Hey I know this question probably has already been asked a dozen times, but type of intake can I get without having to dump a bunch of money into tuning?

I've got a 2004 Ext. Cab 5.4 with a 1/2" throttle body spacer and a SI-DO aftermarket muffler.

Would something like an AirAid Jr. Kit work? Or are they even worth anything?
They kinda just replace the factory intake tube with a different one plus a higher flow filter... http://www.jegs.com/p/Airaid/880684/12052/-1/11261

Any opinion would be greatly appreciated!

 

Ditch the Throttle Body Spacer, you wasted your money there. There's another thread being discussed at the moment, dead on this topic. Read a little.

 

yea i dont see why people get TB spacers...they dont enough to even justify the purchase or work

 

I do not understand why you would want to spend money on an intake when a tuner will do 3 times what an intake will. The Gryphon or the Ecal2 will add 25 hp and make it feel like a different driving experience. That's with the stock intake. An aftermarket intake without a tuner on an 04 is just asking for leaning out trouble.

 

hes right.....just save up and get both

 

I have the Air Force One 3.0" Intake and a 2004 5.4L. I haven't had it long, but also haven't had any problems. Well, my truck died once right after I installed it, but I'm not certain that it's related. It has been fine since.

My friend has the Volant which he speaks highly of. S&B and Airaid are also good. I would avoid K&N. Not that it's bad... I just don't think that it's the best out there.

Some people claim that any CAI for the 04s will cause a lean condition. But a lean condition would cause the engine to run hotter (until the thermostat pops open... which would regulate temperature pretty well) but I think that I'm running slightly cooler with the AF1 installed. I might be wrong... but I've never noticed by engine temp gauge being slightly on the 'C' side until now.

 

Does unhooking the battery to let the computer reset make any difference? In other words, does it let the truck recalibrate itself to the increased airflow and make adjustments by itself?

When your truck died after the install, maybe it was the truck adjusting itself to the new conditions and after you started it back up it had become fully adjusted...?

I've no clue...I'm not a mechanic. Just a thought...

 

Disconnecting the battery won't do it. There's set values in the PCM for MAF/IAC/etc parameters that are stored, regardless of the state of the PCM.

TB spacers are useful in some apps, but are more reserved for vehicles with SC's and those who's coolant flow passes close tot he TB iteself. It helps prevent the TB from becoming heat soaked during racing. On our trucks though... they're dead weight.

 

I'm not trying to discredit what you guys know about TB spacers, because I have a feeling you all know a lot more than I do about mechanics. I just experiment with stuff and do what I can and try to learn stuff along the way.

Although they don't deliver any power or anything that you can -feel-, but if my figures are right, I believe I've picked up an extra mile per gallon or so. The TB spacer coupled with the exhaust have made my mpg numbers edge up slightly. I'm a college student and commute back home on some weekends, which is a trip that is 70% interstate and the rest two lane highway which is all relatively flat.

After TB spacer, I went from mid 16s to 17 at best for the trip to a solid 18 at interstate speeds. Furthermore, after a budget exhaust job, if I take it very easy on regular two lane highways I can manage 20 mpg. I've managed to do this twice so far.

Again, in no way am I trying to knock anyone's opinion nor am I trying to sell TB spacers...just stuff I've noticed after having one. Honestly, I didn't expect any night or day difference from a benign little piece of aluminum sandwiched between the TB and intake...but hey, it was worth a shot to me. If you don't want one, thats cool and if you think it's a good idea then go right ahead...far be it from me to make anybody change their mind about anything

 

No, your calcs are prolly accurate. Most ppl know that TB spacers are somewhat of a benefit, but the cost is not justified for a chunk of AL with some helical grooves to make the IA "swirly".

To each his own.

 

And the "swirly" air gets straightened out before it reaches the fuel injectors so it has little to no effect.
They worked great on TBI systems where they helped mix the air and fuel but on our trucks by the time the swirled air meets the fuel from the injector it is too late as the air has clamed down again.

 

Ditch the tb spacer. Go for the airaid jr. kit but get it directly from airaid.

 

ebay look up bomz racing intakes bought mine for 150 and its 3 in and sucks in more air and is louder sounding then all my friends intakes with would happen to be name brand of course kn and brute force all of that and mine out lasted all of them! got pictures of mine if your interested just message me and they have other short and cheap intakes on there also but i needed somthing that atlest looked great and performed great but they do self 3 half in. intakes too good luck!

 

So do you have it tuned for it? By the way, the S&B and AF1 is 3". I'm sure there are others as well. Just because it's "louder" does not mean it is drawing in more air. Now when you say it has outlasted them all? What do you mean? Which ones specifically? I want to see all of this.

 

Volume of noise has absolutely nothing to do with volume of air. I too would love to see supporting evidence of a "no-name generic" CAI 'outlasting' a K&N, S&B or any other CAI.

Oh, btw... punctuation is your friend. I got amigraine reading your post.