• Mustang Forums
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech

The "CAI" is NOT a "performance" modification.

  • Thread starter Thread starter DMAN302
  • Start date Start date May 3, 2005
Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 13
Next
First Prev 4 of 13 Next Last

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
34
129
May 4, 2005
#61
  • May 4, 2005
  • #61
the ribs in the inlet tube are also to allow articulation of the tube so you can remove the tube w/o kinking it (since it slides on at each end). NOTE: i am talking about my SD 88 GT - no MAF on that so i dont know how the MAF connects. I would assume it slips over the meter ends though.
 

poneypower89

Now everyone in the world will know I wanna bang t
Dec 6, 2004
0
3
28
Indianapolis, Indiana
May 4, 2005
#62
  • May 4, 2005
  • #62
DMAN302 said:
I would enjoy testing this "snail" intake your speaking of...does anyone have one of these laying around..I would love to try one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got one of those "snail" intakes on my car... and if you don't think it added 20+ hp then your an idiot

 

Attachments

  • s-trim_cw_cvd_sat.gif
    9.8 KB · Views: 111

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
34
129
May 4, 2005
#63
  • May 4, 2005
  • #63
poneypower89 said:
Yeah, I got one of those "snail" intakes on my car... and if you don't think it added 20+ hp then your an idiot

Click to expand...
I was waiting for someone to be explicit about my little joke.
 

Attachments

  • s-trim_cw_cvd_sat.gif
    9.8 KB · Views: 101

cmb91LX

New Member
Apr 20, 2004
432
0
0
Memphis
May 4, 2005
#64
  • May 4, 2005
  • #64
Flame as you will, however, the CAI kit we put on my wife's auto 2KGT( I know, not a pushrod motor) took her car from ALL DAY 14.7xs to all day 14.4x with NO other changes and I mean none. The car will also now spin the tires pretty hard out of the hole when it used to not turn them at all without the kit. Just my experience with the CAI kit, we saw shorter times. The car has never been dyno'd so as for power gains, ????. I paid 20 bucks for a MAC kit that came off my friends 04GT and it was money well spent IMO. Maybe autos like the flow better?
 

bluevenom867

I will have images of molesting stuffed animals in
Dec 15, 2003
1,704
1
0
St.Petersburg,FL
May 4, 2005
#65
  • May 4, 2005
  • #65
Ok guys,you have had your fun.Now lets included some of the carbed guy so we dont feel left out .I know for a fact that a K&N filter will help power over a factory air filter on a carbed motor;but what about flow throu tops,droped base where the air flows up,velocity stacks ans so forth?
 

crazypete

All my crevices are greased.
Oct 22, 2004
930
4
18
Arlington, MA
May 4, 2005
#66
  • May 4, 2005
  • #66
Cold air on carbs is a must. Otherwise you are sucking in the hot air off the top of the motor. My avatar pic is the textbook "what not to do" setup. Carbs love velocity. So spacers and velocity stacks are a good gain. I noticed a HUGE difference across the board: power, idle, startup, when moving from a 670 to a 600 holley. Carbs love high speed cold air.

About power pipes and CAI.....dude.....if it was THAT easy to make an extra 20 hp, dont you think ford would have changed the mold slightly and made a factory CAI? Think about it.
 

04sleeper

Founding Member
Jun 22, 2002
2,674
14
89
Dallas, TX
May 4, 2005
#67
  • May 4, 2005
  • #67
seijirou said:
I see 3 bends in that power pipe, stock has 1 bend, even the mac only has 2. and I'm not so sure you can fit a MAF meter and filter without another bend in the fender well, so you'll have to tell me if there's yet another bend in there. So what is it that makes the air smoother and more direct than a stock straight shot to the MAF meter and a single bend afterwords? I'm not trying to argue, I'm not trying to say no you're wrong. I'm just saying based on what I see, that's how it seems to me. And based on my dyno experience (open throttlebody) simply going bigger on intake tubing isn't going to do anything. But I'll allow that there might be something I don't know about (there's plenty I don't know about) so I'm just asking what it is that I'm missing.
Click to expand...
Anderson did extensive testing, (ask Rick91GT), on power pipes and they DO work. I understand what your concerns are about the bends but you must realize it is not the amount of the bends but the radius and size of the bends.

Here is Marc Arnold's N/A 347 that went 9.991 @ 135.29 mph with one along with a Pro-M 80 mm mass air. Think he put in on for the "Bling" .






I think not....
 
S

seijirou

Founding Member
Aug 15, 2002
2,417
4
48
DFW
May 4, 2005
#68
  • May 4, 2005
  • #68
The CAI on that one may not be blingin'
But look at that oil filter. It put the impin' in the Pimpin'
How much of an improvement did Anderson discover with that intake?

99+ GT's I don't doubt can see power from a different intake.
 

04sleeper

Founding Member
Jun 22, 2002
2,674
14
89
Dallas, TX
May 4, 2005
#69
  • May 4, 2005
  • #69
seijirou said:
The CAI on that one may not be blingin'
But look at that oil filter. It put the impin' in the Pimpin'
How much of an improvement did Anderson discover with that intake?

99+ GT's I don't doubt can see power from a different intake.
Click to expand...
The oil filter is actually a System 1 oil filter. It can be taken apart and cleaned out and reused. It is great for inspecting debris.

I'm not too sure on how much they picked up with that intake. I rember when they did it but can't remember the exact numbers.
 

5spd GT

"the 5.0 owns all"
Founding Member
Aug 7, 2002
9,516
6
99
Arkansas
May 4, 2005
#70
  • May 4, 2005
  • #70
Is their any articles out there or dyno's from just comparing a Powerpipe on a N/A car? Any member's that have did the test like Rick91Gt...I'm curious to see the numbers gained...
 

93 teal terror

Founding Member
Jul 13, 2001
971
62
69
Durham N.C.
May 4, 2005
#71
  • May 4, 2005
  • #71
I just recently put my stock air box back on. Heres the thread but I want to emphasize that the cai didnt fit and was causing the maf to sit at an angle
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=536324
 
B

Boss 351

Here sthhhhhhhheeeve take a picthh of my man flowe
Jul 13, 2003
2,433
23
48
Canada
May 4, 2005
#72
  • May 4, 2005
  • #72
Back in my gay FWD 4 banger days (about 3 to be exact), I bought a CAI. Other morons bought such things for my type of car and actually dynoed the results. There was a big 6HP gain above 4000rpms or so and a loose of about 3hp below 3000rpms (I think there was a loss in torque too?). This was on a 130 'advertised' HP ZX2.

It all depends on how restrictive the stock intake is. But for the money, some underdrive pullies will give some better results IMO. Or save up for some real mods such as porting the heads or a nice pair of titties... I mean heads.

EDIT: hehe after reading this post... hmmm it kind of sounds harsh. I'm not a good mood right now because of the bodyshop guy that's painting my car...
 
R

Roenick97

New Member
Apr 13, 2004
15
0
0
May 4, 2005
#73
  • May 4, 2005
  • #73
I don't know how everyone else is, but I list mine because I like the way it looks and because I added it to the car.. I don't write anything in my signature claiming the gain in HP.
 

darthcual

Member
Mar 31, 2005
985
19
18
Arlington, TX
May 4, 2005
#74
  • May 4, 2005
  • #74
By the theories that CAI do not work, what else is a waste? Phenolic spacers? Bigger T/B? I had a noticable difference when i put my cai on. No Dyno can tell me what my car can do. These are vehicles meant to be driven on the road. Whenever somebody ask me, "Of all the mods which did you feel helped the most?" my reply has always been electric fan and cai. By the way has anyone ever experimented w/ using a lincoln continental air box on there stang? The Mas is mounted directly to the box rather than up the tube aways, however the mounting points on the box is the same. I dunno if the plug would reach tho?
 

25thmustang

Mustang Master
Sep 5, 2003
2,021
85
99
Montgomery, NY
May 4, 2005
#75
  • May 4, 2005
  • #75
Without PROOF of something helping, I wouldnt go about preaching it. I would say a CAI is more or less for looks. Your butt dyno will make it feel better simply because you just spent $150, of course your going to want to notice it feel faster. My CAI made no HP and no TQ on the dyno compared to a stock box, and K&N! Maybe at high speed it might help a tiny bit, but Im sure on a car with a free flowing filter, you wont see much gain!

Spend the money on a CAI if you want it for looks, or want every ounce of power possible, dont waste your money if you want a quick cheap gain in power, or want the car to be noticably faster!
 

crazypete

All my crevices are greased.
Oct 22, 2004
930
4
18
Arlington, MA
May 4, 2005
#76
  • May 4, 2005
  • #76
May I be the first to point out that a stationary car is different from a moving car. Big obvious point but the air flowing into the fenders at speed is definatley a factor. How does a dyno simulate that? It's like trying to dyno ram air.
 

5spd GT

"the 5.0 owns all"
Founding Member
Aug 7, 2002
9,516
6
99
Arkansas
May 4, 2005
#77
  • May 4, 2005
  • #77
crazypete said:
May I be the first to point out that a stationary car is different from a moving car. Big obvious point but the air flowing into the fenders at speed is definatley a factor. How does a dyno simulate that? It's like trying to dyno ram air.
Click to expand...

With the fenderwell models I don't really think you get much of a ram-air effect...more of a circulating air effect which is similar to stationary air IMO. I think the stronger advantage is the cooler air you pull in as opposed to the underhood air.

On the open filter elements under the hood the "plastic" (wall) of the air filter is facing towards the oncoming air (on the highway) so it still doesn't act like a ram-air effect to me...

With those that are saying they felt a difference with their cai...I bet they had a dirty filter element when they replaced their rubber tubing/filter with a clean pipe and filter...which would lead you to believe the "gains" by a cai...
 

25thmustang

Mustang Master
Sep 5, 2003
2,021
85
99
Montgomery, NY
May 4, 2005
#78
  • May 4, 2005
  • #78
The fan they use in front of the car helps to simulate it some, but since it made 0 hp and tq I assume 1-2 maybe from some air moving (remember, there is air moving over it with the fan anyway).

I can say to those who felt differences, I couldnt feel a difference from when my car ran 13.0s to when it ran 12.7s, and now 12.5s. It grew on me, and even the initial feeling I didnt notice it much! Maybe my SOTP dyno isnt that great, but I really dont notice things that well!
 

Methodical

15 Year Member
Dec 1, 2003
1,192
11
59
Clinton, MD
May 4, 2005
#79
  • May 4, 2005
  • #79
I have a 95 Cobra. I purchased the MAC CAI with the understanding that it probably would not render much gain but I wanted to install the Pro M 75mm MAF and saw no other way to install it. The MAF would not fit inside the stock air box, which is how I wanted to originally install it since I had a home made ram which ran thru the fender to the front of the car. Has anyone else experienced this same problem. Did I miss something? Oh well I spent the money now and it looks aggressive to the unknowing. I don't feel to badly pimped since I've done just about all of the modification there is except a supercharger (i.e. it was at the end of a very long list of mods)


Note: If you visit FordMuscle.com they did a comparison of the CAI and stock box. They concluded that there were no gains.
 

5spd GT

"the 5.0 owns all"
Founding Member
Aug 7, 2002
9,516
6
99
Arkansas
May 4, 2005
#80
  • May 4, 2005
  • #80
Methodical - Did you have problems installing the MAF with the stock rubber box or with the cai? I was a bit confused with that...anyways obviously you want to make sure you have the correct cai for your year model. My MAF fit real snug in the seals of the cai and I had to trim a bit of the cai's metal to make it a better bend for the throttle body. It was a bit long...
 
Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 13
Next
First Prev 4 of 13 Next Last
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Resolved 93 Mustang 5.0 - Cranks but does not start
  • dan50
  • Jul 18, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
Replies
6
Views
219
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech Jul 18, 2026
dan50
T
First Car, what should I do for power??
  • tunedV6
  • Apr 13, 2026
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
Replies
7
Views
300
1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk- May 4, 2026
580HP*428Cj
5
Engine Random Misfire at idle.
  • Gulftown980x
  • Jul 29, 2026
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Replies
11
Views
298
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech Jul 31, 2026
squeak93
A
Discussion on mild budget build/ top end
  • Acesario
  • Feb 21, 2026
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • 2
Replies
20
Views
796
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Feb 23, 2026
General karthief
A
Rough idle - cylinder 1 and 6 misfire HELP
  • austindavies935
  • Jul 24, 2025
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Replies
12
Views
768
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech Jul 24, 2025
gkomo
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?