cold air kit

Slow92LX said:

i'm relatively new with efi 5.0's so bear with me on this newbie question. i have been looking around and see a lot of 5.0s have the cold air pipe running into the fenderwell. why is that? normally (on other cars) you see them out in the open engine bay. do they sell regular CAI kits that don't go into the fenderwell? is cutting necessary for the fenderwell route? do the fenderwell kits "flow better"? thanks.

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oh boy, you got a lot to learn if your asking that question! There is two sytle kits...straight shot and then there is fenderwell. Its just like it sounds, the straight shot sits where your old stock box was. The Fenderwell just goes into the fenderwell where your old silencer was. The only difference is the straight shot sucks in hot air(which you don't want). In regards to cutting... there is not cutting of any type when installing these kits. No drilling nothing. Simply bolting on. All you need is a wrench and flat head for the hose clamps. Good luck

The filters that go into the fenderwell won't quite look like that, but do go into the same area. The filters that are exposed in the engine bay, which was already said, take in warmer air from the engine bay. In my opinion, the kits that go into the fenderwell are better because they are taking in a cooler, denser charge away from the engine. I don't have dyno numbers or anything....just makes sense to me.

The stock airbox is a cold air intake since it pulls cold air from the fender well. Remove the air silencer horn from the stock airbox and you are good to go.

The fancy CAI kits are a waste of money since a K&N flat panel filter used with the stock airbox gives the same results. The CAI metal tubing absorbs engine heat quicker than the plastic and rubber the stock setup uses.

Whatever you do, DON'T use any kind of air intake system that mounts the air filter in the engine compartment. The hot air and turbulence from the fan will cause strange driveablity problems and loss of performance.

On a budget? do the junkyard upgrade...

Gears - 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe rear axle - disc brakes and 3.55 or 3.73 gears in one package for $125-$300. Add another $100-$200 or so to complete the brake upgrade.

94-95 Mustang GT MAF - $40-$100. It is 70 MM instead of the stock 55 MM on regular stangs built prior to 94. It uses a slip on duct on the side that goes to the throttle body and a 4 bolt flange on the other. You need a flange adapter to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1 *2

95-97 Ford Explorer intake manifold & throttle body $150-$300. The intake manifold flows 220 CFM +, much better than stock. Throttle body is 65 MM, bigger than the 60 MM on stock stangs. I got a 96 with EGR passages that match the stock setup, so my smog gear works just like factory. You’ll need a 65 MM EGR spacer & new gaskets for $65-$90 so you have a place to mount the EGR & throttle linkage.

3G alternator from 94-95 Mustangs or other Ford. $20-$120. A must have to make the electrical system work like it should. You’ll need a 4 gauge power wire and a 125-135 amp fuse to go with it about $15- $30.

Lincoln MK VIII electric fan -$40-$160. Free up some HP by not having to drive the stock fan. The 3G alternator upgrade is a must have prerequisite before you do the MK VIII fan. You won’t have enough electrical power if you don’t do the 3G upgrade.

Aluminum driveshaft: (courtesy of shawn13) It needs to be from a 92-93-94 Aerostar AWD and you will need the u-joint, part #353 from NAPA. It should bolt right up after the u-joint swap.

*1.) A metal flange adapter is available from: http://www.kustomz.com/cat3.html . Buy the TR70 for $44.95.

*2.) MAF & sensor interchange
The 94-95 Mustang 5.0 MAF & sensor is also found on:
1995-94 Mustang 3.8L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Crown Victoria 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1995-94 Mustang, Mustang Cobra 5.0L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Town Car 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Grand Marquis 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
The A2A, AA, AB, etc, on the end of the part number are minor changes that do not affect the calibration.

If you have the stock airbox, stay with it. The stock airbox is a cold air intake pulling air from the fenderwell as opposed to the hot engine bay with heat coming off the radiator. If you are trying to dress up the engine bay a CAI does look nice but you can just replace the filter element with a high flow one and achieve the same results. Some people run into problems with CAIs because the 90 degree bend disrupts the flow of air to the MAF giving the computer false readings so keep that in mind if you get one. For a stock motor just get a high flow filter and be done with it. Save your money for some better upgrade with better gains.
Kevin

Slow92LX said:

In the end, will the fenderwell kit look something like this? Minus the blower, IC and all the fancy crap lol Thanks for the help!

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kinda. do you see where the filter is poking out from between the fender? that's where most cold air kits run the filter. normally it's a different style filter though. regardless, like everyone said, if you have a factory air box, keep it. it IS a cold air system. i have a BBK cold air kit, but that's only cause it came with the car. and no, there is no cutting or drilling or anything. there is a big oval hole right behind where the stock airbox is. after you remove the airbox, the cold air tubing runs into that hole and just bolts down using the factory air box bolt holes.

Not that I recommend switching from the stock airbox for any other reason than looks, but a CAI that places the filter in the fender also helps prevent "fan wash" from messing with the MAF readings, which can cause erractic idles and such.

ok well in my opinion if your goingto put a cai on it do some under drive pulleys and a electric fan and a 3g alternator on it and you will see a nite and day difference in your car.

Exactly what jrichker said, he's the man to listen to. There's no need for an aftermarket CAI unless you have more money than brains.

Slow92LX said:

thanks for clearing up a lot of confusion guys! will the fenderwell filter placement end up behind the headlight?

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yeah but it's not as close as you probably think. it's IN the fender, probably about a foot behind the actual headlight assembly. more behind the corner light.