tune??????

 

^^ yep ^^

OP - don't even go there. Unless you are proficient in constructing custom MAF Transfer functions

Since yer truck is stock,you will not notice any gains this small, and any that may be evident will be at high rpm's.

Given the risk of intake drone (some like it, a lot don't) and the cost, most intakes are simply not worth the trouble, unless you really wanted to add bling to the stock engine compartment.

Then there's the whole MAF contamination and suboptimal filtration deal with a wet oiled filter ...

MGD

 

True...so you're pretty much agreeing that sending the intake back to Roush and getting my money back would be the smartest option, given that the intake will not give me any noticeable power with the aftermarket hood and even the Gryphon? I just want substantial hp gain and don't care about cosmetics...if the intake won't give me any hp along side the custom tunes, I'll just return it and put that $300 toward a new TerraGrappler

 

Here's my 2 cents. I did the gotts, tuned it with an economic type performance tune with some exhuast work and the truck will really really move. Go that route, commercial intakes look nice, but you will see some gains in merging and passing with the gotts. My truck is totally different than when I bought it. AND I average 18-19 regularly with my 5.4

 

Damn, im doin like 12 mpg...i guess Ill just return the intake and try out the gotts...thanks for the advice everyone! Strip club, my treat