Looking for Better Performance and Increased MPG

When the price of gas started going up I started to look at bolt-on accessories that would improve my truck’s gas mileage. The search didn’t produce anything that I felt would make much of a difference in my gas mileage, but it did make me more interested in cold air intake systems that are designed to increase power. I hadn’t decided whether or not to install a system when K&N sent me their Fuel Injection Performance Kit to try on my truck.

Stock Air Flow vs. High Performance Cold Air Intake Systems
A basic fact: auto engines need air and its oxygen to run. Air passes through a dirt-trapping filter in the engine compartment first, then flows through an apparatus to the engine.
Most fuel injected vehicles don’t have space to mount an air filter right on top of the engine like they’re positioned in carbureted cars and trucks. So engineers find another spot under the hood to tuck the air filter, then use tubing to route the air that passes through it to the engine.

Stock tubing is most often designed to make the air movement quiet, without a lot of regard to optimum airflow. Less air to the engine means less engine power. One solution — a cold air intake system that replaces the stock filter and tubing with parts designed to get more air into the engine. More air in, more power out.

Cold air intake systems usually have a box or divider that separates the air filter from the heat of the engine and allows the system to capture cooler air coming through the grill or fender. That’s a better option than grabbing the warm air under the hood, because the colder the air the more dense it is — and dense air lets the fuel injectors supply more fuel to the engine to enhance horsepower.

K&N Performance Kit Installation
K&N’s FIPK2 kit arrived in a box with all the hardware I needed to install it. The instructions were easy to understand and included plenty of photos to guide me. The job didn’t require special tools or computer programming.
Installing the unit in my Ford F-150 truck took about an hour and a half. I think that anyone with a few basic mechanical skills could bolt it on in that same time.

There’s a photo on this page of the unit that went into my truck. Designs vary, but K&N makes its cone shaped, free-flow filters as large as they can be for each vehicle to allow maximum airflow.

The tubing that takes air from the filter to the engine is not metallic, so it tends to stay cooler than metal versions. K&N thinks the material also tones down the sound of the air as it travels through the tube.

After you install the cold air intake you can expect to hear the air as it enters the filter. At low throttle you’ll hear a slight whistle. On hard acceleration you’ll hear more of a roaring sound. I don’t find it too loud or offensive. If you’re looking for more power in your truck you probably won’t mind the sound at all — but consider it if you like a real quiet ride.

How the Unit Performed
I installed the unit while I was on a trip about 350 miles from home. I had a trailer on the back of the truck so that halfway back I could pick up a car for a friend. The car was located at about the spot where the flatter lands of North Carolina turn to mountains.

I noticed an increase in power with the trailer empty, but it was even more obvious after I picked up the car and started pulling steeper and longer hills. The truck performed much better on hills with the system installed than it ever did without it.

I don’t have a machine to test power, but saw evidence of the boost in the way the truck operated. In many instances the transmission didn’t need to downshift to maintain vehicle speed on a grade or hill. Overall, downshifts happened a whole lot less frequently.

I’ve had the unit in place for a few months now and the power boost is consistent.

Gas Mileage
K&N doesn’t claim that you’ll get better mileage when you install their systems, but my gas mileage has gone up about a mile per gallon in both city and highway driving. An increase in power that takes less gas to produce — that’s fine by me.

Kit Maintenance & Guarantee
You don’t need to change the K&N air filter but you will need to clean it if you drive about 100,000 miles, maybe sooner under dirtier than normal driving conditions. K&N makes a spray-on a cleaner that’s followed up with a spray-on oil.
K&N sells replacement filters for most vehicles, but don’t expect a significant hp boost from just the filter. A replacement filter has to fit into the existing air box (smaller) and you’ll still have the less efficient factory air routing tubes beyond it.

Most K&N performance kits similiar to the one I tested are available for under $350. The company has been around for a number of years and has a reputation for producing quality products. K&N came through on this one, from the well written instructions to the system’s appearance to it’s actual performance.

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