Cold air intake

[steelman1091]

Hi everyone posted yesterday about my traction control light coming on on my 2014 edge sport .. Ford is saying it's because of the k&n cold air intake I installed.. Anyone ever hear of this?. Is it possible

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

I guess the intake is making your Edge put out 600 hp/750 lbft torque, per dealership! Yeah, somehow I don't think that is the case. Sure you've got everything plugged in nice & tight? No pinched wiring?

 

Could always put the intake back to stock to be sure

[Jackseric]

I've had CAI on 4 vehicles and never once had any issue with any of them. Was actually just researching here to see what people thought of the K & N intakes on the Edge. I usually get 1-3 mpg better out of my vehicles when adding them. Just wanted to see if anything different on the Edge as it's my first Ford. I'm following this thread in case anyone can offer more info.

[enigma-2]

^{I remember following a thread on Bobistheoilguy.com in which this filter system was widely discussed. Overall consensus was that it was the worst air filter available to use on a car.}

^{(If you have never been to his site, it is without question thew best website on engine oil and filtration for cars, period)}

^{Here is the website for the air filter tests.}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/}

 

^{(Besides oils and air filtration, thay also have good forums on tires & wheels, lubrication, additives, general automotive).}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm}

 

^{In the forums, several talked about how the K&N filter was originally designed for racing and that each race engine was broken down after each race, (if I remember correctly it paralleled a thread where race drivers also use non-detergent oil instead of detergent during a race for the same reasons). A passenger automobile is however is designed to run for thousands of miles between oil/air cleaner changes.}

 

^{Problem if I remember was the filter medium did not restrict the finest particles of grit, allowing more air flow but allowing the smallest particles to pass through, those that did the most harm to the cylinder walls, etc. (Think it was related to allowing particles under 100 microns to pass through, but don't quote me on that). Several respondents (most identified themselves as mechanics or otherwise appeared to be to talk on the subject, Bob the author of the site is a mechanical engineer) argued that the greater MPG increase is due to greater airflow into the engine due to less filtration, and causing scouring of the cylindar walls and other harm to the engine. (In fairness, there were a couple who disputed this, but they appeared to be normal drivers like myself, not mechanics, and seemed to have a personal interest in using the filter).}

 

^{Here's the page on testing, look carefully at the pictures of the K&N filters and how much dirt was allowed through.}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filter-filtration-test/}

 

^{As to your problem, I believe that the mass air flow sensor monitors the airflow volume (and temperature) of the incoming air stream. It's probably detecting too much air flow and setting a code thinking that the OEM air filter is defective.}

 

^{Personally, I feel it's ridiculous to believe that the major automobile manufacturers would not know about this and would have adopted it's use should it (K&N) proved to provide more MPG. Consider they spend millions in research to improve gas mileage and if a $10 filter would give 2-3 more MPG, it's a no brainer to use it. They don't because they know it causes serious problems in an engine over time. Personally I would never consider using anything other than a standard OEM Motorcraft filter (air & oil) in my car.}

 

^{Related to this, Bob also did evaluations covering all oil filters and Motorcraft was rated as one of the best. (Mobile One was best, but a nearly $20 filter seemed that was just throwing money away).}

^{A lot of cheap filters sold at WalmMart & the like, were rated unacceptable (allowed oil to leak around the seals - if the filter even had internal seals). If I remember correctly (haven't been back there in a while), Fram was one of the worst, had all kinds of internal problems.}

[wes8398]

That's some great info above. BITOG is a fantastic site with a ton of really useful information. People get tied up in all the marketing hype behind these CAI's, etc. I love when I hear a guy tell me they just picked up 20 horse from installing a $400 air intake. lol If they're lucky, they *might* see ANY gain at all on a dyno. Now for a highly modified engine, there's no doubt that gains can be had from a quality CAI, but even when paired with, say, a H/C/I V8, a CAI might net you 5-10 horse at the wheels.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

If the programming is adaptive, which I believe it is on the 2011+ Edge/MKX, you should see small gains in hp/tq just by changing to a higher airflow intake, maintaining the stoich ratio. Key to this is keeping the intake temps same or lower than OEM, or you negate the benefit by dropping air density.

 

If the K&N had a plastic or carbon fiber tube with good heat rejection, it would be much more effective simply due to that (we only get metal tube for our appications). Another important thing is to seal the intake from the engine bay; leaving it open invites heat soak and thus possibly actual losses in hp/tq. You could replace the snorkel in the airbox with a bigger pipe extending deeper into the fender. You could run a pipe down to the openins in the bumper, or replace a fog light (pre-2011) opening for even more cold air. With either of these methods, you would have to be more careful in the design not to ingest debris.

 

Combining a good CAI with performance headers & catback would be the ultimate best non-engine mod you could pull off (besides a tune) for hp/tq and/or mpg gains. If you go for a tune, datalogging can help get you to an optimized setting.

[macbwt]

Fact K&N filter (one) = 268,000 miles + cost savings on filters and engine runs great. Sort of throws that idea on it's head that K&N is bad for your engine. No I do not promote more HP nor do I promote more fuel mileage. I just promote the amount of money I saved not buying air filters all the time.

^{I remember following a thread on Bobistheoilguy.com in which this filter system was widely discussed. Overall consensus was that it was the worst air filter available to use on a car.}

^{(If you have never been to his site, it is without question thew best website on engine oil and filtration for cars, period)}

^{Here is the website for the air filter tests.}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/}

 

^{(Besides oils and air filtration, thay also have good forums on tires & wheels, lubrication, additives, general automotive).}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm}

 

^{In the forums, several talked about how the K&N filter was originally designed for racing and that each race engine was broken down after each race, (if I remember correctly it paralleled a thread where race drivers also use non-detergent oil instead of detergent during a race for the same reasons). A passenger automobile is however is designed to run for thousands of miles between oil/air cleaner changes.}

 

^{Problem if I remember was the filter medium did not restrict the finest particles of grit, allowing more air flow but allowing the smallest particles to pass through, those that did the most harm to the cylinder walls, etc. (Think it was related to allowing particles under 100 microns to pass through, but don't quote me on that). Several respondents (most identified themselves as mechanics or otherwise appeared to be to talk on the subject, Bob the author of the site is a mechanical engineer) argued that the greater MPG increase is due to greater airflow into the engine due to less filtration, and causing scouring of the cylindar walls and other harm to the engine. (In fairness, there were a couple who disputed this, but they appeared to be normal drivers like myself, not mechanics, and seemed to have a personal interest in using the filter).}

 

^{Here's the page on testing, look carefully at the pictures of the K&N filters and how much dirt was allowed through.}

^{http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filter-filtration-test/}

 

^{As to your problem, I believe that the mass air flow sensor monitors the airflow volume (and temperature) of the incoming air stream. It's probably detecting too much air flow and setting a code thinking that the OEM air filter is defective.}

 

^{Personally, I feel it's ridiculous to believe that the major automobile manufacturers would not know about this and would have adopted it's use should it (K&N) proved to provide more MPG. Consider they spend millions in research to improve gas mileage and if a $10 filter would give 2-3 more MPG, it's a no brainer to use it. They don't because they know it causes serious problems in an engine over time. Personally I would never consider using anything other than a standard OEM Motorcraft filter (air & oil) in my car.}

 

^{Related to this, Bob also did evaluations covering all oil filters and Motorcraft was rated as one of the best. (Mobile One was best, but a nearly $20 filter seemed that was just throwing money away).}

^{A lot of cheap filters sold at WalmMart & the like, were rated unacceptable (allowed oil to leak around the seals - if the filter even had internal seals). If I remember correctly (haven't been back there in a while), Fram was one of the worst, had all kinds of internal problems.}

[rwf78155]

I had a K&N CAI on my Corvette and had the same issue...a Chevrolet Dealer told me the K&N was causing the warning....Funny though, I'd had it on the Corvette for a year.

I took the car to another dealer who discovered the battery was leaking acid onto a computer module causing the warning.

I took the receipt back to the original dealer and bought my next Vette from the dealer that actually discovered the problem.

[edge0799]

I had to remove my cai as well engine light kept coming on said fuel was burning to rich....???

[037]

My SS picked up almost 20 rwhp after CAI was added to an already tuned vehicle.

 

So...some do work.

 

The last time I used a short ram I think I lost 20 lol

[fit1446]

o

Edited February 25, 2016 by fit1446

[fit1446]

i have one installed in my 10 but i sealed the box from the engine and i actually use my fog light bezel to feed air to the box.but even before i did that it never threw an ecm code

[Brucifer]

My BMW would go into 'limp mode' when it warmed up. Long story short, it turned out to be a bad MAF.

 

Any chance the CAI was over oiled and gummed up your MAF? I used to run the K&N stock version of a filter until I just didn't want to deal with getting the right amount of oil on the filter.

[fit1446]

Or as silly as it sounds , the mad can be installed backwards. Flow going the wrong direction.

[fit1446]

I still need to insulate the air box. I believe I will have much cooler intake air temp after sealing the box from the motor, as well as insulating. Just need to be mindful if it rains that my intake air is much lower than normal. But after considering that it rains maybe 10 -20 days out of the year where I live in ok with the location. I personally believe this will make a difference.

Edited February 26, 2016 by fit1446

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

You should at the very least put a screen on the intake pipe. It's not just water, but road debris you have to be concerned with.

[fit1446]

you are absolutely correct i ordered a piece of metal mesh it should arrive today. have to do with the other side too so they at least look the same.

[Wesley]

I put this on the performance mod thread before I noticed this one.

 

In an interest to get a bit more out of my '08 with almost 150K miles, I ordered a kit online and put it on around mid Nov. Easy install with only a minor amount of trimming. All 3" aluminum tubing with nice radius bends, plus a 3" K&N style filter. Over the next 3 months and plenty of mixed driving showed no MPG improvement, and may have actually decreased a bit. The basic feel wasnt much different, only the sound. One thing I did notice was a flat spot or bog on mid-throttle depression. It almost felt like a disconnect between the throttle and response. Last week I replaced the air intake kit assembly with the original. The bog went away and I immediately picked up 1 mpg, back to 21.7 mixed driving. My engineering mind told me that there was probably an airflow issue around the mass air flow sensor.

My opinion of the air intake kit was not to bother. These engines are pretty well optimized as they are, as mentioned in previous posts. I love my Edge and will hate it when I have to replace it, but when I do, it'll most likely be another Edge.