AFE Power Cold Air Intake 5.0L V8 F150

ridindirtym3

Active member
Joined
Dec 30, 2009
Messages
31
Reaction score
6
Location
Chestermere
Installed and AFE CAI on my F150.. Fired the truck up and it purred away - went for a quick drive, put the truck under load and their is a roar in the cab.. I can't believe how loud it is, not really what i was looking for as this truck already sounded pretty good..

Is the loud roar normal? Feels like it's putting a vibration into the truck as well - i could feel it in the gas pedal..
 

CUSO

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
4,771
Reaction score
5,522
Location
Edmonton
I had an Airaid intake on a 5.4, and it was loud. HP gains are minimal, and fuel economy does not change. not worth it IMO.
 

Badass69

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
480
Reaction score
511
Location
Ardmore AB
Remove your new "hot air intake", put the stocker back on the truck, and get a custom tune..... Probably save yourself money in the process and have something that makes a noticeable difference. And no, I do not mean buy a handheld programmer either.......
 

rondun

Active VIP Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2008
Messages
223
Reaction score
26
Location
Fort St John B.C.
In the old days we use to flip the aircleaner lids upside down.........Thinking we got more air........Keep the stock airbox in and change the air tube from stock airbox to the throttle body...I have done this and ran on a dyno before and after 15hp increase....on a 2005 GMC 5.3l....I am going to do it on my 2010 Chev 6.2l
 

jaredszakacs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,328
Reaction score
1,603
Location
pincher creek ab
afe is a very loud intake and really dont make much power unless you get the fully enclosed unit. I would put the S&B intake on as it is a fully enclosed box w/plexi glass lid and an 8 layer filter and is in my opinion a better intake than the AFE intake. I tend to steer my customers towards the S&B products. Custom tunes are great no doubt about it but be prepared to spend some time and money trying to figure it out on a dyno to try and get the gains you like! I sell S&B intakes for same price as the internet and keep most in stock.
 

Badass69

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
480
Reaction score
511
Location
Ardmore AB
afe is a very loud intake and really dont make much power unless you get the fully enclosed unit. I would put the S&B intake on as it is a fully enclosed box w/plexi glass lid and an 8 layer filter and is in my opinion a better intake than the AFE intake. I tend to steer my customers towards the S&B products. Custom tunes are great no doubt about it but be prepared to spend some time and money trying to figure it out on a dyno to try and get the gains you like! I sell S&B intakes for same price as the internet and keep most in stock.


No dyno required for custom tuning at all. On the road driving is the best logging and setup in the world that a dyno can never simulate. Most "email" tunes are very good from a competent tuner. I was less than impressed with Alberta's tuning scene so for GM I own EFILive and self tune. Now that I also own a Nissan I will getting Uprev's software and following suit.

If you are ever in doubt of a tune you can always just plumb a wideband in and check it out yourself.

But.... most decent performance names in the states can provide a tune that is very close, especially on a stock truck. Air intakes were fine back when the OEM's actually made ones that acted as a noted restriction. Some are worse than others but even the necked one the LQ4 in my 05 1500HD wasn't restricting the truck any amount. I have a drop in with an Air Raid MIT off an electric fan equipped 1/2 ton ( my truck was clutch fan and is now factory e fans controlled by my trucks PCM) and it made no noticeable change in anything. The e fans did, especially when the truck was hot for acceleration.... but the intake, minimal.

OP is far better off tuning the truck.....
 
Last edited:

Bnorth

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
10,547
Reaction score
20,128
Location
Salmon Arm
No dyno required for custom tuning at all. On the road driving is the best logging and setup in the world that a dyno can never simulate. Most "email" tunes are very good from a competent tuner. I was less than impressed with Alberta's tuning scene so for GM I own EFILive and self tune. Now that I also own a Nissan I will getting Uprev's software and following suit.

If you are ever in doubt of a tune you can always just plumb a wideband in and check it out yourself.

But.... most decent performance names in the states can provide a tune that is very close, especially on a stock truck. Air intakes were fine back when the OEM's actually made ones that acted as a noted restriction. Some are worse than others but even the necked one the LQ4 in my 05 1500HD wasn't restricting the truck any amount. I have a drop in with an Air Raid MIT off an electric fan equipped 1/2 ton ( my truck was clutch fan and is now factory e fans controlled by my trucks PCM) and it made no noticeable change in anything. The e fans did, especially when the truck was hot for acceleration.... but the intake, minimal.

OP is far better off tuning the truck.....
A load cell dyno is a far better tuning tool than tuning on the street. You can really fine tune part throttle accurately without distractions and with consistency. That said dyno time is expensive, I like to do a street tune to start and then only fine tune on the dyno.
 

jaredszakacs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,328
Reaction score
1,603
Location
pincher creek ab
ya you can do street tunning and it works well but the big boys in the states the guys who offer the efi tunning like Idaho rob Nick priegetz cam hulse dmitri millard all have countless hours on the dyno to perfect and get the absolute perfect results for the gm tunning. Myself i prefer dyno tunning cause i find it way more accurate. Prime example we did "street tunning" on my lmm duramax power was great took it to the dyno the guy tunning it thought it would be about 120 rwhp over stock well it turned out to be more like 190 rwhp!!! way to much for a stock trans to hold so we put it on the dyno spent some time and dialed it in so the powerband from 2700-3400 stays completely level and stays consistent. when we street tuned it the graph was up and down and not consistent. I like the dyno cause I can "SAFELY" watch my numbers and tune the vehicle correctly without having to endanger myself or someone on the street trying to watch my numbers. Most of the emailed out tunes have had the developer spend hours and hours on a dyno perfecting these tunes it's why they work so much better than just a drop in tuner. I do agree though if you got the guy doing the tunning sitting in the passenger seat you can get some pretty good tunes built but I would perfect them on the dyno. Ya stock intakes are working very well most just do a new drop in filter and leave it be as I know the duramax intakes are good for over 550 hp.
 

Badass69

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
480
Reaction score
511
Location
Ardmore AB
The only portion I agree upon is the distractions. However..... that's why you have datalogging software....You don't need to sit and stare at it, lol. Although you can vary load quite accurately for a street car..... you don't drive a dyno. It's splitting hairs if you want to get right down to it. There are tons of ridiculously fast rides out there that have never put rubber to the rollers. I would put my trucks tune against any "dyno" tune and wouldn't doubt the results are within a range a human being cannot discern, and in favor either way.

That and the reason I mention professional email tunes is most of the guys building them have perfected them, on a dyno and on the street. Investing countless hours doing so for that matter.

I can't be bothered wasting my time and money on a dyno.... And for a stockish F150, getting an in person dyno tune over an email tune is a waste of money completely. If you are talking something with internals done or turbo and or supercharger, sure. But for stock....an email tune was already proven. Every engine is different but not enough to matter where a gain would be seen, felt or reflected in the E.T.'s...

This is all banking on a competent tuner making the email tune, of course. Tuning isn't rocket science, lol. But then I view things quite differently as tuning a plant is part of my daily life...... Hence why I chose to do my own tune versus just purchasing one somewhere.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

And what was this thread about again?????? Lol.
 
Last edited:

jaredszakacs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,328
Reaction score
1,603
Location
pincher creek ab
some people tune differently i prefer to sit on a dyno with mine and get it perfect I know dmitri millard (cadp)cam hulse, idaho rob,nick priegetz all the big name guys have all said that for them the dyno is there best tool for getting the right combos but all personnal preference! some prefer street tunning either one works it's all a personnal preference. Tunning isnt rocket science but 1 wrong step can turn a $70,000 truck into a paper weight! you do have to have knowledge about this stuff when tunning! That being said and i agree if you are not putting turbo's,or chargers or messing with injection then a pre loaded programmer is gonna be just fine! but it all is personnal preference and what you wanna do to the truck or eventually do to the truck! custom tunning can make major increases compared to the email tunes like you say it's whatever floats your boat! But yes what was this about again??? lol yeah the afe intake is extremely noisy and not a major gain on the gas motors and most diesel motors as well you would see more gains with some tunning in place!
 

Badass69

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
480
Reaction score
511
Location
Ardmore AB
some people tune differently i prefer to sit on a dyno with mine and get it perfect I know dmitri millard (cadp)cam hulse, idaho rob,nick priegetz all the big name guys have all said that for them the dyno is there best tool for getting the right combos but all personnal preference! some prefer street tunning either one works it's all a personnal preference. Tunning isnt rocket science but 1 wrong step can turn a $70,000 truck into a paper weight! you do have to have knowledge about this stuff when tunning! That being said and i agree if you are not putting turbo's,or chargers or messing with injection then a pre loaded programmer is gonna be just fine! but it all is personnal preference and what you wanna do to the truck or eventually do to the truck! custom tunning can make major increases compared to the email tunes like you say it's whatever floats your boat! But yes what was this about again??? lol yeah the afe intake is extremely noisy and not a major gain on the gas motors and most diesel motors as well you would see more gains with some tunning in place!

Not fighting but when I talk email tunes I mean from a pro tuner, and using like an SCT, EFILive Autocal, HP tuners, etc.. Diablo...... well I guess, lol. They finally have TCM control for GM now at least. And yes you can get full custom tuning with their CMR software.

I doubt you will see any difference from a SCT or HP custom tune from a reputable guy versus one done in person here..... and especially done up here, lol. But comparing to some canned thing on a Diablo/Hypertech/Superchips/Edge/Bullydog handheld, I fully agree.

And yes, if you no little to nothing about fuel injection or how an engine works in general, you will probably ruin your engine with tuning software, lol. There is more than enough support via forums for anyone to learn that wants too!
 
Last edited:

jaredszakacs

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,328
Reaction score
1,603
Location
pincher creek ab
ya it's about time they finally did the TCM control on the gm's that was a long time coming hahaha I'm meaning the same thing as well emailed tunes from a reputable guy.


Ya the pre canned tunes definately arent the greatest but they get you the basics wich is good for most. I've been major fan of the tunning i recieve from duramaxtuner.com and idaho rob. I just like these tunes for selling to customers because they are built and based around certain mods to the truck and seem to work quite well! We have done quite a few stock turbo stock trans style tunes and have several trucks running around pushing over 500 rwhp on stock trans and have yet to slip or limp mode there trannies or have any issue what so ever so for me that is a big bonus especially when selling this product. Myself I usually get custom tunning done but i'm never satisfied so i'm always tinkering hahaha.

I'm not gonna mention any names on the site but was told by quite a few ALBERTA Tuners that a 1000 rwhp truck is a non streetable truck even with proper tunning. well we proved that wrong on the weekend as we rode in a 1000+ rwhp truck and the thing drove better on the street than a factory duramax did and this was with 37's. Proper tunning is HUGE and yeah there are some amazing tunners in CANADA that really know there stuff so no doubt about it I'm sure someone could build a nastier tune I'm just a really big fan of tried and proven tunes. You gotta love the world of custom tunning and the possibilities it brings to your vehicle it really makes the aftermarket game quite fun haha.


Ya lots of good forms and info out there for tunning wich is good cause i have had a few people ask me about different styles of tunning and some of the questions i have recieved on this stuff really makes me wonder if some should even be going the route of custom tunes haha. Glad to hear someone else knows quite a bit about this stuff!
 

Badass69

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
480
Reaction score
511
Location
Ardmore AB
ya it's about time they finally did the TCM control on the gm's that was a long time coming hahaha I'm meaning the same thing as well emailed tunes from a reputable guy.


Ya the pre canned tunes definately arent the greatest but they get you the basics wich is good for most. I've been major fan of the tunning i recieve from duramaxtuner.com and idaho rob. I just like these tunes for selling to customers because they are built and based around certain mods to the truck and seem to work quite well! We have done quite a few stock turbo stock trans style tunes and have several trucks running around pushing over 500 rwhp on stock trans and have yet to slip or limp mode there trannies or have any issue what so ever so for me that is a big bonus especially when selling this product. Myself I usually get custom tunning done but i'm never satisfied so i'm always tinkering hahaha.

I'm not gonna mention any names on the site but was told by quite a few ALBERTA Tuners that a 1000 rwhp truck is a non streetable truck even with proper tunning. well we proved that wrong on the weekend as we rode in a 1000+ rwhp truck and the thing drove better on the street than a factory duramax did and this was with 37's. Proper tunning is HUGE and yeah there are some amazing tunners in CANADA that really know there stuff so no doubt about it I'm sure someone could build a nastier tune I'm just a really big fan of tried and proven tunes. You gotta love the world of custom tunning and the possibilities it brings to your vehicle it really makes the aftermarket game quite fun haha.


Ya lots of good forms and info out there for tunning wich is good cause i have had a few people ask me about different styles of tunning and some of the questions i have recieved on this stuff really makes me wonder if some should even be going the route of custom tunes haha. Glad to hear someone else knows quite a bit about this stuff!

Thanks. I just want to say I am no expert, and never claim at anytime to be such.... in fact quite novice and still learning. But I will state that for anything, as the learning curve never ends. My personal project that has gone on for way too long is a 94 reg cab short bed 2wd Chev I have at home. It's powertrain is an 05 LQ9 6 liter from an Escalade, with heads and cam.... and although undecided on size and a/r, probably a 70 or 76 mm turbo. Again, self tuned of course...... which does intimidate me, however not to the point of not doing it.

Cars, trucks,. quads..... it's all my kind of hobby!
 
Last edited:

CUSO

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
4,771
Reaction score
5,522
Location
Edmonton
Dude, it's TUNING with one 'n' LOL

ya it's about time they finally did the TCM control on the gm's that was a long time coming hahaha I'm meaning the same thing as well emailed tunes from a reputable guy.


Ya the pre canned tunes definately arent the greatest but they get you the basics wich is good for most. I've been major fan of the tunning i recieve from duramaxtuner.com and idaho rob. I just like these tunes for selling to customers because they are built and based around certain mods to the truck and seem to work quite well! We have done quite a few stock turbo stock trans style tunes and have several trucks running around pushing over 500 rwhp on stock trans and have yet to slip or limp mode there trannies or have any issue what so ever so for me that is a big bonus especially when selling this product. Myself I usually get custom tunning done but i'm never satisfied so i'm always tinkering hahaha.

I'm not gonna mention any names on the site but was told by quite a few ALBERTA Tuners that a 1000 rwhp truck is a non streetable truck even with proper tunning. well we proved that wrong on the weekend as we rode in a 1000+ rwhp truck and the thing drove better on the street than a factory duramax did and this was with 37's. Proper tunning is HUGE and yeah there are some amazing tunners in CANADA that really know there stuff so no doubt about it I'm sure someone could build a nastier tune I'm just a really big fan of tried and proven tunes. You gotta love the world of custom tunning and the possibilities it brings to your vehicle it really makes the aftermarket game quite fun haha.


Ya lots of good forms and info out there for tunning wich is good cause i have had a few people ask me about different styles of tunning and some of the questions i have recieved on this stuff really makes me wonder if some should even be going the route of custom tunes haha. Glad to hear someone else knows quite a bit about this stuff!
 
Top Bottom