stags

Im saying you should bite the bullet and get a tune req'd CAI and tuner combo from AM. One of the best deals out there hands down

audioAl

Get your money back for the BBK and find a better CAI. Just sayin.

Nuke

If every RWHP matters, then pair up your custom tune with a tune-required CAI. The BBK isn't bad but you'll likely pick up a few more RWHP with a tune-required CAI. But don't expect to even notice the difference with the butt dyno. Some might and some might not.

kevinmalec

If you are not able to return the BBK CAI, just get the SCT tuner and custom tunes. With a tuneable CAI, it may only add a few more HP and you may not even feel the difference.

jthorn9

22 rwhp 30 rwtq - those are the gains american muscle got on their 2011 V6 project and around 90% of those gains are with the tune.

CAIs are all nearly a waste of junk. Why you ask? Simple. Let's think about the actual "restriction" the stock intake has. Well...it's a tube, with an air box, filter, and MAF. What's a CAI, a tube, a cone air filter, and MAF. Very little difference between them.

Fact is, for a car to make 300 bhp the air intake can not be, and I repeat, can not be restrictive for that much NA power. Hense why CAIs only add around 3-6 rwhp with out any tuning.

The reason S197s gain so much power from tuning is due to how safe Ford tunes these cars. Most are tuned to run very rich, which hampers fuel economy and performance a tad, in trade off for no possibility the engine ever runs lean under loads. Tuners go in and fix this as well as adding in timing to create the performance gains we see.

iAerials

Ok thanks for the quality info everyone.

kevinmalec

Jthorne, well said!
I remember when I purchased my (no tune required) Airaid CAI, and the website stated it would add up to 20HP. It did not mention anything about a custom tune.

This makes me wonder how the company can advertise stating their CAI will add up to 20HP. Isn't this considered false advertisment?

maxwellmurder

order the tuner, i have the BBK CAI on my 2010, and i like it. i mean really if you'd get the JLT intake/tuner combo you'd get a 30 hp gain compared to 23 with the BBK. after i bought my tuner my car felt brand new to me agian. it was a really big difference. And who cares if we got the BBK CAI, i had to wait a full year after i bought the intake to get the tuner so it was worth it to me to buy a "no tune" intake.

Adam_Ooh89

I own a 2006 v6 and about a month ago I purchased the SF3/X3 tuner. It's combined with a K&N cai, Airaid tbs, and a catback exhaust system. The $380 is pretty pricey, but I am definitely glad I bought it.

The guys from bama are really helpful, and usually there when you need them. Be sure to give them the correct computer code or else you'll be disappointed when you upload the tune to your car and it doesn't want to start (happened to me). Easy fix though.

All in all, if you're looking to better what you already have...Go with the tuner, and maybe even some 3.73 gears with a tlok. Better launch, burnouts, and all that good stuff that us v6 owners want that the v8's have.

jaykearl

OK, so I just got my tuner and I have the wrong computer code. Mine is actually CMH8, but I put CMH6 on my first submission (I immediately sent another submission with the right code, and called tech support, but the tuner showed up with CMH6 on the slip anyway). I loaded a tune to see if it would work (87P) and it seemed OK, but I went back to stock because I'm concerned about screwing anything up. Does anyone know if this is a problem or not? Also, after the tune, my auto-light dimming didn't work right anymore. In the daytime, with the **** set to auto, the car selected night settings. I had to turn the headlights to "off" to get day settings. Prior to this, I've left it on auto with the foglights on all the time and never had a problem. Very annoying - any thoughts on this?