oi8achevy

does anybody actually have dyno results comparing the gains of an aftermarket CAI vs a drop in K&N filter with and without the tune? ive seen many ads for 15+ hp gains with a tune of course. im a little skeptical of the CAI and any real advantages over a drop in filter. i mean technically the factory air intake is plumbed through the fender and drawing in cooler outside air. some CAI leave the filter exposed to draw in engine bay tempurature air which even in the heat of summer is alot hotter than outside air. also does the flex section of the oe intake tube really disrupt airflow that much. it just seems like alot of extra money spent for what, maybe a couple extra hp over a drop in filter. i

Pwny

Trust me, a CAI is well worth it. Screw the drop in filter thing. The restriction is the airbox, so putting in a new filter won't do much if anything.

Heavyg72

+1. Please keep in mind that with many of the CAI's you will need a tune to compensate for the additional airflow. The tune is where the major hp increase come from. Side by side, I would say the CAI is more efficient and passes more air then a drop in filter. As far as hot air, the CIA's come with heat shields which with the hood closed pretty much seal it off and allows the air to flow through the fender like the stock airbox. The investment of the CAI/tune is one of the best mod's you can do for your stang.

GidyupGo

The throttle body is only so big guys and will only let in a FINITE amount of air. Guess what I'm going to say next?

If you cut a cone filter and lay it flat, guess how many more square inches of filter media you have vs a drop it?

tlpvt

i posted a similar question recently, and the consensus was that it is mostly the tune that makes the car feel quicker.
i think you're right about the oem filter sucking colder air. the further away from the engine - the cooler the air... cai heatshield is nice and looks "fast", but it's still in the engie bay and gets hot for sure. i am not aware of any temperature comparisons between the two either.
are there any actual measurements of the airflow with oem filter vs. cai? i.e. why is the oem considered restrictive?i haven't seen any data on that. there's a finite amount of air to be sucked into the cylinder in a n/a engine and why would ford engineeres beso dumb to restrict air intake? first thing to suffer would be fuel economy (try driving with a very dirty filter = less power&worse mpg) and i guess the engineere's goals were quite the opposite. plus, the filter must have some additional flowcapacity built infor providing enough air as it gets dirty.
if you remove the whole filteraltogether (as free-flow as it gets)- will you notice any difference? i doubt that.
at this point it's all handwaving, i would love to see some scientificdata to prove/disprove the cai advantage on a stock engine.

ThumperMX113

CAI > Drop In ...

GidyupGo

I saw some data on a KN website once. It showed the stock paper flowing almost what a KN does when new, but soon dropped off after several thousand miles. The stock plumbimf is ribbed and that is why some say a smooth pipe flows better, but, Shelby uses the stock plumbing, they just add a cone and a tune.

blk07gt

CAI alone is way better than a drop-in
then add a tune and it'll make a big difference

GidyupGo

Why? Do you get a venturi effect from the swirling air?No, it looks good and all, but the surface area is the same.

aode08

Its easy,

the black plastic garbage absorbs heat, and the chrome bright reflect heat and makes the air cooler.

Using smooth tubing allows the engine to pull it without much resistance, it makes a good throttle response.