I have a 01 Screw with the 5.4....gonna be towing soon
and wanted to know which is the best intake for the money.
K&N FIPK
Airraid FIPK
The Air Force One kit


I want the best breathing I can get for mountain towing

Thx, Tmeyers-Colorado !!!!!

 

Hey there-
Overall, these systems are all about the same, and have
roughly the same pricetag. But here are a few factors:

1. In some states, Airraid is not smog exempt. It's not
that it's that different from the K+N, but they just haven't
taken the time to have it tested and exempted. Which
brings me to my next point-

2. K+N is a fine company with a real engineering department.
Their Gen II systems are completely flow tested at all RPM
ranges and are all dynoed. If you look at the K+N tube and
compare it to competitors, you'll see that it's not the same
diameter beginning to end. That's because they preserved
a little thing called the venturi effect which the stock tube
has! Yes, the stock tube has a designed flow pattern, but
Ford, like any other manufacturer, has to keep the sound
down, so there's a trade-off. Keep in mind that the K+N will
be vastly louder on hard acceleration due to the non-sound
proofed tube.
3. Don't buy into the hype that hot air negates the FIPK's
performance- I had my machine dynoed, with plenty of hot
air under the hood, and still showed an 8 HP increase over
almost all of the last half of the RPM range. Torque increased
approximately 5. It's a worthwhile system.

4. Lastly, if your going to spring for $200 for the FIPK, you need
to throw in another $100 and at least have 'em bolt on a
Flowmaster 40 or 50, or a Ravin or Spintech. You need to open
up that back end, at least a little (and a little is all you'll get!)
with a better muffler. An engine is just a big air pump, and the
FIPK systems work best with a breathing tail end, too.

 

Mike Troyer the superchip distributor has posted many times that the dyno results show the Airforce1 given a higher HP improvement. I have the K&N and am completely satisfied with it. I do second the fact that you need to open up the exhaust as well.

 

LocoScrew-

I agree on the AirForce1 issue, but the Dyno shop I went to had some interesting input on this- they showed me figures that DID indeed show about a 2-3 HP increase on the AirForce over the K+N, but only at max (5500+) RPM. They showed me (prior to buying the system) that the K+N had better OVERALL performance, especially in the midrange. On my truck, where the K+N showed about 8 HP at 4500 RPM, the AirForce one was almost identical, if not a little less. But more importantly, the torque curve was much less peaky looking than the AirForce1's- the K+N exhibited a stock torque curve relationship, with overall higher values past about 3500 RPM (average 5 lb-ft)

Oh well, in the end it's half a dozen or six of the next- they're all great systems! Get the best price, TMyers!