M&D

Depends on your definition of worth it. Are they complete snake oil? No, but close. What alot of people dont understand is an engine is an air pump....it pulls what it pulls. Putting on an intake does not increase the amount of air an engine sucks in.....it may make it possible to flow better but unless you have serious internal engine mods your not going to utilize any increased flow capacity. To put it another way my buddy for instance has a ford racing 302.....30lb injectors, e303 cam, bigger aluminum heads, custom tune, etc etc and guess what the bone stock air filter system....works fine pushing 350hp vs the stock 215ish. A true cai could help by bringing in cooler, denser air from the bumper area vs the engine bay, but there are very few of them available for trucks.

That said I have an injen cai lol. It looks cool, sounds cool, and with the reusable (dry) filter it will/would pay for itself after 15-20 paper filter replacements. Are they worth it simply for power/mpg increase? No way. Your money is better spent on gears or a tuner if your looking for more power.

The oiled filters can gum up your mafs. If your gonna run an oiled filter make sure not to overoil it and clean your maf regularly.

Ecofx86

CAI = Sound! so if sound is what u want, get a cai.

T Blackford

Any opinions on the afe stage 2 CAI for the ecoboost? It's big n sexy, but does it pick up the 33 hp, 34 ft-Lbs That's advertised?

benchwarmer4203

X2, I've used K&N kits on several trucks and have never had problems with the oil...as already mentioned, just make sure to oil them correctly. It's also worth noting again that the maintenace interval on this type of filter is significantly less than the typical paper filter that the OEM recommends you replace every 10,000 miles.

With that being said, I mainly keep installing them for the looks and sound. No real noticeable difference in performance on my daily drive.

jgmac98

I've got the AFE Stage 2 Ecoboost CAI. You can really hear the air rushing into the turbos at ~2000 rpm, which at first was alittle annoying, but I've gotten used to it. The engine does sound better under acceleration and I've noticed a 0.7 MPG increase in the first 700 km with it when I drive normal, when I lean into it a bit harder that incrase dissapears. You also definately hear and feel the dump valves.

The butt dyno doesn't register much higher than before, it feels a little different, but not night and day.

At the end of the day it is a lot of money for it, it sounds awesome, looks insaine installed, maybe a little more hp/torque/mpg. I'd buy it again, but I'm a little biased as I have put CAI on my previous 4 vehicles.

Dwl0222285

Anybody have the AFE stage 1 on their 5.0? Looking to order one but wanna hear about it first. Thanks

Dwl0222285

Well I went ahead and ordered the AFE stage 1. Its basically the housing and filter but uses the stock intake tube. I like this because it should be easy to switch from this back to stock for trips to the dealer just to avoid any possible warranty issues. I paid 180 from autoanything, considerably cheaper than I could find any "top" name brand anywhere else. Hope to get it soon and get it installed shortly after!

Why1504

If you really want this mod and your truck is a street truck go ahead. If you use the truck in dusty or dirty conditions I would strongly advise against it.

Oiled foam does not filter as well as paper and won't protect your engine as well.

It will make the engine sound more muscular and can add some minimal HP improvements.

I have run these, I find them to be a PITA due to cleaning regiment. I would advise you inspect every time you go off road, and clean it as required or every 6 months. Also, you don't want to over oil it as stated above.

Even with perfect care you will get fine dust in the motor.

They don't come stock in the ZR1 and Z06 corvettes. This should tell you something.

Dwl0222285

I don't do any off roading or driving in "dusty" conditions. Also, I had heard about the oiled filter complications so I got the one with the dry filter that does not require oiling.

Catfish128

I just installed a K&N CAI along with a Flowmaster 40 muffler. The change was absolutely awesome! I also installed new plugs and Accel COI just prior to the CAI install. Now my truck purrs like a kitten until I put my foot down hard. Then it roars to life! Sounds like Muscle car Mustang. Fuel mileage is still being checked. I'm only 1.5 tanks since upgrade. But I get 13.4 in city, 15 mpg on the hwy. hope to get 1 mpg more per tank. By the way the K&N was eassssyyy to install. Volant also makes a cool unit that looks great too,but costs about $100 more. Bought mine on Amazon for $224, free shipping & no taxes.