i just brought home my new baby 2010 fx2 w/5.4 im wanting to install a cold air intake but i hear that by installing one on the 2010 would actually loose hp is this true? i got big plans for this sweet ride

 

You shouldn't lose power but you won't gain a lot either.

 

I don't have a dyno to back up any gains. But I recently put a Volant CAI on my 09. It "feels" like it has gained power. It has a better response when I give it gas than it did before. It definitely sounds a lot better too. It's up to you though. I am totally happy with my CAI though.

 

Hey dad i will still beat you even if you get a intake;P

 

Nice trucks! I'd have to say that the throttle response and extra hp/tq from the intake would put the fx2 ahead, not to mention the added driver experience from being 'dad'

 

Most intakes will cause the motor to run lean, which in turn, causes HP lose. You will need to have a tune to run along with the intake, for it not to run lean. Also, a canned tune will not help you, you are going to need the truck custom tuned to take any advantage from an aftermarket intake.

Now, as far as my opinion is concerned, I would not bother with an intake at all. The factory air boxes are already a great design, and offer some of the more optimal performance. You can spend about $15 on modifications to the factory air box, and have it performing better than most aftermarket intakes.

 

what do you do to a stock airbox to improve it?

 

Please explain your experience and where you came up with that info. The factory airbox is a pile of crap and was designed to help reduce noise levels creating major restrictions in the process. Also explain your tuning method since the ECM takes care of the tuning once you install the intake. I believe the K&N (which is labeled a performance intake not cold air) even tells you to drive around for 30 minutes or at least 30 miles to readjust for the increased airflow. You don't need a programmer to that.

 

Most ECU's will take care of minor adujustments for the F/A ratio when adding intakes or exausts but to get the most out of them you can get a custom tune. There are several sensors that feed the ECU so it can make adjustments to various things.

I would say not listen to the nay sayers as there are proven Dyno runs showing a benefit!!

 

Here is but one example: http://www.f150online.com/forums/200...ts-2009-a.html

The air box that is on the the 2009+ models is an actual intake. Despite the silencers attached to the tubing, it's pretty much the best you can get. From this thread here, you can see that removing the snorkel provided very respectable gains, at no extra cost. It's up to you, but you can spend $300 plus on a K&N Intake, or spend no money, and get the same gains(Food for thought: the actual wheel horsepower numbers from the K&N Intake will likely be significantly lower than what is featured on their site.). Tuned and untuned, both modifications are going to have similar, if not the same effect as each other. Another thing to keep in mind, it's a lot easier to put the snorkel back than it is to change out the entire intake, if warranty work needs to be done.

As far as other intakes are concerned, K&N is one of the only intakes that can be put on a motor, untuned, and have no ill effect. True cold air intakes(Volant for example, or the popular JLT intake that is used on Mustangs), that can provide significant gains, require tuning to keep the motor from leaning out. This isn't exclusive to Ford motors by any means, but it's definitely a prominent factor when it comes to Ford motors(this should be general knowledge to any person who deals with performance modifications on a regular basis).