cold air intakes worth it?

[MT]

Anyone have input on cold air intake systems on a 8.1 engine? Does it make matters worse or increase HP and MPG?

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT Anyone have input on cold air intake systems on a 8.1 engine? Does it make matters worse or increase HP and MPG?

A cold air intake has made a difference for many hundreds of Workhorse owners and this has been proven under controlled conditions on a water brake dynamometer. Simply adding a cold air intake kit may not in of itself make a significant HP & Torque contribution as much as it would if it were a part of a performance system. Together the sum of the parts make the whole performance envelope worth the investment of both time and money.

[rogueii]

Right on! I got rid of the 14# Tuba and have not had any more soak air filters.

[TrekPR]

As one who had been a skeptic of the cold air intake I decided to be cheap and build my own. My scan gauge told me I was seeing 1 mpg improvement over known courses. I'm a now a believer. Be ready for a lot more noise when you put your foot in it but on the level the noise level does not change much.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrekPR As one who had been a skeptic of the cold air intake I decided to be cheap and build my own. My scan gauge told me I was seeing 1 mpg improvement over known courses. I'm a now a believer. Be ready for a lot more noise when you put your foot in it but on the level the noise level does not change much.

You may be able to wrap the enclosure with a sound absorbent material which may help attenuate the sound. This strategy has been met with some success.

I do not have a wrap on my S&B CAI and yes it does present quite a loud sound when you get into the throttle. Cruising, the sound pressure level is no greater that the stock tuba as you stated in your post.

[idenphones]

I made my own as well using a little plumbing pipe and hose.

Removed the very dirty, wet, and soggy foam pre-filter, changed the air filter to a K&N, just because it was on sale, removed the MAF screen, just because, regapped the plugs to .045 and changed to Mobile One 5w 30 with a man sized filter.

@ 60 mph towing a Ford Edge AWD......................9.5 mpg.

I'm happy! Love the roar when I put my foot down too!

[TrekPR]

I've put soundproofing around the filter box enclosed the front with an air damn and it is still loud. I keep the rpm's at or below 3800 which helps more than anything. I had to listen to loud noise in the vehicles at work no need to do it now, just doesn't make me smile.

[cannon man]

MAF screen??? where is it n what is its function???
thanks, dave

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cannon man MAF screen??? where is it n what is its function???

Dave, I can only suggest that in my research that a part called MAF Screen does not show up in my Workhorse shop manual. A MAF sensor on the other hand is a Mass Airflow Sensor and that's located in the inlet pipe after the air filter. It has a modular connection and will show wires that are connected to a device in your right front wheel well on the air inlet conduit.

[cannon man]

thanks driver. i know about the MAF, where it is n what it does. just wondering if there is a screen in front of it that could restrict air flow. i'm a fan of increased air flow.
seems like the boys at Brazels should have the answer to this one. hope they will chime in.
maybe idenphones could elaborate on what he did?
dave

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cannon man .. just wondering if there is a screen in front of it that could restrict air flow.

Dave, I have installed several S&B CAI systems and not once have I discovered any type of MAF screen other than the OE filter and pre-filter. Reason being I remove all the equipment before the MAF and discard it. No MAF screen from the OE perspective and on the performance side no screen has been suggested.

Question would be; What would one screen for in the inlet tube? If the air is filtered that's all the intervention one would need to do to the charge air.

[oemtech]

He is talking about descending the MAF. It is not recommended unless you have a highly tuned engine.

[cannon man]

10/4
thanks again, dave

[idenphones]

oemtech is showing the picture of the screen that I am talking about.

On my Corvette's that use the same MAF, removing the screen made a very minor difference as observed by several other Vette owners and testers using dynos and drag strip testing etc.

The Corvette is equipped with a 5.7 liter engine. The Workhorse is equipped with a 8.1 liter engine.

An engine is an air pump of sorts so anything that you can do to increase airflow can only help things out.

So I have been told!!

I think the screen serves as more of a safety freature to protect the VERY delecate sensing wire that is inside the MAF.

If something gets past the filter and breaks the wire, the sensor will be toast.

Would I do it again? Nope! Not enough of a difference to justify it.

Would I do the Cold air intake again? Most definately as you can feel the difference.

On our Simba the cold air inlet is now located at the very bottom of the front bumper
with a 45 degree slope going up to the air filter. Not too likely to get water sucked up
that far.

BTW, the "Roar" from ours is only when you really put your foot down and is not any noisier than the clutch fan when it kicks in from time to time.

If I can figure out how to move a picture from my iPhone to the computer, I will post a picture.