Best Air Filter for 5.0L
07-11-2014, 10:33 AM
#11
Senior Member
joe0817 ... I want more power. Will it give me more power if I get one?
And ... Any increased air flow (not that it's needed at all) comes at the expense of filtration.
07-11-2014, 11:26 AM
#12
Senior Member
Even on Airaid's site, their dry Synthamax filter flows almost identical to the stock paper filter clean or dirty. Now the oiled filters will flow better, but as mentioned above, at the expense of poorer filtration.
07-11-2014, 11:41 AM
#13
Senior Member
I have had more issues with paper filters in my life than any other style so I have sort of given up on them. A couple of my trucks go out of their way it seems to suck dust in the intake... The boxes are put together properly and I even grease the filter rubber and it still dusts up the maf and the tube. And it's happening in the box as you can see the dust on the clean side of the filter... even on the element. Not every filter did this but almost every other one so enough was enough. The inferior oiled filter though.... clean tube. Maybe mine leak somehow around the filter but brand of filter and whatnot seems irrelevant as I tried multiple. Added the oiled filter and all is well. Didn't do that for power. I put a cai on my one 6.2 as it sounds really good and I got it super cheap. My truck is tuned with a 3.5" exhaust and it's a good overall improvement. The tuning and the exhaust were the 2 beneficial things... exhaust will be better once I add long tubes probably in the fall. Good enough lol.
Last edited by 1994Vmax; 07-11-2014 at 01:48 PM.
07-11-2014, 12:04 PM
#14
Senior Member
Increased performance requires more than just more air in. More air in + more air out (headers, larger exhaust, dual exhaust) + more efficient fuel use (engine tuner) + trans shift pts, converter lock up, + , +, .....
Great performance requires tuning the entire vehicle .... more than what just an air cleaner can provide.
Great performance requires tuning the entire vehicle .... more than what just an air cleaner can provide.
07-11-2014, 12:24 PM
#15
I installed an AEM dry filter. Almost immediately I feel like it is more alive. No WOT yet, cause I am driving the van to work. BUt around the house, it is good. Took a highway MPG , reset at 70, cruise at 70 for about 5 miles, mine showed 22mpg in that 5 miles. I like it, needless to say.
07-11-2014, 02:37 PM
#16
Senior Member
I suggest that if you do get a different filter, get an oil free filter. I've had a drop in that used oil and even if you lightly oil the filter it will still get everywhere after thousands of miles.
07-11-2014, 03:08 PM
#17
Senior Member
A little more ;-)
You can get a CAI or spend an extra $100 and get a decent tuning package. SCT supposedly offers more access to the engine parameters and the top tuners are using that right now.
Last edited by violinguy77; 07-11-2014 at 03:10 PM.
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Koolponycar (07-24-2014)
07-11-2014, 03:29 PM
#18
Senior Member
Ssi ftw
I put drop in K&N Air Filters on my previous two trucks I had before my 2011 F-150. They were a 1990 F-150 (302 V8) and a 2003 Ford Ranger Edge (3.0L V6).
I never had any real issues with the filters other than for some reason they seemed to get MUCH dirtier much faster than the paper filters did and required cleanings more often than I would have preferred.
With that said I didn't notice ANY power/torque gains on either vehicle. I've heard that even dropping in a true CAI system yields minimal power gains (especially on newer vehicles). A true CAI system will make your engine a little more noisy, but I doubt you'll be able to notice much if any difference in power.
Because of my lackluster experience with the K&N drop in air filters I've just stuck with the Motocraft/Fram...etc...etc paper units with my 2011 F-150, Just rolled over 30,000 miles about a month ago on it.
If you're looking for a noticeable power upgrade in your truck then a I would start with a Tune. I've been looking into a 5-Star tune for my 5.0L, Personally I haven't driven a tuned F-150 5.0L yet, so I can't honestly compare the difference's between stock and Tuned, but I see people raving all the time on these forums about how much of a difference the Tune made, and I've seen these trucks shave at least a full second off their 1/4 mile times with a tune vs the Stock times, so that has to stand for something.
If you're really looking for a MAJOR (But costly) upgrade than you can look into Supercharging, a Supercharged/Tuned 5.0L F-150 will pass just about anything on the road.
I never had any real issues with the filters other than for some reason they seemed to get MUCH dirtier much faster than the paper filters did and required cleanings more often than I would have preferred.
With that said I didn't notice ANY power/torque gains on either vehicle. I've heard that even dropping in a true CAI system yields minimal power gains (especially on newer vehicles). A true CAI system will make your engine a little more noisy, but I doubt you'll be able to notice much if any difference in power.
Because of my lackluster experience with the K&N drop in air filters I've just stuck with the Motocraft/Fram...etc...etc paper units with my 2011 F-150, Just rolled over 30,000 miles about a month ago on it.
If you're looking for a noticeable power upgrade in your truck then a I would start with a Tune. I've been looking into a 5-Star tune for my 5.0L, Personally I haven't driven a tuned F-150 5.0L yet, so I can't honestly compare the difference's between stock and Tuned, but I see people raving all the time on these forums about how much of a difference the Tune made, and I've seen these trucks shave at least a full second off their 1/4 mile times with a tune vs the Stock times, so that has to stand for something.
If you're really looking for a MAJOR (But costly) upgrade than you can look into Supercharging, a Supercharged/Tuned 5.0L F-150 will pass just about anything on the road.
Here is a terrible video, you get the idea:
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Koolponycar (07-24-2014)
07-11-2014, 03:33 PM
#19
I have a K&N system with a dryflow filter. No HP gains, but it sounds nice and looks nice. Good enough for me. I also use a poweraid throttle body spacer / paper weight installed for, can anyone guess, the sound.
Only a tune will increase power, and even with a tune I noticed no difference with the CAI.
Only a tune will increase power, and even with a tune I noticed no difference with the CAI.
07-13-2014, 01:30 AM
#20
Senior Member
I've seen many reports of ~10 RWHP with a drop in filter, it's hard to pin that on just the filter though because it's such a small gain.
There is an easy way to tell if the engine is not getting the air it needs, I need to run some tests one of these days.
There is an easy way to tell if the engine is not getting the air it needs, I need to run some tests one of these days.