I've been browsing through some CAI's and was thinking about getting one. My one question is, is it worth it? I recently put on a Magnaflow dual exhaust and absolutely love it and thought a CAI would be good to go with it. I've also read not to get a CAI until you get a new tune. Any help is appreciated. I have very limited knowledge about these if you haven't noticed. Thanks.

 

Your model truck will be fine without a tune, but you still should have a tune to get every benefit from the intake. The best and affordable way to go is to upgrade the fender well induction tube to 3". Its still possible even with the return of the intake box mounted to the well. Put a dry flow filter in and you will be set.

 

So you think an aftermarket intake isn't the best way to go?

 

I have one and like it. Looks much cleaner when the hood is popped and sounds mean at WOT. MPG did go up a bit but the difference in throttle response, sound, and looks made it worth it to me...idk how much the Gotts helps so I cant compare.

 

Other than eye appeal, seems like a lot of money for small gain. Bills dyno run showed the Gott's mod did almost as well.

 

There are very few A/M intakes available for the 09/10s and I have not seen ANY dyno sheets for the few that are available (I haven't looked for them in a month so that might have changed).

IMHO, I would not purchase an A/M intake until I saw the dyno sheets and I carefully analyzed them (what good is 11.2 hp for the average driver if it's at 4600 RPM?). Another consideration is where the intake draws air. Check out the Banks website - they have an interesting chart showing IATs for the various A/M intakes (2003-2008). Naturally theirs does well, but most show an increased IAT even at road speeds.

If you do decide you want one (eye candy or throatier engine sound), then I'd recommend you stay away from oiled filters. Just a little too much oil and your MAF might become fouled/coated.

Finally, consider how well the A/M intake system actually filters and keeps the crap out of your engine. It's hard to find hard and fast data, so you might have to e-mail the manufacturer.

Once again, IMHO, I would save my A/M intake money and put it towards a programmer with custom tunes written for my truck, my driving style, and my goals (performance, towing, MPG - or all three).

Congrats on the new truck and welcome to the site.

 

Not unless you have the money to spend for a fancier looking kit, otherwise, Bluejay has it right on the money

 

I've read some posts on this topic that CAI can cause a truck to run "lean". Anyone help me out on what this means, context clues make me believe this is not good.

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/se...archid=3518675

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-fuel_ratio

 

So basically lean means the air fuel ratio is off, in this case too much air. This causes engine light to come on, and the truck to generally run bad?

 

A lean condition will raise the EGT and if left unchecked, can burn pistons and valves.

Unless you install a ****-poor A/M intake, you shouldn't have to worry about it with your 2009. It was primarily an issue with 04-05 and some 06 5.4L as the factory calibrations were lean. Add to that an A/M intake that altered the MAF sensor output and voila, you have lean AFR and CELs.