If I use the Gtech, that would be numbers. But like I said, I'm not even sure he still has it.

As far as seat of the pants.....I'm not one of those that "says" it's better. Keep in mind, I'm from the Mustang world where talk is cheap. You would never hear me trying to give a "SOTP" feel description of a mod. Now, fuel mileage I will talk about. And that is the SOLE reason for me getting the cai/tune...to help with that.

 

How well does the g-tech do? I have often thought about one but my truck doesnt have enough sensors or so I think because its a 94. Back to the intake how do yall keep water out of those open setups and ram air set ups?

 

Holy crap!!! It feels like a monster after the intake/tune!!














































That was for you chester!!

Nope, the only real difference I notice is the throttle response is better. And the shifts are firmer...all attributed to the tune.

Sorry, he didn't know where his Gtech was so no numbers. But I will report back the fuel mileage difference which is my main concern.

 

Don't hold your breath. If Ford could get better gas mileage by putting a bigger intake tube and a big air filter on these trucks, they would have already done it.

Heck, the EPA would MANDATE it.

What's the sad part..... UNLESS you drive the exact same vehicle, the exact same route, at the same temp, same load, same speed, same mood, catch the same red lights, and get behind the same vehicles etc..... You could NEVER calculate a .5 increase in mpg's with any certianty. IMHO

 

You keep forgetting that the cai is accompanied by the Xcal. I've been told that people have seen a fuel mileage increase with both. Althoug, at the moment i haven't seen one. Actually, if I had known there wouldn't have been an increase, I would have opted for efans and exhaust before the cai/tuner.

 

I have a 2006 F150 V8 5.4 and I have read as many posts as I can read about this subject. I was just about to order the new Fram Boost after seeing them on a TV commercial yesterday, so I came to the forums for justification. After reading all the posts, I have came to the conculsion that I am probably not going to see the 8-9 HP that Fram says it will do, or the 10-12 that K&N claims. If this is a correct statement, then what is available (aftermarket) to increase the HP...just a little, or even increase Fuel Mileage.


Thanks
fireman603

 

I used the true flow for about 10,000 miles and it works great, good throttle response and noticble gas mileage increase. dont get rid of your air box, you will suck in all of the trapped hot engine air comming staight from the fan.

 

Well my a$$ dyno never did work, I never thought of more power that way, Juice or a huffer is the only way I expect to get power. the only thing I was looking for when I bought into the OE world was little maint. required on behalf of the airfilter and to ditch the stock junk, baffles and silencers blow....... OE vs. stock, OE is better if its sealed upto a hood for forced cold air induction like that from a ram air hood, keep in mind air is always moving inside the engine compartment if you have a manual fan it is, in the summer time here it reaches between 110&120degrees.

If you think stock airboxes are not restrictive, get ahold of a TBI air box and the equiptment to log the engines diagnostics, then switch over to an OE filter theres quite a bit of difference between the two.
If I were to believe that the stock box was any good the Fisher-Body community would laugh me into the next century. I currently run a 3"x13"dia filter which will eventually become a 6"x13 when I'm done moding it, all mated up to stingray open front/open rear scoop.

But now since I live in a silty sandy desert oasis, I am looking to get out the OE filter and tube on my truck, my filter practically needs cleaning every 3 months and is breaking down due it. I'm looking at an enclosed filter box like the Volant or possibly going back to the stock box-which I no longer own I thru it out 2 months ago . counter productive torwards HP and free flowing air, NO! its counter productive to my engines lifespan, if dirt enters it.

 

Heh, i still get a crack out of this. My truck bone stock 03 4.6 standar cab did a 0-60 in 8.7 according to the edge. I then popped it to level 2 and 3. Both did around a 9.45, I was pissed. I then put the tuner back to stock and got another 8.75 this time. I then put the outlaw intake on, went and ran an 8.4 0-60, so I could see the intake helping, but the Edge was a joke, I have already returned it, now i'm skeptical about tuners, but i'm pretty happy with just having a truck, not modding the **** out of it and ******* it. Thats what project cars are for.

 

So, I read this entire lovely thread and I'm ressurecting it from the damned grave (as short as its been buried). There are a lot of fallacies here.

First, intake temps do represent an increase in power, but they aren't as much as you would think. Probably the biggest gain from lower intake temps is from knock resistance, not air density. You see, higher temp air has less mass, and is therefore easier for the engine to ingest. Lower temperature air is denser and is harder. A certain amount of vacuum results in a corresponding MASS (not volume) of air, regardless of temp (well, close enough). Now, with forced induction systems, lower throttle body temps do help because you've heated the air from compression (stupid Boyle's Law) and the ultra hot air coming in is not a good thing for knock resistance. For our NA (normally aspirated, you Lighting guys are special) trucks with stock computers, knock resistance isn't too much of a concern unless you're tuning to the ragged edge unless heat soak becomes such an issue that the coolant temps start increasing.

Second, anyone trying a "ram-air" system with a MAF isn't thinking things through. If craptacular part throttle freeway mileage/response/power is something you want, then go for it. You see, the problem with something like this is at 70mph with a "ram-air" system, your engine's demand for air is outstripped by the air rushing in. This air will create turbulence and a back up of air at the throttle body but the MAF has already registered this air coming in, adding fuel for it, making your car/truck run rich. This would only be helpful with a "blow-through" forced induction setup because the compressor (whether super or turbo charger) will have smoothed out the flow, relatively speaking.

Third, a lot of the gain seen from cold air intakes (CAIs) is from dynamic supercharging. This is from the pulses of air from the intake valves opening (which is why equal length, tuned, stepped primary headers gain power at different rpms based on corresponging primary length on the opposite side) going all the way back to the air filter (where air pressure is ambient). The longer the tube, the lower the powerband increase. Now, for a truck motor, this is where you will see the most gains because you're turning 5000-6000 rpm. Look at the powerband of an engine before and after individual throttle bodies and you'll know what I mean. Ultra short runners/intake, ultra crappy low-end powerband. There is, of course, a point of diminishing returns on this as well. I doubt a 3 mile long intake would give you +100lb-ft @ 20 rpm or something...

Fourth, just because an air filter setup can flow 600cfm doesn't mean it's "good enough." You see, engines have this thing called pumping loss. If you spend less power on pumping losses, you "make" more power, or free it up to drive the wheels. This is why pullies, lightweight flywheels, lighter wheels, knife-edged cranks, lighter internals, light weight oil, wider tolerances (within reason) etc "make" more power (at least on an intertial dyno, which is more power, as far as acceleration is concerned). I would say more of the worhtwhile gain is in a smooth intake pipe than an air filter, as any increase in flow through the filter would likely mean an increase in ingested dirt and there is a point of diminishing returns on air filter size. Reducing turbulence in the intake system also makes for more accurate MAF readings in addition to less pumping loss which may represent an increase in MPG because air isn't being counted twice (though a properly functioning O2 sensor should correct for this unless you're at WOT).

Fifth, tuning a MAF car is unnecessary for any kind of modification unless that modification reduces the engine's resistance to knock or changes the air metering/fuel setup. If more air passes the MAF, it will correctly add fuel for it, regardless. Even if it's a different temperature, it will add the correct amount of air because it senses the MASS of the air, not pressure/vacuum. Now, if you add forced induction, you will want to correct A/F (I like 11.5:1 for FI cars) and/or change the timing curve (especially at torque peak). If you have a MAP sensor or carb'd engine, then this will help out as well.

Stupid max post size restriction... TBC...

 

Continued...

Sixth, stock intakes are meant to be quiet, cheap, easy to service and reliable. People don't drive trucks to go fast. Now, if you're one to want it louder, you're probably going to buy something to make it louder, but people won't buy a "quieter intake" for their truck. In addition, noisey means cheap to the majority of people out there. Ford makes the intake quieter so when people test drive the truck, they marvel at how little "truckiness" there is and how much quieter it is than a Chevy/Dodge/Nissan/Toyota. Unfortunately, this makes it more restrictive. Look at the intake and exhaust for a 350Z, nice and smooth and that car makes a lot more power per liter than our trucks do, but are many orders of magnitude louder than a stock F150. Remember all of those commercials about the expanding foam in the new F150s? Quiet sells. Sure, a less restrictive intake will give you more mileage, but at the really conservative throttle openings involved with an EPA MPG test, there's more pumping loss/turbulence from the nearly closed throttle body than the most retarded intake system. This is, BTW, why BMW went to variable valve timing to determine power instead of a throttle body. The 7 series (and maybe more cars now, I haven't kept up as much as I used to) does not have a throttle body at all, but instead varies the cam timing to regulate engine output, but I digress. If you're towing or under heavy throttle loads for longer periods of time (Ford doesn't care what mileage you get after you buy the truck, only what that sticker says and your perception of it) then you're more likely to see MPG increases.

All right, I'm done, for now.

 

I've realized the same thing. I modified my SE-R (see my sig) to unstreetable levels, then bought another car, turned it into a racecar (http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/...20racecar.php), then bought my truck and left it mostly stock and loving it. It's never going to be fast, so it's hard to justify modifying it. Finally installing a better sound system in it to make the longer tows more enjoyable but otherwise leaving it alone.

Now, has anyone had any complaints about EBay intakes? I'd make my own, but the Ebay ones are so cheap I would break even on materials and welding supplies and still have to make the damned thing. I would probably replace the chintzy China-filter for a more reputable one though.

 

I got one of those cheap ebay intakes and the guy didn't ship out the heatshield with it so I never installed it (he is shipping out the heatshield today). Also, the tube is too big for the rubber couplers supplied with it so to test fit the tubes to make sure they would even fit I had to get the plastic couplers warm with a torch and then I was able to get them to fit, just gotta make any angle adjustments fast cause once it cools down it's in place (just heat again to be able to move it easily). I just ordered an AF1 and tune from troyer so I will not even be installing this intake so it's just sitting in my garage. speedracerbubba@gmail.com if you have any questions.

 

Cool, thanks for the reply.

 

WOW!thanks guys,now i dont know if i did a good thing or not by ordering the k&n cai.just had the exhaust done yesterday,a 50 series flowmaster w/3" single tube out back.quiet enough for me.the k&n is in route but i dont like the oily filters,anyway amsoil makes the dry filters to replace the k&n,s.since once in a while i will be driving in some dusty conditions,i think a foam prefilter would be the ticket.ive done these mods for mpg ,any power gains will be gravy.the only reason i went w/cai is a few people i know said they have had good mpg increase.hope its not bs. or i will put stock stuff back on.good site guys,cya,bill