I recently purchased a new 2014 F150 3.5 ecoboost fx4. I am replacing the stock exhaust with a MBRP vat back 3" inch system. Ive been hearing rumors that an air intake on an ecoboost engine is not worth it. Opinions?

 

My intake gave me a little more sound, and a little better gas mileage. Seemed a little smoother, but combine it with exhaust and a tune, and you'll be happy. Two turbos have to breathe!

 

99.9% of any performance improvements are from the tune.

After-market air intake and exhaust systems offer minimal to no gain in the performance arena. Do 'em for the sound. Do 'em for the cosmetics. Do 'em for the bragging rights. Do 'em for anything else and you're wasting $$$$$.

• OEM air intake is CAI already, provides MORE than enough CFM to meet non-uber-mod'ed engines, and does not suffer filtration for increased air flow.
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• OEM exhaust (resonator and muffler) are straight-thru and have low restriction.

 

If you read my post, I never said it made any performance gains. It gave me about 1 mpg more, and more sound, and felt a little smoother..... I put my exhaust on the same day as the tuner, so I didn't say it helped any or not. I simply stated what was on my truck now, and how it runs. I've been building cars since I was a kid, and never had one that didn't benefit a little from engine mods. Some are small, some bigger than others, some aren't noticeable unless combined with other parts. Sure the factory air box flows ENOUGH air, but it doesn't flow AS MUCH as aftermarket intakes. And I've never been able to look thru a factory muffler. There's always baffles or packing in them. The AFE is straight thru, just like looking thru a piece of pipe.

 

Which was done. Ergo the reply. Which BTW wasn't criticism, just providing ROI comment.

Quess that you don't consider this a performance gain ... "better gas mileage". And I guess I thought you implied it ... "but combine it with exhaust and a tune, and you'll be happy.".

And my comment was directed towards where the gain came from in light of ryo150's (the O/P) comment of being worth it or not (pertaining to aftermarket air intake system, to which I lumped exhaust).

Quess that I've been "building cars" longer then (late 1950s), because unless the engine is modified to increase it's capacity for more air, increasing the flow is moot (exception is forced air). And YES, advancing the timing will (slightly) increase the cylinders' capacity for more air, however, it's nothing that would exceed (or be close to the max' of) the factory's air intake system. And guess what, there's a (safe) limit to the extent that timing can be advanced for an unmod'ed engine. *And exceeding the knock sensor(s) parameter/limit would not be advisable.

*.above comment regarding capacity. ANY aftermarket increase in air flow is at the expense of filtration. *Check their filtration #s.

Haved looked hard enough

 

Thank you for the help. For now I am going to install the MBRP cat back exhaust and in the future most like add a cold air intake along with some tuner. Not sure if I want to void the warranty yet with a tuner but I'd sure love to see what this engine is made of. I have heard nothing but good thinks about the horsepower and torque this engine can put out. Any suggestions of a tuner?

 

Don't bother with the CAI as stock intake provides enough CFM, only get it if you want some more intake noise when you go full throttle, don't expect much MPG though if your into the gas pedal, or tow a lot. This is because the engine is still using the stock MAF sensor and calibration so it is all for the sound, I just installed a super duty intake horn in my air box because in 2010 they were really small for some reason, and it was $3. However in later years they were larger size.

The exhaust with an SCT tuner will please you more than enough IMO, then if you want more power get some custom tunes emailed to you from MPT, 5star, etc or just buy the tuner pre-loaded from them.

 

Thanks Robob! After the install ill post some pics and stats