whitethunder09

So I am better off just waiting on the CAI until I have a tuner?? and the reason I asked is because I dont have a credit card ATM so I cant really order online. and what do you mean it will throw a code?

JimC

If you get a "no tune required CAI" then that is telling you that nothing changed on the car - same air flow as before to the throttle body. As my wife said "so it is a lot of money just to look pretty". Some of those no tune CAI's will cause your engine to go lean and give you a code of an engine issue - lean detonation is not good.

If you wait and get a CAI and tune at the same time, now you have changed things and increased the performance potential of your car. And the proper tune will let you do that without damaging the engine.

whitethunder09

So would I still get the same performance if I got a tune? or is the BBK CAI worthless performance wise??

alkemist

Little off-topic, but you can go get one of those pre-paid credit cards and then you can purchase online.

I wouldn't say the BBK CAI is completely worthless performance wise but it wouldn't be as good as the ones that require a tune. Like I said in one of your posts, if I had the chance to get another CAI, I would but I'm not going to spend extra money to swap out something I have already. Majority of the power gains will be from the tune itself.

Nuke

The stand-alone CAI is worth about 3-5 RWHP. The CAI & tune combo is worth about 15-20 RWHP on the 4.0.

Whitehorse10

Obviously something has changed if the car throws a lean code.

The "no tune" CAI's are not worth it IMO. My car runs and idles smoother with the stock air box than it did with the BBK no tune CAI.

The "tune required" CAI's are also not worth it IMO. You spend a crap load of money for maybe 15 hp and thereafter you get to pay for premium gas.

alkemist

Ummm, you don't have to use premium gas. You can stick to 87 if your heart desires.

Whitehorse10

I know, but you aren't getting the full 15 hp then either. You might get 10 to 12 and still pay the same amount for the hardware and software.

alkemist

You must enjoy your v6 stock.

The custom tune and handheld tuner is the stepping stone into the world of modding. You need it to do adjustments to the vehicle.

You might think it's a waste of money or worthless in your opinion but I can tell you there is a greater percentage of satisfied people than the ones that are disappointed. I would never want to go back to a stock tune, ever.

Whitehorse10

If someone wants to mod their V6 I say go for it. I don't. I think the car is just fine stock. It's plenty of fun to drive and still gets good gas mileage. If I wanted more performance I would have just kept my GT.

The thing about modding a V6 is that in order to do it right and get any worth while gains you have to spend several thousand dollars. Yes, six to eight hundred dollars for a CAI / Tuner combo to get maybe 15 hp is a waste of money in my opinion. But that's me, I never expected everyone to share that opinion. The real downside is that even after spending 5 to 7 grand on a supercharger or turbocharger kit the best you can hope for is to be "as fast" as a GT. For the money, you would have been better off just buying a GT. At least you get to keep your warranty intact. lol

I understand that most posters around here are in favor of modding their Mustang. I have no problem with that. I'm just the devils advocate I suppose. Modding isn't always the great thing it gets made out to be.