Shark Racer
New Member
- Aug 20, 2008
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so which CAI is better the S&B or K&N?
i felt a huge difference with the s&b and the other day i took the stang on a long trip i set the cruise on 60mph and checked my gas mileage when i filled up and i got 28.8mpg and all i have is axle back and s&b cai
well i bought the car used with only 3000 miles on it...with in the first 100miles i already had the axle back exhaust and cai...the oem filter was brand new....
I just installed the BBK cold air intake this weekend on my 08 Vapor GT with 3,300 miles on it. I took it for a short drive after the install, and after warming it up gave it a full power, and the check engine light came on. I took it home, disconnected the battery cable for about 15 minutes and the light was gone. I then drove it about 50 miles without the light coming back on. This morning, on the drive to work, driving conservatively, the light came back on. I went online and ordered the SCT programmer, which will hopefully solve the issue. The advertising on this product stated no tune needed, which didn't turn out to be the case.
I just installed the K&N Typhoon kit on my '09 Solstice, and it gave no codes.
so which CAI is better the S&B or K&N?
Hi Everyone - Sorry I have been gone for so long. I spread myself as thin as I can. The question of cold air intakes with or without a tuner has been bouncing back and forth since early 2005 and probably even longer. However when Ford committed to the slot in style meter found in the '04 and up F-150 and '05 and up Stangs - it made a huge impact on the way people tuned and upgraded their cars.
The simple fact is YOU DO NOT NEED A FLASH TUNER TO UNLOCK A LOT OF POWER from your S197. There are Cold Air Intakes out there such as the Granatelli that offer fully calibrated MAF electronics allowing for simple bolt on power in the 20 to 25hp range. WMS and Big Daddy also offer similar systems as does Anderson Ford. These manufactures listed all offer maximum airflow with safe power increases. Then there are the CAI's that choke down the inlet so the stock MAF electronics will work and no tune is needed either. However, these systems can not possibly unlock the full breathing potential of your engine so basically running one of those systems is like driving around with a clogged air filter. Or better yet it is like trying to run a marathon while breathing through a small garden hose. Sure it can be done but it is not the best way to go. The car sounds faster on acceleration but little happens in terms of power increase – perhaps 5 or 6.
Lastly there is the CAI with a tuner. Naturally this is the ultimate way to go. By using the tuner it allows you to do a global range of changes. These changes would yield a performance increase even if you ran the stock intake so is it the CAI that made the power or the tuner – IT IS THE TUNER or should I say flash tool.
Some time back in 2006 one of the magazines did a test – they asked 2 or 3 tuners to do the best tune they could in order to calibrate for the increased airflow of the large highest flowing intake on the market. The assignment was they could only alter the parameters that maintained the proper Air Fuel ratio. They were forbidden to jack up timing as a false bravado or way to make more power because that change had nothing to do with calibrating for increase airflow and more so for just tinkering with making more power. The best tune amounted to a 17hp increase – this was attributed to the increased airflow of the various intakes combined with the proper A/F ratio. Then they tested the GMS intake, Anderson and Big Daddy intakes with their respective calibrated MAFs as delivered. The GMS intake made ½ hp more then the best “tuned” intake attempted by the “tuners”. This proved that a calibrated meter as included with a real high flow intake was equally as viable.
Then they said now you can tune to the best of your ability. Power increased another 6hp showing that by manipulating other parameters that had nothing to do with the cold air systems did offer an additional increase.
So in conclusion - it was the same. When using a calibrated MAF in the proper application it is a powerful as any tuner or flash tool could be for far less money and in the case of Granatelli 50 state legal and did not void the OEM warranty – flash tool and customer tuners and tunes cost sometimes twice as much and are not emissions legal – but yes you get the last 5hp