Been screwin' around with this MAC CAI since I bought it. Yep, the consensus on StangNet is that CAIs belong on imports, but I disagree somewhat. This was my second mod, right after the TriAx. I've got almost all the bolt ons now and I still like the CAI. Out of the box, the stock MAC CAI seemed to make an immediate difference. Of course, I'm not sure if that was simply my brain hearing all the intake noise and interpreting it as "geez . . .we're going faster now . . . " After a month or so of use, my car didn't seem to run as well in general. Lots of research on StangNet showed that the CAI could be causing a RICH condition due to the bend just before the MAF. At the time, the DarkWolf mod was about as common a topic as gears. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, DarkWolf is a member of the forums. He discovered that if you rotate the MAF 90 degrees towards the engine on the MAC and BBK CAIs, it solved this RICH condition. I solved my RICH problems by cutting the bend off of the tube completely and affixing a 9" K&N cone filter just like MAC is doing with their straight shot kit now. Only problem with this arrangement is that the air filter can still suck in hot air from the engine compartment and again, the car didn't run like it should when its super hot outside. So, I did the DarkWolf mod over the weekend and it seems to work as well as the big K&N, without the side effects of the original configuration. Throttle response is as good as it was with the conical in cool weather and temperature seems to have no effect now -- the idea behind cold air to begin with. To make this mod easier, I simply cut the tube with the bend in it straight across and linked it together with another rubber link. That way, I could easily rotate the MAF and try it in all positions. For now, I rotated it 90 degrees towards the motor and that seems to work fine. Guys, I think this is one of those mods that needs be tested at the track and not on the dyno. So, next time I go, I'm bringing my stock air box and K&N. Whatever gets me down the track quicker will stay under the hood. Anyone else already done this at the track?
