Cold air intake suggestions?

[Bikeman315]

To clean a K&N, you use a recharge kit. First you spray some solution on the filter, hose off and dry.

Once dry, you spray the filter with an oil solution and dry.

Some people over spray oil and don't dry before putting it into the box. The air flow sucks in the excess oil and fouls the MAF.

I have the recharge kit and used it several times in the past 20 years, never had an issue.

You can go 50k+ miles on a K&N without cleaning depending on conditions.

Thank you

Sponsored

 

[TheReaper]

I used UPGR8 Racing dry filters in my last 2 Mustangs with no issues. They are kinda like an AEM.

 

[Ebm]

Here's the trade-off when it comes to a CAI:

Stock air box and filter:
- More restrictive but filters more efficiently than any CAI you can buy
- Allows plenty of flow for a stock car all the way up to full bolt-ons
- Comes with the car, doesn't cost anything extra

CAI:
- Looks pretty cool
- Sounds pretty cool
- Less restrictive but allows more contaminants through
- Adds a few horsepower with a tune
- Usually a few hundred bucks

 

[vincentjm]

I currently have the Roush CAI. Overall I'm pretty happy with it, performs good. While driving in "normal" weather the temps are not much over ambient. Really the only problem I have with it is looks. I much prefer the Steeda design over Roush's design but hey. And yeah, I'm pretty upfront about this, for me a CAI is just for the looks.

 

[Dfeeds]

Here's the trade-off when it comes to a CAI:

Stock air box and filter:
- More restrictive but filters more efficiently than any CAI you can buy
- Allows plenty of flow for a stock car all the way up to full bolt-ons
- Comes with the car, doesn't cost anything extra

CAI:
- Looks pretty cool
- Sounds pretty cool
- Less restrictive but allows more contaminants through
- Adds a few horsepower with a tune
- Usually a few hundred bucks

You forgot to mention air temps. An open box CAI will be sucking in all that hot air from your engine bay, which is worse for performance. Your closed box, stock intake, will keep the air cooler. Calling an intake a "cold air intake" is just a marketing gimmick. We have cold air intakes in the car.

As someone else said, a dyno run for a stock intake + drop in filter + tune vs a "CAI" + tune would be interesting to see.

If you want the looks and the sound and don't care about the money then go for it. Just, for the love of anything holy, get a closed box and make sure it's sealed. A buddy I work with has had a cai on his charger for over a year and just recently was complaining about his 150° + IAT temps. I told him to put the stock box back on and that sucker dropped down to the 80s. The heat soak is no joke. I want to punch the monkey who put the self done CAI in my stratus (bought it used). It's not by an opening, sits on the metal, and can only suck in the hot air.

 

[FruityJudy]

If you buy a CAI that doesn't require a tune, you're literally wiping your ass with your money. Modern intake systems are very well engineered with a ton of R&D dollars put into them. Tune + stock intake or tune + tune required CAI. Nothing else.

What really baffles me too is how there are some people who will split hairs over "power increases" from non tune required CAI's costing $300 that are literally within the error correction of one dyno pull to another dyno pull on the same dyno but then will lose their minds and shit over someone spending $1500 on headers that will actually provide real gains and torque curve improvements across the entire RPM band. Or a tune that costs $400 which is by FAR the best bang for the buck, even over a relatively simple and clean supercharger offering.

My concern with most "tune required" intakes is that it is more marketing than anything. The reason the tune is required is due to increased tube diameter so the maf just has to be recalibrated so that it knows the correct volume of air since the air speed will be different. Doesnt mean there is any gains to be had over a non tune required intake. If a non tune required and tune required both have the same surface area of filter and filter element then the throttle resposnce may increased a small amount due to the volume of air downstream of the restriction point but as soon as it is consumed both flows should be even. I doubt seat of the pants could even show you the difference

 

[nastang87xx]

My concern with most "tune required" intakes is that it is more marketing than anything. The reason the tune is required is due to increased tube diameter so the maf just has to be recalibrated so that it knows the correct volume of air since the air speed will be different. Doesnt mean there is any gains to be had over a non tune required intake.

Do your homework and get a decent one. Or call your tuner who's vetted the products again and again. Over the phone outside of public, they'll tell you what is and isn't snake oil. And yes, there are gains to be had with the right tube.

And non tune required intakes give you basically nothing. Again, this isn't a first build Fox Body.

 

[Ebm]

You forgot to mention air temps. An open box CAI will be sucking in all that hot air from your engine bay, which is worse for performance. Your closed box, stock intake, will keep the air cooler. Calling an intake a "cold air intake" is just a marketing gimmick. We have cold air intakes in the car.

As someone else said, a dyno run for a stock intake + drop in filter + tune vs a "CAI" + tune would be interesting to see.

If you want the looks and the sound and don't care about the money then go for it. Just, for the love of anything holy, get a closed box and make sure it's sealed. A buddy I work with has had a cai on his charger for over a year and just recently was complaining about his 150° + IAT temps. I told him to put the stock box back on and that sucker dropped down to the 80s. The heat soak is no joke. I want to punch the monkey who put the self done CAI in my stratus (bought it used). It's not by an opening, sits on the metal, and can only suck in the hot air.

I don't count that as a pro or con because nobody races at idle. When the car gets going, IATs are right at the stock intake air box temperature for a CAI.

My car can hit 130 or 140 degrees while idling on a hot day. As soon as I drive off, they steadily come down to match the temperature outside. My CAI isn't box-sealed. Instead, my CAI is sealed against the hood. My hood directs airflow to my air intake as well though.

 

[Dfeeds]

I don't count that as a pro or con because nobody races at idle. When the car gets going, IATs are right at the stock intake air box temperature for a CAI.

My car can hit 130 or 140 degrees while idling on a hot day. As soon as I drive off, they steadily come down to match the temperature outside. My CAI isn't box-sealed. Instead, my CAI is sealed against the hood. My hood directs airflow to my air intake as well though.

What do you think happens at the drag strip? Your car sits, and sits, and sits, until it's go time. Guess what air your engine is sucking in at launch? It's that 130° air.

 

[Ebm]

What do you think happens at the drag strip? Your car sits, and sits, and sits, until it's go time. Guess what air your engine is sucking in at launch? It's that 130° air.

Who the heck idles at the strip? You don't start it up until it is time to do your thing.

It isn't like the IATs don't go up with a stock air box. They still do.

 

[EFI]

Who the heck idles at the strip? You don't start it up until it is time to do your thing.

It isn't like the IATs don't go up with a stock air box. They still do.

Regardless if you idle with the engine or, or just sit there with the engine off, the IATs will still skyrocket by sitting still and with a hot engine bay.

And even if you only start it up when it's time to do your thing, it's usually stop and go driving up until the line. What are you going to do, start it up, drive 15 feet then shut it off, start it up, drive 15 feet then shut it off?

The only solution to rising IATs at the strip is to take your car straight from the pits to the starting line and launch...but we all know that rarely if ever happens.

 

[Ebm]

Regardless if you idle with the engine or, or just sit there with the engine off, the IATs will still skyrocket by sitting still and with a hot engine bay.

And even if you only start it up when it's time to do your thing, it's usually stop and go driving up until the line. What are you going to do, start it up, drive 15 feet then shut it off, start it up, drive 15 feet then shut it off?

The only solution to rising IATs at the strip is to take your car straight from the pits to the starting line and launch...but we all know that rarely if ever happens.

Right, but the IATs will go up whether you have the stock factory intake box or a CAI. It isn't like the stock air box magically lowers your IATs.

I'm not sure about other strips, but my local strip doesn't get all that crowded. I've been able to go from starting the car to launching in just a few minutes. Although our cars don't really excel at the 1/8 anyway.

 

[EFI]

Right, but the IATs will go up whether you have the stock factory intake box or a CAI. It isn't like the stock air box magically lowers your IATs.

You're right, the stock one definitely increases IAT also...but nowhere near the level of some of the "CAIs" on the market like say the PMAS.

On the stock box they may go up 10-15*, with the PMAS they skyrocket 50-60*. That's the difference between a few degrees of timing right there.

 

[Bear376]

The CAIs that are sealed, are the only way to go. They draw from outside the engine like the stock units. Using a free flowing filter in the stock box is going to give improved breathing over the stock filter at least cost. By itself, a CAI is not going to give noticeable Improvement, but add a good intercooler, upgraded down pipe and a tune, and you can see 100+ hp gain.on 93 octane.

 

[StealthStang]

The CAIs that are sealed, are the only way to go. They draw from outside the engine like the stock units. Using a free flowing filter in the stock box is going to give improved breathing over the stock filter at least cost. By itself, a CAI is not going to give noticeable Improvement, but add a good intercooler, upgraded down pipe and a tune, and you can see 100+ hp gain.on 93 octane.

The open top ones like the Roush and Ford Performance still suck cold air in, they retain the lower intake pipe and the top seals against the hood ( on the pre-facelift at least ). They do let some hot air get in but not at bad as the old after market cone filter mods on some cars where the only source of air is from the engine bay.
My car uses the Roush intake and it does get hotter idle than stock, but both go up on idle anyway. Though theres a noticeable improvement in response and the power doesnt die off as early in upper RPMs ( on the ecoboost at least ).

Though one problem i encountered was when driving on bumpy roads the mustang has a lot of hood shake, and i suspected that was breaking the air seal against the hood while driving, you could kinda hear a change in the sound of the induction as the hood rattled. What i did was add a hood strut kit to help stabilise the hood and that helped a lot with the shake, so im assuming it seals a bit better now.
I did run the stock airbox with a Cobb sport filter and that changed the sound but i couldnt notice much performance different from the stock filter on the stock tune. Looking at the design of the stock unit, i think its pretty good and you can get away with it on tune with just a K&N or Cobb or similar filter, seems to flow plenty. Though the open setup definitely works well too since the Shelby and Roush all use it.

Sponsored