K&N 77 Series Air Intake System

Recently I bought new air intake system from K&N. And I figured I would review it after a few hundred miles.
You can check it out here.
http://www.knfilters.com/77series/77series.htm#&&/wEXBgUIQVBQX1RZUEUFBGF1dG8FDlJFRkVSRU5DRV9OQU1FBQpBUFBfRU5HSU5FBQpBUFBfRU5HSU5FBQ1TZWxlY3QgRW5naW5lBQlBUFBfTU9ERUwFBlJhbmdlcgUIQVBQX01BS0UFBEZPUkQFCEFQUF9ZRUFSBQQyMDA3ITPS6ggsJk0wU/Nl0rT6dJU65Nv7/+3e7wte+NBGvRs=

Well, I guess the first question was, does it really give you more horsepower?

Yes, I have a OBD II reader that allows me to see the HP, and while its not as accurate I was able to notice a 8-10 HP gain. Its not much you do actually notice it once you get past 5K rpm but you really aren't going to be at that rpm for very long unless you want to say bye bye to your gas.

Was it easy to install?

Yeah, took me maybe 30 minutes fairly straightforward.

Did it come with everything?

Yep, everything was in the box. So I was looking for something that wasn't there.

Does it look and sound good?

Hell yes. You can even hear it sucking in air.

Gas mileage?

Considering I don't drive very fuel conservatively I don't get very good gas mileage, but I'm sure if you drove normally you would actually get a bit better gas mileage. Maybe 1-2 but your mileage may vary.

Price?

344 smakaroos. It is on the expensive side, but the thing is I feel as if it was money well spent. It feels high quality. Nothing feels cheap. It came well organized and even the box looks good. Everything during the install fit perfectly, everything feels secure and strong. The chrome stands out and while no one is really ever going to see it, I think its cool. The filter is nice. It is washable and reusable. My only complaint as it doesn't come with the drycharger bag, its sort of a pre filter for offroading. I guess the main point is that this is kind of the base for tuning. If you plan on adding serious performance to your vehicle you need one of these, it defiantly helps the airflow better than that stock plastic box. Overall I am happy with this, but I'm sure the price is going to be a turnoff for some people.
Oh yeah, here's the finished install.

My truck came with a similar setup, but probably not as large a filter as that one. I was debating whether to use it at all since I have an air box from a 3.0 that I was going to use...it also has a K&N filter inside the box...just a matter of fit when it comes time to set up the engine bay...

Price is a bit steep for my liking...but if I had a 4.0 and plenty of dough I consider it...

i just installed the SAME k/n kit in my 99 today ( has SOHC motor)............ i had the older OHV style one before and it was a good kit. i got mine from jegs for 282 shipped!

I have something similar in my 94. It was supposed to be for a 96-97 I think but it fits, forgot where I got it, just had to put some reflective insulation on the top rad hose to keep heat down. The truck it was designed for has a lower hose than the 94.

You'll get more real benefit from a drop-in K&N filter and a stock air box. With those big under the hood cones you're trading cool air induction (stock) for mucho-volume warm/hot air induction (it's hot under the hood). They make it growl, but little else...kinda like those coffee can tail pipe tips you see on the hotrod ricers.

I got the same setup on mine, for the past three years, still going strong.
If you do a lot of off-roading, you might wanna check into one of these;


It'll prevent all the dust clinging to the filter, and locks out water

It does look really nice on your truck. I put one on a Porsche and the car rejected it. Porsche does have a unforgiving computer system. I ended up Craig-listing that POC. I mean the whole car. I had also put a drop in on my wives 07 3.0 Fusion. The reason is I had trouble finding a new filter for it when in the store. That Fusion has given us error free service since we bought it. Great car. I took the K&N off and put the Motorcraft back on. I couldn't accept the whole oiling thing and expect to go longer w/ it. I felt better changing out the original yearly. Remember, "Chrome Don't Get Ya Home". Seriously I hope you enjoy it.

ianyboy said:

I got the same setup on mine, for the past three years, still going strong.
If you do a lot of off-roading, you might wanna check into one of these;

It'll prevent all the dust clinging to the filter, and locks out water

Click to expand...

Thats the drycharger bag I was talking about.

tmcalavy said:

You'll get more real benefit from a drop-in K&N filter and a stock air box. With those big under the hood cones you're trading cool air induction (stock) for mucho-volume warm/hot air induction (it's hot under the hood). They make it growl, but little else...kinda like those coffee can tail pipe tips you see on the hotrod ricers.

Click to expand...

My brother's '97 4.6 F-150 has a cheap CAI, my '02 5.4 F-150 has the stock intake sucking out of the fender well. Aside from his non PI truck having a smaller opening at the fender both trucks use the same intake originally. As they sit right now neither truck deviates much more than 10-15 IAT over ambient air temperature when moving (they both go up as they sit and idle)

It is hot under the hood, it heats up the intake which warms the air travelling through it so it comes out at something of a wash where the air comes from in the first place.

That said it is too much money IMO for 7-10hp.

I ditched my K&N drop in when I moved to a gravel road. The only way you can get more air through a given sized opening is with bigger holes. Not worth it with fine gravel dust hanging in the air. The butt dyno did not notice a difference with or without it.

A tune, CAI, regear and true duals really made the 4.6 a force to be reckoned with though. It was one of the first things he did so I can't really speak of how much of a role it played in the final result though.

Most of the benefit from CAI in production vehicles is perceived benefit because it adds more pickup and a few more marginal hp. But production vehicles are built to run within certain parameters governed by the computer/ECM/PCM so trying to make your big air pump better/faster/more efficient is limited by those parameters. MAF is better than the old speed density systems, but the same rule applies...you can only force factory engineering to do so much and then you hit a wall...the vehicle can't burn/digest more fuel/air than it was designed for without serious re-engineering.

Very nice! You have same setup I have, except your engine makes decent power stock, mine was desperation LOL.

85_Ranger4x4 said:

My brother's '97 4.6 F-150 has a cheap CAI, my '02 5.4 F-150 has the stock intake sucking out of the fender well. Aside from his non PI truck having a smaller opening at the fender both trucks use the same intake originally. As they sit right now neither truck deviates much more than 10-15 IAT over ambient air temperature when moving (they both go up as they sit and idle)

It is hot under the hood, it heats up the intake which warms the air travelling through it so it comes out at something of a wash where the air comes from in the first place.

That said it is too much money IMO for 7-10hp.

I ditched my K&N drop in when I moved to a gravel road. The only way you can get more air through a given sized opening is with bigger holes. Not worth it with fine gravel dust hanging in the air. The butt dyno did not notice a difference with or without it.

A tune, CAI, regear and true duals really made the 4.6 a force to be reckoned with though. It was one of the first things he did so I can't really speak of how much of a role it played in the final result though.

Click to expand...

As far as acceleration goes, I have had great results with my 3.0. It's went from having to WOT to keep up with traffic at a light to being reasonably quick, on flat land anyway. Still can't maintain speed real well up steep mountain highways.

tmcalavy said:

Most of the benefit from CAI in production vehicles is perceived benefit because it adds more pickup and a few more marginal hp. But production vehicles are built to run within certain parameters governed by the computer/ECM/PCM so trying to make your big air pump better/faster/more efficient is limited by those parameters. MAF is better than the old speed density systems, but the same rule applies...you can only force factory engineering to do so much and then you hit a wall...the vehicle can't burn/digest more fuel/air than it was designed for without serious re-engineering.

Click to expand...

The new new ones with variable cam timing and all that really wake up with an intake swap. Like the new 5.0 Mustangs, a JLT and a good tune is quite a bit of improvement.

mattpresley said:

As far as acceleration goes, I have had great results with my 3.0. It's went from having to WOT to keep up with traffic at a light to being reasonably quick, on flat land anyway. Still can't maintain speed real well up steep mountain highways.

Click to expand...

It really helped his 4.6 in combination with everything else. In the fullsize world the 4.6 is similar to the 3.0 in a Ranger. But as far as pumping in hot engine bay air it is about the same as stock.

But $350 for 7-10hp on its own isn't that great of an investment IMO. His was a few years ago but less than $100.

I think the CAI Mastuh put under his hood looks good, just commenting on how you can get separated from your cash by wild marketing claims that are more hype than fact.

tmcalavy said:

I think the CAI Mastuh put under his hood looks good, just commenting on how you can get separated from your cash by wild marketing claims that are more hype than fact.

Click to expand...

I agree; and am a fine one to consul on this. You can look at my ride and see quite a bit of waste. It has become a toy to me. I could also do much worse w/ the money. I am careful w/ rearranging things that Ford did to make the vehicle street-able. It just runs too darn good to mess with. I don't mean fast, but that isn't what it was built for.