Get rid of a cold air intake?

C1skout

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I just got a 95 GT and it came with a shiny no-name cold air kit. I'm thinking I'd rather have a factory air box. Anyone want to talk me out of this?

Or does anyone have a factory setup that they're tired of tripping over!
 

ttocs

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I would talk you out of it by showing a comparison of the stock maf vs the aftermarket but I don't have one
 

Michael Plummer

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In terms of added RWHP, it won't make a difference which setup (factory or CAI) you run.

Good luck with your new to you Mustang GT
Michael Plummer
 

ttocs

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as long as your happy with the stock maf being the limiting factor in any future plans. That vein that goes down the middle always seemed like it would limit a lot of air to me. If you are keeping it stock and happy with that then go for it but if you have plans for heads/cam upgrades then there is a point when more air, warmer or hot is better than less cool air.
 

badass98svt

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as long as your happy with the stock maf being the limiting factor in any future plans. That vein that goes down the middle always seemed like it would limit a lot of air to me. If you are keeping it stock and happy with that then go for it but if you have plans for heads/cam upgrades then there is a point when more air, warmer or hot is better than less cool air.

I'd be willing to bet that his MAC intake (or whatever it is) still uses the stock MAF.

The stock box with a K&N drop in filter is your best bet at lower HP.
 

ttocs

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well then yes if someone took the time to upgrade the CAI, but keep the stock maf then yes it would be better to swap. But from my experience most of the time they take that opportunity to upgrade the maf and about 20% of that time why not do one that allows them to upgrade the injectors improperly as well? I think I would upgrade the maf to a 70mm(still made for the 19lb injectors) as finding and buying a stock intake might cost just as much. If you plan upgrades later that stock intake will be the choke point.
 
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C1skout

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I'm not anticipating power mods any time soon, really. There's plenty of other stuff on this car to address before I get to adding powers! Hahaha
 

Daryl

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C1,
Welcome, “new member”! Regarding one or the other, Kings Choice, I say! It’s your car. If you want the stock air setup, no crime there. After all, the car was originally engineered to run like that. The CAI has benefits, but at the end of the day, they’re marginal. And having read your priorities, it sounds like your money would be better spent elsewhere currently.

So maybe find an affordable stock replacement, sell the no-name CAI to offset the cost of the stock replacement?

Just my unsolicited $.02 !
 

Segi62

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Back in the day, 2001 or so, a company called Denscharger made a really nice CAI kit that was thick black plastic tubing and went through the pass side fender and came with a cone KN filter. No chromy bs that increases heat. I ditched it when I swapped to a Fox style Eddy ntake and TB setup on my 94 coupe.
 

CobraRGuy

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Hi C1skout,
I suspect the CAI you have uses a gauze type filter. I moved away from these many years ago after reading an air filter study where filters of different types from different manufacturers were all tested according to SAE standards. These standards are quite specific about using grit of predetermined sizes sourced only from certain vendors, how much grit gets through, how much a filter can hold before pressure drops, etc.
The bottom line is that gauze type filters like K&N DO NOT provide much, if any, improvement in air flow, they allow the most grit through and they don't breath well when they're dirty. It turns out that paper filters flow almost as well and filter way better. The best filter they tested was a stock GM paper one.
I performed a dyno test where I tried running my Cobra R with a K&N, paper filter and no filter. All three pulls were within 1 HP of each other. I've been using Wix paper filters ever since. My advice; if your concern is reliability and longevity and not high performance stick with the stock air box and Ford filter.
CobraRGuy
 

badass98svt

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Back in the day, 2001 or so, a company called Denscharger made a really nice CAI kit that was thick black plastic tubing and went through the pass side fender and came with a cone KN filter. No chromy bs that increases heat. I ditched it when I swapped to a Fox style Eddy ntake and TB setup on my 94 coupe.

Yup, I had one of those on my old 97 GT back in early 00s.
I also had a WMS ceramic coated intake on my Cobra for a come years. That was a nice piece.
 

TrickVert

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With my normally-aspirated HCI setup, there was no noticeable difference on the dyno between the MAC CAI and the stock intake tract (270 RWHP). And ditto on the K&N filter comment above. The best choice for a reusable filter IMO is AEM.
 

Michael Plummer

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The air traveling in your inlet pipe is moving too fast to heat up to a point where it will affect anything negatively. So it doesn't matter if the inlet tube is made of plastic or metal.

I hope this helps
Michael Plummer
 

Gregomatic

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I always wondered about that. When I was shopping for my CAI, I was looking for a plastic one just because I thought it HAD to be cooler. (Didn't know about Denscharger) Everything I did under the hood I painted semigloss black, and liked it that way.

Now the only chrome I have is the CAI and strut tower brace,
both chosen for price.

I always wondered if the air flow was fast enough to make any appreciable difference.
 

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