Put the Steeda cai on. Pretty simple and straightforward as it used the existing tube from the airbox to manifold. Probably a 20 minute job - mostly because you have to put the rubber gasket on the SS shield that keeps the hot air away from the filter. After install, I went for a brief drive. As hoped and expected no question power is gained. No dyno to show, but it is enough to make the difference obvious. You don't leave wondering if you really do feel something...you do.

After the initial test drive, I hooked up the xcal2 and uploaded the 87 octane program supplied by Brenspeed (Brent also supplied two other prorams for higher grades). I am so glad that I made the jump and baught the tuner as the difference makes it a fundamentally different car to drive.

To put it simply, to my senses the Steeda cai added the power and the xcal2 took that power and refined it to be 100% usable. The xcal2 takes all the hesitation away and also refines the shift points so that the power is immediate and optimum where is should be through acceleration.

I was happy after the CAI went on. If I had not also purchased the xcal2, I suppose I would not have been dissapointed as I wouldn't know what I was missing. I am just glad I made the decision to go with both as they make the drivetrain more powerful and definitely more refined.

 

Appreciate the info. I have been eyeing up that package as well for some time, but just haven't pulled the trigger. Do you have any modifications to the exhaust?

 

I have the xcal2 and steeda as well, I threw in 94 octane, loaded the tune, feels as if there is a rocket booster strapped to my car

 

No exhaust mod. I have the 17" GT bullitt wheels, CAI and Xcal2. I may do a JBA axle back and rear anti sway. That is probably all for me.

 

I have my Steeda kit on the dinning room table as we speak. I am going to wait for my tuner to arrive before I mount it up. Got the magnaflows already on. Cant wait! It should be my last mod for a while after that.

 

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing, I thought that if you modify your engine to take in more air, you need to mod it to take out more....am I thinking wrong?

 

I would say "need" is too strong a term. Changing exhuasts presumes the stock is not already capable of handling higher flows. Haven't read anything that says its not. As a practical matter, since I didn't modify my exhaust, and I experienced a big gain in performance, I would say it isn't "needed". Maybe some gain would be realized. PLikely wouldn't hurt.

 

The guy from Steda called me after I orginally put my order in for there CAI to make sure I knew that I had to get a new computor flash to handle the increased airflow. He said he gets at least 5 calls a month asking why the persons car runs like $hit after installing the CAI Kit. The Kit directions are very specific too telling you to get a performance tune before using. If you dont the car will lean out too much and the car goes into a limp home mode and you wont be able to get above 2000 rpm from what he told me.

BTW, I got my SCT today and installed my Steda CAI and put the 87 octane tune into the computor. What a difference! Throttle response in night and day difference. More power and a better sound to boot. Money well spent! Its a shame you have to go through all this on your own when Ford could have done it right from the beginning.

 

I've heard that. I installed my steeda cai alone. Then went out for a good drive. No engine light on, no hesitations, no negative anything. Felt strong, like I would expect from any CAI. I think they are overstating as it uses the stock tube and only adds a cone filter. Can a Steeda filter really be designed significantly different than a K&N cone filter or an AEM cone filter. That is all it is - replacing the stock box with a cone filter leaving the tube from the box to manifold intact. How different than anyone else can it be. I'm not complaining it is a great setup...but how could you even make it different if you wanted to. It's a free breathing cone filter. Thats's pretty much it.

 

There is a sort of velocity stack on the inlet of the Steda CAI plus I didnt want to take any chances. So with the tune (I have an auto) it got rid of all the hessiataion between gears too. Which was very anoying to say the least. If anyone is interested I got my SCT and 2 tunes (87 and 93 octane) from Ethan at Hockers High Performance. (321) 917-9860. I did a BUY IT NOW on Ebay last Sunday and it was delivered to my house today/Saturday. Less than 1 week from purchase to delivery. Super fast service and he was nice enough to answer many of my questions prior to/during and after the purchase.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6763