AFE CAI + Throttle Body Spacer for 5.4 + Exhaust

[RIKU]

Im looking for some light bolt on mods that keep it near stock. I dont want to go with a tuner or supercharger.

I was looking at AFE's website and like the looks of the Stage 2 CAI & the 5.4 Throttle Body Spacer.

I am also considering the Borla Exhaust in a couple of weeks.

Has anyone any comments on the Stage 2 AFE CAI or if the throttle body for the AFE F150 5.4 would even help our raptors?

 

[MagicMtnDan]

I'm personally not a big fan of Cold Air Intakes. Especially the ones that claim to be "Cold Air" Intakes and they actually pull in heated air from under the hood.

Actually the factory unit does a good job of pulling cold air in from the outside. But it's not a mod.

I've got experience with CAI's - I've seen people put too much oil on their filters, not clean them, check engine lights, worse performance, etc. I did it before and I'm sure I won't do a CAI again. But that's just me.

 

[RIKU]

I'm personally not a big fan of Cold Air Intakes. Especially the ones that claim to be "Cold Air" Intakes and they actually pull in heated air from under the hood.

Actually the factory unit does a good job of pulling cold air in from the outside. But it's not a mod.

I've got experience with CAI's - I've seen people put too much oil on their filters, not clean them, check engine lights, worse performance, etc. I did it before and I'm sure I won't do a CAI again. But that's just me.

Thanks for your honest opinion Dan. It sounds like if not maintained properly you actuallly lose power.

What are your thoughts on the throttle body spacer and exhaust system?

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Nowadays many manufacturers offer "Cold Air Intakes" and I suppose if they do any testing at all (which would be surprising for many of them) to determine their design and under what operating conditions their units actually make/add power then they could extrapolate that designing their products for other vehicles.

From what I've seen - manufacturers make all kinds of claims about how their CAI's add power and some even say how much (a percentage or actual numbers). I'm skeptical and I think most buyers of CAI's "feel" more power because they believe the products add power (or they wouldn't have installed them). There also is that "throatier" sound that comes from the CAI and that reinforces the belief that the install increased HP and torque.

I'm pretty skeptical based on my experience with aftermarket product suppliers and seeing the design of some of these CAI units.

Back in the day we did dyno testing and we did verify that CAI's on our Porsche Boxster S's did add power. But even then the testing was less scientific than it should have been even though we did the best we could (we did baseline dyno runs before doing any mods and then came back after each mod was done).

I can't comment on throttle body spacers because I have no experience with them.

As for exhaust systems, most new systems are less restrictive which should, in theory, add more power. But I don't think that's a safe assumption to make. Clearly spending money on an exhaust, especially those that improve the sound, always makes the owners feel that more power has been added as a result. I have seen exhaust systems increase power. Of course the most power comes from adding headers with the exhausts but that gets into other issues (street legal).

 

[NoCaDiver]

Well I have the Roush CAI and there may be a little "seat of the pants get-up-and-go" but the biggest thing I noticed is that the exhaust sounds much deeper...very nice.

However all of you people are starting to scare me with this oil in the MAF crap but the factory filter is lubed with something so I am on the fence about removing my CAI...not leaning in either direction right now. I don't drive in dusty, muddy conditions so that aspect does not bother me.

I've had CAIs before but never owned the vehicles long enough to come up with any type of useful review but never had anything catastrophic or otherwise happen. Had them on a couple of Wranglers, an Integra and modded the factory CAI on a Firebird Formula WS-6.

Now I haven't seen an evaluation of the factory air intake system on the Raptor but I have seen and heard that, in general, factory air intakes are inefficient and turbulent...unless something has changed that I am unaware of. I guess they are more or less tuned for a compromise between noise and efficiency...but I will always take the noise if there is a gain to be had.

Just my .01 cent.

 

[FSM06]

Well I have the Roush CAI and there may be a little "seat of the pants get-up-and-go" but the biggest thing I noticed is that the exhaust sounds much deeper...very nice.

However all of you people are starting to scare me with this oil in the MAF crap but the factory filter is lubed with something so I am on the fence about removing my CAI...not leaning in either direction right now. I don't drive in dusty, muddy conditions so that aspect does not bother me.

I've had CAIs before but never owned the vehicles long enough to come up with any type of useful review but never had anything catastrophic or otherwise happen. Had them on a couple of Wranglers, an Integra and modded the factory CAI on a Firebird Formula WS-6.

Now I haven't seen an evaluation of the factory air intake system on the Raptor but I have seen and heard that, in general, factory air intakes are inefficient and turbulent...unless something has changed that I am unaware of. I guess they are more or less tuned for a compromise between noise and efficiency...but I will always take the noise if there is a gain to be had.

Just my .01 cent.

Diver, don't let the info about the oil on MAF concern you too much. If you maintain your element properly, this should not be an issue. It is just that people seem to have the ole' mentality that more is better. Not so with the oil on the element. All you need is a minimum amount of the oil to attract and retain the dirt that is in the air flow. I have seen some of the cleanest carburetor throats that exist with a well maintained K&N filter. (carburetors!......wow does that date me a little)

OP, I am starting a little research on the TB spacers as I really cannot see the advantage or just what they are trying to accomplish. I think it has to do with increased volumetric efficiency, but not just sure how 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch would be to much more efficient??

 

[NoCaDiver]

OP, I am starting a little research on the TB spacers as I really cannot see the advantage or just what they are trying to accomplish. I think it has to do with increased volumetric efficiency, but not just sure how 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch would be to much more efficient??

Just saw something on TV where they installed a TB spacer on a project truck and believe you are correct about the increased intake volume.

Thanks for the info FSM...I remember carburetors but that was because the vehicle was 9 years old at the time

 

[MarkT]

However all of you people are starting to scare me with this oil in the MAF crap

The biggest problem I see is that when a code is thrown, some dealers see the "oiled filter" and jump to the conclusion it caused the failure of the MAF. K&N has an excellent write up on their site that disputes this "myth". In fact, not too long ago one of the FJ club members went through this. The AFE was very new and had not been re-oiled. The dealer told him the aftermarket filter caused the failure. So he had them put the stock air filter system back on when they fixed the MAF at a cost of several hundred $$. Less than two days later, same MAF code, same driveability issue! At the advice of someone, he disconnected the battery to clear the codes to sure it wasn't "left over" from the repair. Ran fine for about two days again. Back to the dealer who now said it was "something else" but would not admit it may not ever have been the MAF or the air filter in the first place.

I would say most of the FJ's in the club were running an oiled filter of some type (including mine) without any issues for thousands and thousands of miles. The only thing I would do is switch back to a "dry" filter (preferably stock intake) before going to the dealer if you throw a MAF code just to be safe.

 

[BigJ]

Dan... you're freaking me out dude. You're describing testing that I personally ran over the course of 5 years, 7 events, hundreds of dyno pulls, dozens of mods, dozens of cars, and dozens of 1/4 track runs. A "test" consisted of 3 dyno pulls, a mod swap, and three more pulls. The car wasn't removed from the dyno. The mod was made in place, as close in timing as was possible. We called these tests the "MFOs"... Modifications Face Off.

By far the most popular mod to test was a so called "CAI". If it is made for the platform, we tested it. And, without fail, we showed negligible gains. The overall conclusion always ended up as "Buy it for looks. Buy it for sound. Don't buy it for performance."

Hell, I even tried to get K&N to honor their "Performance Guarantee" (we didn't show any despite their "14hp increase!" gain claim). They blew us off, even after acknowledging our tests were well run, well controlled, repeatable and as scientific as possible for everyday guys like us. Its hard for me to recommend K&N because of that experience. But I digress.

We also tested exhausts, and did find some gains, although not enough to consider substantial (especially when comparing hp per dollar ratios). Things improved when a CAI was combined with an exhaust, but even then you start to run into issues of tuning. You're making available more air to the motor, which tends to lean things out until the computer adjusts by dumping more fuel... which of course means your MPG tended to suffer a bit.

As for the throttle body spacer... don't waste your money. They're total junk. The idea comes from carbureted applications, but I've never seen them do anything but introduce an annoying whistle you'll hear in the cab.

So to boil all that down...if I'm interested in better sound, I go with a CAI. If I want to push a little further, I consider exhausts BUT I work with my exhaust installer to try different setups. You WILL get resonance inside the cab with some, and not with others. You'll need to play with a few to find one that works for you. And then, if I really want to take advantage of the power increase potential I just introduced to my motor, I look into tuning options.

Hope that helps, and please keep us updated on what you decide!

 

[FSM06]

The biggest problem I see is that when a code is thrown, some dealers see the "oiled filter" and jump to the conclusion it caused the failure of the MAF. K&N has an excellent write up on their site that disputes this "myth". In fact, not too long ago one of the FJ club members went through this. The AFE was very new and had not been re-oiled. The dealer told him the aftermarket filter caused the failure. So he had them put the stock air filter system back on when they fixed the MAF at a cost of several hundred $$. Less than two days later, same MAF code, same driveability issue! At the advice of someone, he disconnected the battery to clear the codes to sure it wasn't "left over" from the repair. Ran fine for about two days again. Back to the dealer who now said it was "something else" but would not admit it may not ever have been the MAF or the air filter in the first place.

I would say most of the FJ's in the club were running an oiled filter of some type (including mine) without any issues for thousands and thousands of miles. The only thing I would do is switch back to a "dry" filter (preferably stock intake) before going to the dealer if you throw a MAF code just to be safe.

I see your point Mark, but this is where proper diagnosis with relevant codes is key. A DTC (diagnostic trouble code) that is related directly to the MAF sensor, say indicating a higher or lower voltage feedback would have nothing to do with a contaminated hot wire. There would likely be a shorted or open circuit, high resistance in a circuit, or a faulty MAF sensor. If DTC's such as P0171/P0174 are indicated, showing that both banks of the engine are lean (which is the most common when I see this concern) and fuel pressure has been confirmed, possible vacuum leaks have been eliminated, then this is when I look for a contaminated MAF sensor.

I don't ever assume that just because the veh has a CAI or aftermarket filtering element that immediately I should look to that as the cause. I always do my best to know it is the cause before approaching the customer. It is a simple thing to know if you have corrected the concern by cleaning the MAF sensor. Your long and short term fuel trims will react immediately.

FSM