CAI, home fabricated!!

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jesse

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OK, i was searching online, and all i can find are CAI that essentially arent exactly cold air intakes, most still draw in heat from the engine bay, some dont filter out enough dirt due to their design, also some just look cheesy...like nothing custom.

Well i have been in the springs for some time, i frequently stop by a buddys shop in cheyenne who fabricates his own mustangs from the ground up...i saw how he would do his intakes, pretty simple actually and extremely cost effective.

so i told him lets do one of my raptor, BUT i wanted to keep the stock OEM housing...as the stock housing filters out enough dirt to make me happy for many hours out in the sun!

but here are the begginning stages, basically got done with cut and finish, my next step is powder coating! the powder coat will match the fox shock blue color...then once thats complete, i will get it engraved...and the engraving will basically say "SVT RAPTOR" then underneath it i will have them put in script, my very own signature! gonna look pimp when done....

I also already tested this whole thing for about 500 miles...i tested it with the stock air filter and i did notice a slight increase in MPG's...but it could have been anything else, or who knows if that even contributed to it. but here are the beginning photos, again, its all cut out and just basically brushed aluminum...after powder coat i will post more pics:

DSCN0210.jpg


high pressure hose and clamps that i will be using:
DSCN0212.jpg

the good thing about this mod...you dont have to remove your entire housing, its basically removing two hose clamps, then reinstalling the new hoses and clamps over existing locations...eliminating all air silencers (i believe there is still one air silencer on the throttle body). but dead easy, and just as effective as any other CAI when coupled to the K&N toss in air filter, you are also not sacrificing the durability and the ability to filter out as much dirt as possible with the OEM housing...and best of all...cost a TON less LOL
 

Xjrguy

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Is that aluminum tube going to ask as a heat sink vs. something composite (plastic)?

Otherwise it looks like a cool project.
 
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jesse

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no not at all...if you look where i marked the tubing, thats about how much goes in and wont touch much of anything...the only thing coming in contact are the hoses. i also made sure there was enough of flex for vibration...again, which the hoses provide. I was curious to see if it would have any adverse effects before i spend the money on powder coating and engraving..so far im pleased with it. Thanks for the compliments and yea...its a fun project.
 
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jesse

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If you see the blue coated K&N CAI, thats basically how it should look when done. Im actually going to get a thicker layer, to help insulate the air coming in from some if any heat coming in contact.

k%26n_69_series.jpg


I should have taken some shots while it was installed so you can see how much clearance is underneath and around it. This engine has so much room inside the engine compartment,,,,its pretty nice.
 

BIRDMAN

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you will be fine, the air isn't inside the pipe long enough for the temp of the pipe to really affect anything. it's the temp of the air coming in that really matters. the temp change it might undergo while inside the intake pipe won't be significant.
 
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jesse

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ahh right on...makes sense. I just wanted to take out any variables, but im like anxious to see how the powder coating went...I still cant believe they charge people 350 dollars for piping and a filter...and a few hose clamps (cheap ones) and some low budget hoses. alum pipe, cuts, and so on is still under 100 dollars so far. powder coating will be like 40 to 50, engraving 20 bucks. I could just run it as is, but this is more of a bling project and a small performance upgrade if anything else...

I was thinking about opening the 3" diameter hole coming into the stock housing...but then that will allow more dirt to enter, so im going to leave it as is. if this was a pavement queen, then i would for sure.
 
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jesse

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well i decided to run it again, but with the K&N before i send it off to powder coat...I saw like a 1 to 2 MPG increase with stock air filter..with the K&N, i saw a bigger increase in MPG's. I drove out to the springs, ran some trails...then drove back home...all equaled out to about 420 mile trip.

before i was getting like 16MPG on the HWY with the K&N, and about 13 to 14 city...now, im getting 15 to 16 city and 17 to 18 Highway...really impressed with my entire setup so far! im way stoked...for one, with the stock air filter i get only about 14 MPG hwy max...which isnt bad at all for my elevation, as with my old truck (2005 F150) i was getting 19 MPG Hwy in California, and here in northern CO, i was getting 14 to 15 MPG..so for me to get anything better than that out here in this elevation, im waaayyy stoked! Im also stoked to keep the stock housing for offroad purposes.

i feel confident enough to spend the extra dime on powder coat and so on...

On a side note, for anybody wanting to do something cheaper...i saw on the Dakar Rally SVT Raptor, they used a high pressure hose, 3" in diameter...thats probably much less and much easier to obtain than fabricating an aluminum piece. I also noticed the Dakar version has the same setup...just eliminated all the air silencers and kept the stock housing...

anyhow, i figured i can give an update and an honest assessment with MPG read outs....

here are some pics of it installed on truck before powder coat>

DSCN0299.jpg

DSCN0300.jpg

DSCN0301.jpg
 

bstoner59

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I was actually thinking of ditching the K&N CAI and using an intake tube like that with the stock airbox. Looks good.
 

MarkT

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Nice job Jesse! I would say I can't wait to see it finished but it looks great already!
 
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