I have spent some time trying to find good information about what is the best air intake for my truck, i havent really came up with a conclusion. I have noticed that the Spectre Air intakes from summit racing are much cheaper in price then that of K&N and other larger name company's does any one have this air intake system on there truck and what are your opinions. I drive 2000 f250 V10 so i am looking at the 9921 Spectre set up. I an not out for fuel efficiency or i wouldnt have bought the v10 but would like a little more power. I installed a flowmaster 40 series muffler.

Again any knowledge about the spectre systems as a whole would be appreciated. Thanks Justin

 

If you do an online search for “air filter test” there is a lot of very good information. IMHO, the CAI units are NOT WORTH THE $$! Unless you are talking about a system that was specifically designed for a specific application there are very little hp/tq gains actually achieved in a street use vehicle and there are very few docs that these mfg’s can produce that actually show an increase in hp/tq in the power-band range of a relatively stock street vehicle.

I would avoid oil impregnated filters. While they have their purpose in off-road applications, Ford/GM/Dodge all have “watch-out” bulletins where the oil has contaminated intake sensors. - they even have a training video for the techs on this (flatratetech.com) .

If you look at the flow data, WIX HP filters flow 98+% of K&N or any similar type filter and have a much smoother flow post filter plus excellent filtering, for a fraction of the price! The OE’s have an excellent air intake system. What many view as an issue (I'm assuming your V10 is the same as the 4.6 & 5.4-is the plastic intake tube with its noise canceling design) actually increases air pressure. It is the same hydraulic concept used by fire fighters creating water supply where psi is low. By having the air cross the path at a 90 degree angle, the pressure is increased proportionally. Fire fighters use what is called a “4-way valve” or “Blake Valve” at the hydrant where the water is cycled through the fire engine (pump) and sent back into the valve crossing the water flow at a 90 degree angle. In this case it also acts as a sound canceling device! At low speeds, this can reduce the flow a tad (which is what most “feel”), but in terms of peak hp/tq, a good high flow filter is all that is needed. You can use a WIX OEM HP replacement filter in the OEM plastic manifold box and either remove the plastic tube and replace it with a piece of pipe/hose, etc or remove the tube completely and replace the tube by building an air ram type intake into the air box manifold (where the pipe use to attach)- make sure ti terminates above the fan shroud to avoid water intake or fan induced pulsations.

Testand Corporation conducted an ISO standards test on automotive air filters which can be viewed at this link: Duramax Air Filter Testing * - Diesel Bombers. All I can say is this explains in detail the reason for

(Arlen) SPICER wrote,

“Now that I am not doing the tests and my objectivity is not necessary, let me explain my motivation. The reason I started this crusade was that I was seeing people spend a lot of money on aftermarket filters based on the word of a salesperson or based on the misleading, incomplete or outright deceiving information printed on boxes and in sales literature."

 

^^^Wow. Just wow. Probably the best reply/information I have read on CAI. Thanks Beechkid. I was looking at this, but, may just stay factory, with a better air filter.

 

Its hard to beat the filters in some Ford intakes. The stock 6.0 filter is great. It will hold lbs of dirt before it quits. It's capable of 500 hp. Basically if you are running a stock motor changing intakes will not add true power. It will add noise & less filtering.