Hi, I am new to this site but I am looking to see if anyone out there is truly getting better MPG after installing a Volant Cool Air Intake on their 2011 F150? I have the 5.0 with 3.55 axle and I was getting around 15.3 mpg combined city/country driving and I put a volant intake on last week and now it seems to drop by about a gallon. Does this system need time to adjust?

 

If you do an online search for “air filter test” there is a lot of very good information. IMHO, the CAI units are NOT WORTH THE $$! Unless you are talking about a system that was specifically designed for a specific application there are very little hp/tq gains actually achieved in a street use vehicle and there are very few docs that these mfg’s can produce that actually show an increase in hp/tq in the power-band range of a relatively stock street vehicle.

I would avoid oil impregnated filters. While they have their purpose in off-road applications, Ford/GM/Dodge all have “watch-out” bulletins where the oil has contaminated intake sensors. - they even have a training video for the techs on this (flatratetech.com) .

If you look at the flow data, as an example, WIX HP filters flow 98+% of K&N and have a much smoother flow post filter plus excellent filtering, for a fraction of the price! The OE’s have an excellent air intake system. What many view as an issue (is the plastic intake tube with its noise canceling design) actually increases air pressure. It is the same hydraulic concept used by fire fighters creating water supply where psi is low. By having the air cross the path at a 90 degree angle, the pressure is increased proportionally. Fire fighters use what is called a “4-way valve” or “Blake Valve” at the hydrant where the water is cycled through the fire engine (pump) and sent back into the valve crossing the water flow at a 90 degree angle. In this case it also acts as a sound canceling device! At low speeds, this can reduce the flow a tad (which is what most “feel”), but in terms of peak hp/tq, a good high flow filter is all that is needed. You can use a WIX OEM HP replacement filter in the OEM plastic manifold box and either remove the plastic tube and replace it with a piece of pipe/hose, etc or remove the tube completely and replace the tube by building an air ram type intake into the air box manifold (where the pipe use to attach)- make sure it terminates above the fan shroud to avoid water intake or fan induced pulsations.

Last year Testand Corporation conducted an ISO standards test on automotive air filters which can be viewed at this link: http://www.dieselbombers.com/chevrol...r-testing.html. All I can say is this explains in detail the reason for

(Arlen) SPICER wrote,

“Now that I am not doing the tests and my objectivity is not necessary, let me explain my motivation. The reason I started this crusade was that I was seeing people spend a lot of money on aftermarket filters based on the word of a salesperson or based on the misleading, incomplete or outright deceiving information printed on boxes and in sales literature. Gentlemen and Ladies, Marketing and the lure of profit is VERY POWERFUL! It is amazing how many people believe that better airflow = more power! Unless you have modifications out the wazoo, a more porous filter will just dirty your oil! Some will say " I have used aftermarket brand X for XXX # years with no problems. The PROBLEM is you spent a chunk of ching on a product that not only DID NOT increase your horsepower, but also let in a lot of dirt while doing it!

As an example of the "bad math" used by the mfg's- they claim increased HP & mileage"- that is just impossible on a relatively stock engine. The 5.4 V8 for example if close to stock can only suck in a maximum of 480 cfm and a flat panel filter will flow 500 cfm, so even if an aftermarket filter will flow 900 cfm, there is simply no way any CAI on a relatively stock engine can make any more "power" because the engine can still only inhale a maximum of 480 cfm and thats at redline!- no more power, no better mileage!

The aftermarket units have many issues with them- at best they perform the same as oem, at worst, well, many issues including false readings to the ecm because of poor sensor location/design, etc. If you just got it, IMHO, send it back referencing your MPG reduction & false advertising as referenced on the link.

 

Some things are juat better left untouched. Manufacturers arent choking back their vehicles like back in the day to comply with emissions. They are now trying to squeeze every mpg out of the non eco friendly vehicles with what we do with aftermarket parts currently. The 5.0l has a full 3" single exhaust even, as compared to the '97 - '08s fully 2.5" exhaust. Good low end with that, but they realized more breathing room is more mpg so in '09 they made them full 2.75" tubing and the new tivcts have enough power that low end torque isn't relied upon the size of the exhaust.

Basically, study up before you buy parts cause these newer trucks perform really well stock. Just need a tune for all the possible power and a custom muffler to sound tough. Put your stock intake back in with a nice Amsoil air filter to protect better against dust and great flow performance with the nice quality designed and structured oem enclosed intake.

 

Thanks for the posts... I put this system on because I am towing a fairly large trailer from Ohio to Florida and I am looking to get the best bang for my buck at the fuel pump. I thought I did my homework on this system because it seemed like there was a lot of posts on-line saying that it would give me more power and MPG. I do feel that it gives me more power, but the MPG is what I was after... I wish companies would just me honost.

 

in addition to not doing a thing for you, you are also risking a lean condition.

either remove the POS or get a proper custom tune to render it safe.

 

Yeah I may put the stock setup back on. I am gonna give it a tank of gas to see if it improves. All of the towing magazines state that CAI are great for tow vehicles so that"s why I will give it a week or two. Thank-you guys for the great posts and I will up date you in a week or so. The truck does get-up and go with the new system so I should give it a chance.

 

The tow magazines are wrong - and I don't suppose many/any of them recommend you have yer A/F's checked. Ad/marketing hype, revenue and mass delusion....

You *may* have added a couple HP due to TF skew leaning out, but there is NO WAY you can tell with yer butt-dyno. You cannot feel a bump in power so small on a 6,000lb brick of a truck. That's simply placebo and wishful thinking in action. .

I repeat - you HAVE altered yer MAF TF - and need to get it corrected with a proper tune. And even if you do, 99% of any perf gains will come from the tuning, NOT from that intake. The Stock intake on yer specific truck is already stellar and supplies far more air than yer stock engine needs to breathe, does not drone, and is Safe.

Volant is A complete waste of money ... but - it IS yer truck, and yer money ... not something I'd be willing to risk though - and you cannot tell without measurements .....

Oh, I'm sure you won't agree with anything I've said.. but that Putin feller sure knows his trucks!

 

Whew! *sigh*

Methinks beechkid has some sort of fayncified contraption thangy whut sequentially mashes the 'control' + 'C' and the 'control' + 'V' buttons on his keyboard-o-ma-jig.

 

I ordered a Volant for my 6.2 not long after I got it. When it arrived, the first thing I hated was the gapping hole in it's side. So much for a "cold air" intake. Kina of defeats the purpose. But I put it on any way. Ran it for about a month, and I too noticed that my mpg dropped by about 1-2mpg. But this was before I had the exhaust system installed. Then I had to take my travel trailer in for some warranty stuff and again, my mpg really seemed to suffer badly. After that episode, the air filter housing came off and the stock housing was put back in, but I left the intake tube on thinking that it would still improve? It just seemed to bring my mpg back to about where it was. After another month or so of running it like that, I decided to put in a K+N filter and cut the bottom of the airbox open for added airflow. I've used K+N for years so I figured why not. My mpg improved, but performance didn't seem to be really any better. It wasn't until I did the exhaust that I really felt a nice increase in performance and mpg. So yea, I think the Volant was a huge waste of money. I posted on thier website about my results and the next day it was deleted, never to be seen again. I wonder why?

 

Yep - the fine print suggests they only accept Positive reviews...

What junk - over the years on here there have been reliable reports of these things choking above ~ 4,000 rpm - so much fer 'performance' part of the intake spiel, and so much for raising shift points with a tuner only to have it negated by this worthless intake. And - reports of the plastics they used actually melting/deforming under the hood.

That's in addition to the MAF relcation causing it's own set of issues for which you must correct - no help there from them either - just more denial. R&D? Naw - we don't need no stinkin' R&D. Not here - they spent their R&D budget on beers and strippers instead, I think.

 

+1........................

 

They do that via sponsorship, paid to represent. You really can't get any better of an intake over OEM these days with a 3" induction modification, and your choice of air filter. & its much more affordable! Unless you want the fancy exposed filter and shiny piping with a name on it. I don't doubt it doesn't gulp down air well and help with a little get up & go when tuned, but just how much of that air is truely cold air not from the engine bay, and how much to they invest on the creation of those intakes vs what they are sold for.

They can't, because then they won't sell their products to the folks that don't do their homework .

 

Okay I have been driving this intake around for a couple days and it does seem like the MPG is improving. Since I have owned the truck my average MPG is 15.3 I am now getting that with the intake on. This doesn"t mean that I am sold and gonna keep it on but I am just keep you guys in the loop. I do need to add that the intake that I bought is their closed system and it has the optional ram air scoop and 100,00 mile dry filter. At this point I aready own the system and I doubt a return is possible. SOOOO if the MPG stays normal do I just keep the system on and say at least I don"t have to change the filter for a long time or do I ditch it on ebay for half of what I got in it? I know my butt dyno may not be true but it sure feels like it is more responsive especiallly when going to pass someone. Just the fact that the filter and housing is so massive would make me believe that the motor can inhale with less restriction. And the ram air is not drawing air from the fender well but from behind the bumper. So not to sound stupid but then why does the motor get so much louder under load if it is not breathing more?? I always thought cooler air meant strong combustion. And if the motor can only draw in so much CFM then why would I run a risk of doing damage to my engine?

 

It gets louder because the stock set up has silencers built in where the aftermarket does not. The stock system is just as much a cold air as any aftermarket.

 

More noise is usually from air turbulence, which isn't a good thing. The MAF sensor requires a smooth, calibrated velocity airflow across it.


With reduced air velocity across the MAF sensor, the airflow measurement is too low, which decreases the amount of fuel, causing a very lean condition. A lean condition increases the combustion temperature which can burn valves, pistons, etc. .