This intake setup
#14
Senior Member
It all depends on the kit you buy. EBay sells cheap kits made of stuff you can get at pepboys. Some have the cone and a tube, some have a box. K&N sells 3 setups. A drop in filter that flows great and fits in the factory location. A kit that replaces the Cai with a high flow wai open to the engine bay. Or their best kit includes a box top which attaches to the factory base with cold air snorkel, a cone filter and a custom 2 into one tube with connection to the pcv system.
What's important is what do you want to get from this. If you just like how it looks, buy the one you like. For performance you need to understand why the factory did what it did. They never waste money on making parts that don't serve a purpose.
The factory system brings cold air from the high pressure area in front of the grill. Cold air is denser and creates more power. The high pressure forces the air in. The 2 tubes reduce the volume of the intake tube from one large tube to 2 smaller ones. That makes the air travel faster. Faster moving air helps atomized fuel better same creates more torque especially at low rpm. That's why the 5.0 in the truck has long intake runners and the mustang has short ones. The downfall of the factory intake are the rough tubes and hard turns that create turbulence and restrictions. The straighter the flow the better. Also a paper filter obviously doesn't flow well.
The cone filter has a larger surface area so it can filter more dirt before restricting flow, however if clean, the size of the throttle body limits the amount of air that can enter.
Large open element intakes are designed with race applications in mind. At high rpm at full throttle the engine needs as much air as possible to create power. However a wide open intake will cut your low torque.
Some people just like the sound an open air filter makes.
Finally there are some that argue that warm air with greater flow will create better mpg. I personally disagree, but it is definitely worth reading the info and deciding for yourself. Just search warm air intake and you can read our arguments about it.
What's important is what do you want to get from this. If you just like how it looks, buy the one you like. For performance you need to understand why the factory did what it did. They never waste money on making parts that don't serve a purpose.
The factory system brings cold air from the high pressure area in front of the grill. Cold air is denser and creates more power. The high pressure forces the air in. The 2 tubes reduce the volume of the intake tube from one large tube to 2 smaller ones. That makes the air travel faster. Faster moving air helps atomized fuel better same creates more torque especially at low rpm. That's why the 5.0 in the truck has long intake runners and the mustang has short ones. The downfall of the factory intake are the rough tubes and hard turns that create turbulence and restrictions. The straighter the flow the better. Also a paper filter obviously doesn't flow well.
The cone filter has a larger surface area so it can filter more dirt before restricting flow, however if clean, the size of the throttle body limits the amount of air that can enter.
Large open element intakes are designed with race applications in mind. At high rpm at full throttle the engine needs as much air as possible to create power. However a wide open intake will cut your low torque.
Some people just like the sound an open air filter makes.
Finally there are some that argue that warm air with greater flow will create better mpg. I personally disagree, but it is definitely worth reading the info and deciding for yourself. Just search warm air intake and you can read our arguments about it.
#16
It's a Canadian thing eh!
You won't notice anything different in power, its all in you're head. The only thing you might notice is the whooosh sound of the throttle body opening when you give it gas.
I just fabricated my setup, and I have monitored my intake temperatures and so far have noticed that while driving the intake temp is only about 2-3 deg warmer then outside and slowly climbs while idling when the engine is at operating temp.
I just fabricated my setup, and I have monitored my intake temperatures and so far have noticed that while driving the intake temp is only about 2-3 deg warmer then outside and slowly climbs while idling when the engine is at operating temp.
#17
Senior Member
With my kit I noticed better fuel economy, throttle response and power. It didn't require near as much pedal effort to get my truck rolling. So difference is noticeable an odometer doesn't lie, I picked up 20 miles between fill up's after adding my kit.
#18
Member
Thread Starter
Really?!?! What intake kit did you buy?
#20
Salvage Yard Pro
I love arguing with warlockk about my mpg and my warm air intake. As Sylver91 pointed out, under hood air temps at speed are not enough to worry about mpg differences anyway. I have a temp gauge mounted in the intake tube and monitored inside the cab. At speed, my air temps never go above 10-15 degrees warmer than outside temps. Unless your looking for thousandths of a second quarter mile gains, the difference makes no difference. My take on it is this, I like the warm air because the arguments tend to sway in favor of warm air for mpg. Less dense air takes less fuel to combust, therefore increasing mpg......but only with proper right foot adjustments. I haven't read this entire thread from start to finish, but at a glance, I see no comments about your Mass Air Flow Sensor and Intake Air Temp Sensor. If you have MAF on your 5.0, you'll need a conversion adapter to go to the cone filter. I just did my 5.0. Using the large Spectre Cone Filter and MAF adapter from Oreilly Auto Parts, it set me back about $50. The MAF converter has a bung in it for the IAT Sensor......well, it has a bung in it that has a rubber grommet that I had to open up a little bit with a 1/2" drill bit to get the IAT Senosr to fit. The PCV Breather on my 5.0 goes into the air intake ducting and I had to make no modifications for that. I'll go snap a pic of the new setup on the 5.0 so you can compare the sensor locations to your truck. Be back shortly.
Okay, for my setup, I had to rotate the MAF 90 to the right so the IAT Wiring would reach. Here's a pic of the adapter.
Here's a shot of the new filter for better reference.
Okay, for my setup, I had to rotate the MAF 90 to the right so the IAT Wiring would reach. Here's a pic of the adapter.
Here's a shot of the new filter for better reference.
Last edited by unit505; 04-18-2013 at 04:01 PM.