Should I bother with a full cold air intake if I have a drop in filter?

oxfordraptor said:

The only reason would be sound. You won’t gain anything HP wise.

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actual dyno tests prove you wrong unfortunately.

SVC did a whole bench mark tests with different CAI systems and a drop in K&N filter, they all flowed the same.
Your not changing the engines ability to pump more air
Now if you went from the paper filter in the stock box to a after market CAI then you might get 1 to 2 rwhp gain.

SVTTrooper said:

^ this.. that being said, I have the aFe Magnum and it sure makes the engine sound better lol. almost as good as my wife's Jeep SRT.

get a tune though, I just got 2 new ones from 5 Star, the 91 and 94 perf.. truck definitely likes to party now lol!

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So how is it that you were able to get a good tune from 5 Star and mine was horrible?

I am speculating, but I think it comes down to the tuner. I do not want to mention any names, but I had a guy by the name of Pr+++ who was extremely nice and tried really hard, but I never got anything that I would even consider running after countless attempts. The reason that I think the particular tuner matters is that my first series of tune revisions could barely get the truck to 60 MPH. I asked him to reach out to his counterparts to have them put a second set of eyes on it, which he did, and immediately I had a tune that was no where near as good as an MPT tune, but it at least semi-worked. From there, all tune revisions were done by the same guy on his own and only progressed slightly.

Jeff-Ohio said:

So how is it that you were able to get a good tune from 5 Star and mine was horrible?

I am speculating, but I think it comes down to the tuner. I do not want to mention any names, but I had a guy by the name of Pr+++ who was extremely nice and tried really hard, but I never got anything that I would even consider running after countless attempts. The reason that I think the particular tuner matters is that my first series of tune revisions could barely get the truck to 60 MPH. I asked him to reach out to his counterparts to have them put a second set of eyes on it, which he did, and immediately I had a tune that was no where near as good as an MPT tune, but it at least semi-worked. From there, all tune revisions were done by the same guy on his own and only progressed slightly.

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I don't know what to tell you.. I have the 87 street, 91 through 94 performance tunes and they all work great. shift points are smooth, response is alot better. I can't compare it to any other tune out there though, espically MPT since they don't offer 6.2 tunes anymore.

Anthony k said:

actual dyno tests prove you wrong unfortunately.

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Provide these dyno tests that are only the difference between stock and adding a CAI. I'm not talking about manufacturer results, but real life customer results.

oxfordraptor said:

Provide these dyno tests that are only the difference between stock and adding a CAI. I'm not talking about manufacturer results, but real life customer results.

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Always consider your source... I've seen Dyno charts disproving the manufacturer claims on several products...
Aside from the claims of power and mpg gains, the reduced filtration, especially on an off road vehicle, is not worth it to me. I'd like to keep my rings, thank you.

The stock cai and paper flow way more than the engine needs. Also paper will filter a whole lot better especially in the desert etc. Just leave it alone. The motorcraft air filters are actually very high quality and filter quite well.

Also tune wise. Check to see if they have the correct strategy. Many times tunes that are made with the incorrect strategy or older strategy lead to problems. I had your same issues on my 14 till they realized they used an older Strategy on my truck. They updated to the current one and everything worked like a charm.

This CAI/Stock intake has been hammered a few times, but the HP dyno numbers a manufacturer quotes are all useless unless you are testing products on the same dyno, on the same day, with all variables being equal.
I have way too many hours (and $$ spent) testing on a SuperFlo 902, so I have a little first hand knowledge here.
The Dyno is a tool. Great to test parts back to back, but quoting a static number from a test 3 years ago on someone elses truck means zero for what you will see.

As for the stock airbox, it is completely capable of flowing enough air to support 500+ HP. Your air pump (the 6.2L) cannot, and will not exceed that in stock form. Therefore, even if the CAI does flow more air on a flow bench, your 6.2 does not necessarily draw more air through an aftermarket filter when everything else is stock. The engine is only capable of moving/consuming X amount of air, so until you increase the need with compression, headers or a tune, you probably wont see much of a gain, if any by changing the filter.
I think you are still under 500hp adding cam, headers, tune etc... So the stock intake is still capable of flowing the needed CFM of air.

Can the CAI flow more air? It may... but it is likely doing it at the expense of micron filtration, meaning it filters less dirt.