COLD AIR INTAKE
- Thread starter pipeguy
- Start date
. I guess NA it would be, gears probly best bank for buck.
Stan Weiss
Member
First the factor system is cold air. Want to see what your new cold air system does. Let the water temp come up to normal and then do a data logging of intake_air_temp on the same road before and after the install. 
flstang65
10 Year Member
i had a k&n with the silencier removed, i got the UPR CAI just to make the engine bay look a little nicer. performance wise i think they are the same. then i added a k&n to the CAI and i did notice a little difference.
Mustang92
SN's #1 1%er
That's a night and day comparison there. 1 degree of timing on a NA engine might get you 2-5RWHP, but on a PA engine you could pick 20-30RWHP. A NA engine doesn't need the added airflow from a TB/Plenum it has plenty of airflow but on a PA car it's a restriction.
Bill
astronut1885
Founding Member
On CAIs- I had one in my 87, and I believe it made a difference. It was a BBK chrome piece, fenderwell mount, my car was a 302, Ecam, gt40P heads with valve job, GT40 intake, roller rockers, and lots of other goodies. Good for about 300 RWHP. Now, I had a factory 91 GT MAF in there at first. IIRC, those are the same diameter as the inlet tubing, and it was choking the shyt out of my motor like you wouldn't believe. I added a larger Gianelli MAF (which I actually had good luck with, believe it or not, they're known for sucking ass), and my CAI, and the car woke up bigtime. On my 04, I noticed that nice little WOT sound, and a slightly better throttle response. Now, I am no longer running a chrome one. I have the black plastic Roush one now. I will say, the old chrome one on the 87 would get very hot to touch. I don't, however, believe it affected the air inside too much, because that stuff was moving way fast. Overall heatsoak will bog any car, but stick a piece of plastic and a piece of metal in a 250* oven for a while, and they both end up at that heat. Our underhoods are all ovens (which is why I am getting a heat extractor hood). I will say that adding the bigger filter, and being able to mount it inside the fender where it is sniffing cooler, non-engine bay air, probably helped keep inlet temps down a bit more, and it's doing it more effectively than the factory air silencer did. Simply removing the silencer and adding a K+N is an improvement, but by no means better than a fenderwell mount, because it is now open to the hot engine bay air. Also, look inside the factory tubing. Better yet, run some water through. Look at all the turbulance caused by the ridges molded into it. Now repeat with any CAI. It's smoother. At higher RPM, which means higher air draw rate through the CAI, less turbulence means more air, which means more power. So, basically, a fenderwell mount CAI is worth the time of day. It's no earth shattering mod, like gears, suspension, or a blower, but it is worth something. Now, for the guy who doesn't give a rat's ass what the underhood looks like, and he's staying bolt-on or stock, then it's a waste. For a guy who wants better looks, a tad better performance, or plans to build to a level at which the stock air tract is going to be a problem, then yes, it's worth it. We spend far more on spoilers that we all know don't do jack **** for our cars except look good. Imagine a nice chromed out motor with a stock inlet tubing. 
Mustang92
SN's #1 1%er
You can't compare one vehicle to another. The fox body cars were restrictive in stock form so they did respond to intake changes, bigger MAF, inlet tube, filter, etc... The Modulars don't pick up anywhere near as much as they aren't as restrictive.
Bill
Bill
astronut1885
Founding Member
Oh, I knew that, I was just saying that they can make a difference, even a small one. Since I'm getting blown, and I eventually want my underhood area to look nice, I got one right when I got the car.
astronut1885
Founding Member
Mustang92
SN's #1 1%er
Actually most dyno tests showed they hurt performance on the modulars but they do add a little bling under the hood if that's what you want. Also if you are putting a blower on the car then buying a CAI is a no different than throwing money in the toilet as you can't use it.
Bill
astronut1885
Founding Member
Why not? I have a Ford Racing roots style blower which uses the factory style air intake tract. It replaces the plenum and intake with it's own unit. Looks like my money isn't in the trash.
Mustang92
SN's #1 1%er
That would be the exception then. Obviously any centrifugal or turbo set up would not use the stock intake tract.
Bill
Mustang92
SN's #1 1%er
JLT wasn't making intake kits in 2000/2001 when everyone was CAI crazy. Going from a drop in K&N or a K&N on an adapter plate to a K&N kit did nothing for power although it didn't lose any power if I recall correctly probably because it used a plastic intake tube so it didn't conduct heat as the metal ones did. There was a company making intakes that was similar to JLT but they only lasted 2 years before going under and they were home depot/PVC junk. I'm not about to go back 6-7 years digging through internet forums to look for the dyno comparisons but feel free to do so yourself. Or better yet go buy them all and take it to the dyno (no butt o meter) and compare these kits between a drop in filter and the CAI and let me know how it works out for you. You don't have to believe me because as you all know I'm part of some anti CAI conspiracy to support the stock crappy looking intake tube.
Not all of you were around when I spend alot of time on the boards but there was me and a handful of other racers that were doing everything conceivably possible to make power. We were among the first to pull headlights out for ram air affect, trying resistors in the IAT sensor, relocating the MAF/filter assembly, heat shields on the filter, etc... Any CAI kit out there with a metal intake tube lost power in independant tests, MAC, BBK, Ebay kits, C&L you name it they were all junk. The plastic kits didn't gain anything over drop in filters but didn't lose anything either so if you want something nice looking either use a drop in and make your own or go spend the $200 for a molded intake tube in plastic. Metals ones are strictly for show and alot of them (MAC/Ebay) the chrome peels on them.
Bill
