The Cold Air Intake thread

ilblissli · 06-03-2004

I recently bought a 2001 GT and was wondering what the best CAI is. I have already looked at the tech articles and reviews (but they were all for the 5.0) and I searched the 4.6 tech forum but it yielded very little information on this subject.

So my question to you is. What intakes are available? What intake is the best? And Why? Is there anything else we should be concerned about when looking at when getting a CAI?

PS. Lets please not make this into a "you should get gears and under drive pulleys instead" discussion. Thanks in advance!

Kevin62773 · 06-03-2004

Well you should get the gears and pulleys for sure but you get them when you like. As for CAI go you can't go wrong with the K&N FIPK kit i' m Matt will chime in on this one to. There is also the densecharger kit. I think these kits are your best bet there are kits outher that look better but i think the FIPK is the way to go. Oh by the way the other day i had my hood up and my engine running and i had never done this before i pulled my throttle from under my hood i could not beleive how much the FIPK sucked in the air man the whole kit jumped and there was a big sucking sound it was kinded of cool there is no doubt it is way better then stock or even stock and just the drop in filter for that matter.

98GTdrop-top · 06-03-2004

densecharger all the way baby...
They're all the same, and don't yeild much of a power increase. It was the first mod i did as well, though.

97GTstang · 06-03-2004

first mod i did too. I vote densecharger. (densecharger and k&n fipk were both rated #1 by mmff). They are the best b/c the both suck up colder air, and are both plastic not metal so they absorb less heat. IMO go with densecharger, they have good prices too. But you really cant go wrong with either. If you get one though dont waste your money on any other brand densecharger and k&N are the only two ones i would even consider.

ilblissli · 06-03-2004

Does densecharger have an official website? How does the install of a dense charger compare to the k&n? From what I’ve read about densecharger, the filter is actually up in the fender somewhere. Do you have to cut a hole to get it there? Also if the filter is up in the fender wouldn't it get wet when driving in the rain having the wheel spin water onto it?

Kevin62773 · 06-03-2004

here we go hehe another CAI debate. Ok the FIPK is easier to install. The dencharger has a extra curved pipe into the fender some people argue you will get colder air this way there has been many test that have shown that the less bend in the tubes the better meaning that the air travels straiter the better it flows if you look at the FIPK design even at the top where it curves a little to go into the thottle body even then it's so slight. Either way they are both good kits i think the FIPK looks better then the densecharger if your looking for the easier instal go with nthe FIPK look at it like this maybe a little colder air from the fender wall and maybe don't matter anyway you might not really want that bend. You have to remember after market mods make claims to make sales thats for sure if you look at the desigh of the K&N kit it basic and it works no bends fat pipe and it's K&N every racing team uses there filters well most of them. Take your pic it's all what you like.

97GTstang · 06-03-2004

densecharger is not a hard install. You definetly need a helper to do it though. Like stated earlier the densecharger does have more bends, but i believe the densecharger's throttle body pipe is wider than k&n's. K&N has the filter in the engine bay with not bends, and a smaller tb pipe, so theoretically it sucks up hotter air, but has a direct flow route. Densecharger on the other hand sucks cool air from the fender and gets a little turbulant due to the bends but then has a wide tb pipe. So both systems have there pro's and con's. Now as far as the filter getting wet in the fender. First off you do not need to drill a hole fore the pipe, the hole the down tube goes into is already in the side of your fender. You do need to drill holes to put the screws into but thats about it. Now when its in the fender you have a wheel well platic thing that separates the wheel well from the inside of the fender, so no the wheel does not spin water onto it. Finally, yes if you go through a very deep pudle the filter could theoretically suck up water, but the pudle would have to be half way up the fender, hopefully you wouldnt be driving through that anyway. I have had my densecharger on for a year driven in rain snow, everything never had any problems. After heavy rain driving going through pudle's etc... the filter is always dry, on rare occassions the filter will get a little wet (spray from the road) but it is not like soaked in water, so there is really no problems. You can check out densecharger at www.densecharger.com the owner is a guy names John Demolte he is a great guy to deal with. If you have any questions for him dont hesitate to ask he will be happy to help you.

propellerhead · 06-03-2004

So how do you replace the filter on the K&N FIPK? Do you pull it off right there in the box in the hood? Does the FIPK kit come with a K&N filter? Are there paper filters for the FIPK?

What about the Densecharger? Do you get on your back and reach up inside the fender?

Kevin62773 · 06-03-2004

Yes the FIPK comes with the filter and you can also buy the cleaning kit and the oil spray to clean it every few months for like 10 bucks. I can't beleive MANA has not yet chimed in on this to sell him on the FIPK.

97GTstang · 06-03-2004

the denseharcer, similar install to the fipk, only difference in yes, you have to get on your back and put a pipe into the fender, and then attack the filter to it. It is really nothing to be afraid of, I installed mine with my useless g/f at the time, and she was able to do what i needed done to install it. It is not a hard install at all. But like i said before you cant go wrong either way, i may be pushing densehcarger but only b/c i have it and like it and am happy with it. K&N fipk is also very good, so it is really up to you, you will be happy either way. Also the densecharger comes with a k&n filter.

ilblissli · 06-03-2004

The dense charger seems to be quite a bit cheaper than the FIPK. Is that just because we are paying for k&n's name?

97GTstang · 06-04-2004

i am sure that is part of the reason. Although K&N lets densecharger include it's filters and use it's name with there kit too, and it is still cheaper so i dunno.

**EDIT**
just found this while looking for something else, take a look

http://www.stangnet.com/tech/lee50guru/dense_tech.html

Mana4Real · 06-04-2004

I'm just getting tired of the same questions being asked over and over again. Plus the fact that I've been really busy lately makes it really hard for me to get to everysingle post. I say get the K&N FIPK all the way. Had one and it made a huge SOTP feeling. I also noticed a difference in throttle response immidiately. Everyone that I've recommended a FIPK to has loved it. I haven't had a single person unhappy with it. I sell these kits everyday at work. It's up to you. I'm not in the mood to argue with it about anyone. I've had a bad week. But the FIPK comes highly recommended by me.

Mana4Real · 06-04-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97GTstang

densecharger and k&n fipk were both rated #1 by mmff. They are the best b/c the both suck up colder air, and are both plastic not metal so they absorb less heat. IMO go with densecharger, they have good prices too. But you really cant go wrong with either. If you get one though dont waste your money on any other brand densecharger and k&N are the only two ones i would even consider.

I'm totally with you. But I vote FIPK because it's smog legal.

Somewhere down the line you said DC is 100mm, I believe the FIPK is like 3.5" which is somewhere around 88mm... Bigger isn't always better. You can lose velocity with too big of a tube.

FIPK comes with a cleaning kit, you don't have to buy it.

I thought I replied to this thread anyways... Guess I didn't

ilblissli · 06-04-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mana4Real

I'm just getting tired of the same questions being asked over and over again.

I apologize. As I said, I did read through the product reviews section first and also did a search, but didn't get the information I was looking for.

Perhaps we can make this a sticky, or include this thread in some sort of FAQ?