Best Cold Air Intake (Are they worth it?)

[LawnMM]

Wasn't there an article or a YouTube myth busters style video testing intakes that concluded that intakes rarely made a difference EXCEPT on a Ranger!! ?

Our trucks for whatever reason the way they're built from the factory must be a little starved for air and giving them a bit extra showed up readily in testing and it was about the only vehicle they tested that showed an improvement

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[Frenchy]

Wasn't there an article or a YouTube myth busters style video testing intakes that concluded that intakes rarely made a difference EXCEPT on a Ranger!! ?

Our trucks for whatever reason the way they're built from the factory must be a little starved for air and giving them a bit extra showed up readily in testing and it was about the only vehicle they tested that showed an improvement

It will definitely depend on the vehicle. Forced induction vehicles tend to see the best difference in power from a intake modification compared to a NA engine

 

[9zero1790]

For people that have one of the CAI systems installed, do you like it? Any noticeable improvement in power and/or mpg? I am liking the way that the Mishimoto seems to be better engineered than the competition (intake hose is larger, intake system scoop is larger, dry filter, and high quality materials). The Rousch one looks cool as well and users seem to like it, but it seems like a lot of money for an intake hose, lid and filter. All of these CAI kits are insanely priced, so if I do buy one I want it to be worthwhile. I currently have the Ford Performance tune with a drop in K&N filter and it seems to be good, but more power is always better. Any input helps. Thanks!

my first take on these CAi kits was they were snake oil. and many are that. its not cold air if its from right next to the hot motor and exhaust manifold etc lol. but some of the good kits have some proven data etc. to back the claims up. on the ranger i personally would not spend the money on one unless it was a one more part on a long list of other performance goodies type of situation.

 

[DROZ23]

Wasn't there an article or a YouTube myth busters style video testing intakes that concluded that intakes rarely made a difference EXCEPT on a Ranger!! ?

Our trucks for whatever reason the way they're built from the factory must be a little starved for air and giving them a bit extra showed up readily in testing and it was about the only vehicle they tested that showed an improvement

I seen the the New Broncos have good outcomes with just a Intake. some where near 20HP something about them. The Ranger seems not to have that issue. However all the test are done with the hood open and the inlet for the CAI is janky looking. idk.

 

[LawnMM]

I seen the the New Broncos have good outcomes with just a Intake. some where near 20HP something about them. The Ranger seems not to have that issue. However all the test are done with the hood open and the inlet for the CAI is janky looking. idk.

Keep in mind our air inlet in general is kinda wonky. It pulls from up top under the hood, where there's essentially no air flow, other than what it generates under the hood seal, up through the little plastic airway leading down to the upper deflector area ?

I genuinely think the velossatech helps with this by providing a better scoop and pathway up to where that port is, but still ?

I'd like to see a port that goes from the box or intake straight via hose or tubing to an opening by the grill somewhere

The snorkels probably do a decent job since they're actually piping fresh air straight in but they're a little much for my taste

 

[DROZ23]

Keep in mind our air inlet in general is kinda wonky. It pulls from up top under the hood, where there's essentially no air flow, other than what it generates under the hood seal, up through the little plastic airway leading down to the upper deflector area ?

I genuinely think the velossatech helps with this by providing a better scoop and pathway up to where that port is, but still ?

I'd like to see a port that goes from the box or intake straight via hose or tubing to an opening by the grill somewhere

The snorkels probably do a decent job since they're actually piping fresh air straight in but they're a little much for my taste

i built a make shift ram out of the void behind the grill. I used all weather tape and some card board. $2 LOL. I notice some improvement in response so I ordered Big Mouth from Verlossa. IDK about the Mpg's BC i am on the throttle to much.

I am thinking about cutting a bigger hole in the cover then marrying up to the Big Mouth and sealing it up. Then retrofitting hood seals with my own, to test the delta over ambient and Throttle response. If it is a total Gimmick at least it looks cool HEHE. I think it will help though. My Redneck Ram had some benefit. Cutting the cover up is kind of pushing it but they are $40 OEM, so it's not the end of the world. Using the Dremel and some weather stripping wont take long. Just interested to see what it would run like if it was truly piped correctly, even with the weird pathway.

 

[LawnMM]

i built a make shift ram out of the void behind the grill. I used all weather tape and some card board. $2 LOL. I notice some improvement in response so I ordered Big Mouth from Verlossa. IDK about the Mpg's BC i am on the throttle to much.

I am thinking about cutting a bigger hole in the cover then marrying up to the Big Mouth and sealing it up. Then retrofitting hood seals with my own, to test the delta over ambient and Throttle response. If it is a total Gimmick at least it looks cool HEHE. I think it will help though. My Redneck Ram had some benefit. Cutting the cover up is kind of pushing it but they are $40 OEM, so it's not the end of the world. Using the Dremel and some weather stripping wont take long. Just interested to see what it would run like if it was truly piped correctly, even with the weird pathway.

Take photos, sounds like a good project.

 

[DROZ23]

Take photos, sounds like a good project.

It will be a couple days for the parts. then I will post a thread and tag this page. I think it might be to restrictive until under speed, but more pressure is less work and more power to the wheels.

 

[Loweredon33s]

Thank you. This is the kind of stuff i am looking for. I'm pushing 310whp now, but most of that is brute forced turbo which is only part of the story. I looking to get better low end and reliability. I am going to look in to this.

I am concerned about the heat from the engine bay with those open designs well as to much noise. Have you noticed any Temp issues running like that?

I can understand the worries about hot air vs cold air. My intake is only hot when going slow or at low load etc. As soon as I’m on the throttle it’s nice and cool. If you actually watch data they all do that even stock and other closed box types do. The closed boxes just do it a little less on the extremes. I have gone back and forth with different intake designs and they all do well for a stock engine. I need a little more air availability for mine being close to 435 flywheel horsepower. An intake and also an inlet will allow the turbo to work less to spool resulting in snappier throttle and better bottom end power and will allow it to maintain power out past 6k. Tuning it will allow it to perform better in conjunction. You can see this effect in data by watching airflow in lbs/min and by looking at wastegate duty cycle and actual throttle angle, Intakes and inlets improve performance through efficiency. Imagine a milkshake and different sized straws… Also consider that although hot air is less dense an open intake will allow the turbo to pack more volume to compensate for the density, once through the intercooler it’s just fine. The factory calibration (can’t speak for other tuners) doesn’t actually care about the temperature of the intake air until it reaches 109 degrees and then it slowly steps back the ignition timing proportional to the temperature. Ultimately the temperature we’re concerned about is intercooler or charge or IAT2 depending on how your looking at data. In my truck the intercooler temperature under load is very rarely over ambient and if it is it’s in the summer on super hot days. My truck has had over 100 dyno pulls, countless street datalogs and over 120 tune revisions throughout my owning it to test and improve all these things. And yes open filter intakes are going to be noisy.

 

[Loweredon33s]

Keep in mind our air inlet in general is kinda wonky. It pulls from up top under the hood, where there's essentially no air flow, other than what it generates under the hood seal, up through the little plastic airway leading down to the upper deflector area ?

I genuinely think the velossatech helps with this by providing a better scoop and pathway up to where that port is, but still ?

I'd like to see a port that goes from the box or intake straight via hose or tubing to an opening by the grill somewhere

The snorkels probably do a decent job since they're actually piping fresh air straight in but they're a little much for my taste

The factory air inlet system uses the top part of the grill opening above the intercooler, it’s already completely baffled and then directed through the rad cover and into the scoop. There are seals on the hood to make this pathway, and it still will get hot at idle and low loads at speed. The temperature of the air coming into the intake is not nearly as important as most people act like it is.

 

[DROZ23]

I can understand the worries about hot air vs cold air. My intake is only hot when going slow or at low load etc. As soon as I’m on the throttle it’s nice and cool. If you actually watch data they all do that even stock and other closed box types do. The closed boxes just do it a little less on the extremes. I have gone back and forth with different intake designs and they all do well for a stock engine. I need a little more air availability for mine being close to 435 flywheel horsepower. An intake and also an inlet will allow the turbo to work less to spool resulting in snappier throttle and better bottom end power and will allow it to maintain power out past 6k. Tuning it will allow it to perform better in conjunction. You can see this effect in data by watching airflow in lbs/min and by looking at wastegate duty cycle and actual throttle angle, Intakes and inlets improve performance through efficiency. Imagine a milkshake and different sized straws… Also consider that although hot air is less dense an open intake will allow the turbo to pack more volume to compensate for the density, once through the intercooler it’s just fine. The factory calibration (can’t speak for other tuners) doesn’t actually care about the temperature of the intake air until it reaches 109 degrees and then it slowly steps back the ignition timing proportional to the temperature. Ultimately the temperature we’re concerned about is intercooler or charge or IAT2 depending on how your looking at data. In my truck the intercooler temperature under load is very rarely over ambient and if it is it’s in the summer on super hot days. My truck has had over 100 dyno pulls, countless street datalogs and over 120 tune revisions throughout my owning it to test and improve all these things. And yes open filter intakes are going to be noisy.

WORD! Thanks for the feedback. I love hearing this kind of stuff.

 

[DROZ23]

The factory air inlet system uses the top part of the grill opening above the intercooler, it’s already completely baffled and then directed through the rad cover and into the scoop. There are seals on the hood to make this pathway, and it still will get hot at idle and low loads at speed. The temperature of the air coming into the intake is not nearly as important as most people act like it is.

The stock air path is not ideal though it worked for the Ford engineers. It looks like a compromise so they could fit the rad. rather it would have been better if they ran a straight scoop to the the front to the grill. Hell, chop the front of the hood over the snorkel and run a straight COWL. that would of looked awesome. Put a nice cover on it and get a extra $500. That is just me.

 

[Loweredon33s]

The stock air path is not ideal though it worked for the Ford engineers. It looks like a compromise so they could fit the rad. rather it would have been better if they ran a straight scoop to the the front to the grill. Hell, chop the front of the hood over the snorkel and run a straight COWL. that would of looked awesome. Put a nice cover on it and get a extra $500. That is just me.

All my air comes from behind the headlight so it doesn’t matter to me either way.

 

[LawnMM]

The stock air path is not ideal though it worked for the Ford engineers. It looks like a compromise so they could fit the rad. rather it would have been better if they ran a straight scoop to the the front to the grill. Hell, chop the front of the hood over the snorkel and run a straight COWL. that would of looked awesome. Put a nice cover on it and get a extra $500. That is just me.

This was kinda my point. ? The airway path is janky, but Lowered makes some awesome points about it going through the intercooler anyway and charge temps. A better setup might just be an aggressive open intake and a bigger intercooler to make up for the 'lack of airflow' in the engine compartment

If the charge temps as it enters the engine is a little over ambient does it really matter?

I'm not tuned, so that's a consideration for me. Summertime we'll hit upper 90s and even 100+ here and there. Can't imagine what the temp is in the engine compartment where it's drawing air, so it's going to come down to intercooler efficiency and how close we get to that 109F charge temps in the summer

I need to rig up a small tablet to pair with my OBD reader so I can watch the IAT2 temp and a few other things

 

[DROZ23]

This was kinda my point. ? The airway path is janky, but Lowered makes some awesome points about it going through the intercooler anyway and charge temps. A better setup might just be an aggressive open intake and a bigger intercooler to make up for the 'lack of airflow' in the engine compartment

If the charge temps as it enters the engine is a little over ambient does it really matter?

I'm not tuned, so that's a consideration for me. Summertime we'll hit upper 90s and even 100+ here and there. Can't imagine what the temp is in the engine compartment where it's drawing air, so it's going to come down to intercooler efficiency and how close we get to that 109F charge temps in the summer

I need to rig up a small tablet to pair with my OBD reader so I can watch the IAT2 temp and a few other things

Thanks, I was hoping to work within stock config. I felt my way around the intel with the hood closed and it was straight Garbage pathway. Found some Ideas on how to improve on it.

I am getting new a intercooler setup for sure. CVFab or Livernois. CVfab pipes. I will figure out the Intake and go with what works best regardless of the noise. I don't buy stuff that looks cool over function and I hash out everything first.

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