Cold Air Intake

[swifttony]

I would like to install a cold air intake on my 2009 Ford Ranger XLT. Is Volant a good option or should I go for K&N?

 

[adsm08]

You have an existing cold air intake. A true cold air intake. The products marketed by companies like K&N and Airaid as "cold air intakes" and more accurately termed "hot air intakes" as they suck hot air from the engine bad unless you drop the extra hundreds on the insulation box.

Ford runs a duct from the bottom of the air box out into the fender or grille to get actual cold air from outside the engine bay. If you want to do this for performance then leave the stock setup alone. If you want to do it for looks leave the stock setup alone and spend your money on something someone might see once in a while.

 

[RonD]

+1 ^^^

Cold air intakes were first used for carbs that sat in the middle of the engine bay, and their air filters sucked in warmed air from inside the engine bay.

The reason you want colder air going into the engine is because it is slightly denser than warmer air, i.e. "hot air rises", so hot air is lighter than cold air, less dense.

The air:fuel ratio for gasoline is 14.7:1, this is a WEIGHT RATIO, not volume
For each 14.7 POUNDS of air you can add 1 POUND of gasoline.

And since colder air is heavier............you can add more fuel so get more power.

This fact was not lost on the car makers, when fuel injection was starting to be used there was no carb stuck in the middle of the engine bay so they had to redesign the air intake system, why not take advantage of this cold air intake, they did.
Every car/truck made from mid-1980's on that had fuel injection(including ALL Rangers), also had a Cold Air Intake(CAI)
They even have an IAT(intake air temp) sensor to take advantage of colder air.

Just look at the current air intake system on any vehicle, see where the air filter is getting it's air, follow the air tubes, if it is from outside the engine bay then it is a Cold Air Intake, and Rangers get the air from just behind the front grill, so when driving it would be a RAM---cold air intake, lol.
If it is sucking air from inside the engine bay then it isn't an CAI

So yes, save your money if you were doing this for performance reasons.

For looks and sound, with slight loss of performance, then go for it.
And in that case whatever "looks" the best to you would be "the best" for you to use

 

[Mazda]

I had this on my truck for about 2 years. What you don't see from the photo is a 3" flexible pipe from the front air dam up to the filter. There was a custom bracket that did for the most part keep some of the engine heat away from the filter.




Did not see any noticeable change in performance or gain in fuel mileage. So after a while removed it and sold it to someone on E-Bay. Guy messaged me about a month later and told me he gets a 15 MPG gain on his gas mileage. Whatever...


Not worth the time or money. Stock system is just fine.

 

[RonD]

Yes, the anecdotal stories about bolt on performance enhancers keeps the sellers of them in business

Humans do that, they believe what they want to, it is why placebos are needed in drug testing, people will swear they feel better taking a sugar pill daily, lol.

But bottom line on the bolt on parts is that if it makes you happy then go for it.

If you want facts then look for INDEPENDENT dyno testing for the parts you are considering.

And always remember cynics rule, "don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining"

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My brother had a CAI in his '97 F-150 and a tuner.

I have the stock intake in my '02 F-150.

I borrowed his tuner, both were around 5* of ambient when the trucks were moving. Both heated up when they were not.

His sounded neater... non PI 4.6 vs a PI 5.4 so butt dyno testing between the two was ineffective.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

I put a K&N kit on my truck, with a drycharger bag it works pretty good. Mainly is not the dirt vacuum the old one was.