Dallas Fort Worth 5.0 Mustang Club - View Single Post - What should I do? K&N CAI vs. Stock Box & Others

**JDBishopArts** · 08-08-2013, 10:23 AM

I personally think you're over-thinking it. That being said, the ideal CAI has no changes in diameter from filter to TB. But that could make no difference whatsoever if K&N has done some R&D and their design helps vortices the air so it runs smoother into the engine. Either way I would put money that the differences are negligible. As you could see with him winning by half a car. That's almost no difference. Half a car could have been anything. Gears, the difference in the 19"s and 18"s, IAT's, or just the mood both of your cars were in.

The more air in the more air out = more power....in a round about way. A bigger CAI will allow more air to come in. How much air? Probably not that much. If you are really wanted to pull what you can out of your car get a bigger CAI. But if you're that concerned with the diameter of your intake and blah blah blah to account for the more air in, you need more air out and an O/R mid pipe would really wake it up.

Tunes on N/A basic bolt on cars are simple. No super witchcraft needed there. Some guys might be able to pull a little more HP here or there but at the end with the same mods, any decent tune will be very close to another.

I personally like JLT. I've had them on all my cars. They are built very well, look great and I have always seen the gains they promise. I'd be very comfortable with a Steeda and a couple other brands but at the end of the day it goes back to what your first sentence says. The stock box on these cars are super efficient. Ford has really done their homework there. Even the TVS Roush kit uses something almost identical to the stock box design. You aren't getting the HP with the CAI. You are getting it in the tune. You MIGHT get 10hp on an N/A car with a bigger CAI over the stock box.

I'll try to sum it up. Get what you want. Buy a good/proven brand. Get the one you like to look at. Get one of the CAI's that require a tune. There is a reason it needs a tune. More air. More air = good (in most cases). Get it retuned. Locally. Not email tune. Be happy. Enjoy your car and don't worry about if you're really pulling all the power out that you can. At the end of the day it's probably 10hp on these cars and that's not worth the headache.

08-08-2013, 10:23 AM	#4
JDBishopArts Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Valley Ranch Age: 40 Posts: 1,123	I personally think you're over-thinking it. That being said, the ideal CAI has no changes in diameter from filter to TB. But that could make no difference whatsoever if K&N has done some R&D and their design helps vortices the air so it runs smoother into the engine. Either way I would put money that the differences are negligible. As you could see with him winning by half a car. That's almost no difference. Half a car could have been anything. Gears, the difference in the 19"s and 18"s, IAT's, or just the mood both of your cars were in. The more air in the more air out = more power....in a round about way. A bigger CAI will allow more air to come in. How much air? Probably not that much. If you are really wanted to pull what you can out of your car get a bigger CAI. But if you're that concerned with the diameter of your intake and blah blah blah to account for the more air in, you need more air out and an O/R mid pipe would really wake it up. Tunes on N/A basic bolt on cars are simple. No super witchcraft needed there. Some guys might be able to pull a little more HP here or there but at the end with the same mods, any decent tune will be very close to another. I personally like JLT. I've had them on all my cars. They are built very well, look great and I have always seen the gains they promise. I'd be very comfortable with a Steeda and a couple other brands but at the end of the day it goes back to what your first sentence says. The stock box on these cars are super efficient. Ford has really done their homework there. Even the TVS Roush kit uses something almost identical to the stock box design. You aren't getting the HP with the CAI. You are getting it in the tune. You MIGHT get 10hp on an N/A car with a bigger CAI over the stock box. I'll try to sum it up. Get what you want. Buy a good/proven brand. Get the one you like to look at. Get one of the CAI's that require a tune. There is a reason it needs a tune. More air. More air = good (in most cases). Get it retuned. Locally. Not email tune. Be happy. Enjoy your car and don't worry about if you're really pulling all the power out that you can. At the end of the day it's probably 10hp on these cars and that's not worth the headache.