Cstang247

What intake system would be the best bang for my buck?

AMAlexLazarus

CS-That's a really good question and we're all going to have our own opinion of what's going to be the best. I would ask if you're looking for something that's going to be easy on the eyes, or easy on the wallet! Most if not all are going yield roughly the same gains but if it's not used in conjunction with a Tuner they're going to be pretty minimal! It's a great rule of thumb with our cars and most if not other that if you're going to throw one on you should pick up a Tuner and CAI Combo Kit.

The intake alone will make some noise under the hood and will slightly help with throttle response but it's a great idea to have the ECM optimized for the additional airflow! I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions and I'm here to help!

Alex

Siber Express

To go a little further than Alex went, are you going to run a tuner or not?
I have an Airaid, reason being it does not require a tune which in turn means I don't need to remove it to go into the Dealer.
Steeda requires a tune so it was go in tuned or change it out.
Airaid also has the Modular intake tube that still uses the stock Air box, thus no worries about warranty and does not require a tune and is actually CARB Approved.

tj@steeda

Best bang .... we currently have 20% off the Steeda CAI. From a looks & functionality standpoint ... you can't go wrong with Steeda.

You can check out our selection at www.steeda.com.

Best Regards,

TJ

Cstang247

Thanks guys I think Ill go with the air raid ive heard a lot of good reviews.

mustangfan410

If you want to you could always add the tune later.

hogasswild

Actually, I think we're finding that the open element design intakes for the 3.7 (Airaid JLT etc) tend to make you run on the lean side. You probably won't pull a code but ideally you should run a tune to optimize AFRs. In independent testing done by American Muscle, JLT did slightly better than Airaid, but it was close enough to say they are both best.

Fintile

Oh yay! Yet another CAI question. I'm going to be the Devils advocate here and say "None!". No tune required means your cars parameters have not changed or adapted for the new intake. I had an Injen intake for 6 months and dropped it for an Airiad and the difference I felt from both was that the Airaid got a few more pulls before it would bog on me. Now I was running bama 91 tunes for both and ran them for months before getting rid of both just to return stock add a K&N drop in filter and have my car more consistent and feel about the same if not better than the 2 intakes I was running prior.

You want the best bang for your buck get a tuner....forget the intake for now. The tuner will open up your car so much better than any intake on the market. Plus with BAMAs free tunes for life you can send for updated tunes every time you add a part! Ultimately it's a matter of what your intention is with your car and what you want. Intakes add looks and sound you wouldn't get with a stock intake. The choice is yours.

laserred38

This. I'm not doing an intake. I'm saving for the new "upper intake" also known as a supercharger

CiniZter

^^ lol

Jazzman442

If you read all the tests and talk to people that have used them.... Don't waist your money. Get the tune. Drop in filter. Track Key comes with filter and tune. That's what I am getting. I was at the track last week. Track keys is worth every penny.

CBJ

AirAid or whatever costs less. They are all pretty much good, but that one is popular and no tune.

Fintile

Ditto, tune and drop in filter. Nothing else needed.

snarlman

Maybe I misunderstood. Do they make a "track key", for a v6 mustang? or is that a brand of CAI / tuner?

hogasswild

No, there's no tracked for a 3.7 lol. I think he's reading the wrong forum. I don't know what the other guys are talking about but an intake and 93 octane tune netted me 20 or so whp, so if that's not measurable, ok whatevs. It all adds up. I currently have over 300whp and 280wtq, and those are contributing mods.

Fintile

Did you have the tune first or all at once?
I'll say that for my experience with CAIs is bad. They lagged under 3k rpm and then after 10 mins of spirited driving they heated up to a point that the car would bog up even with hwy pulls. Now, I have done a bit of experimenting repurchased a cheep ebay intake and I think I found my sweet spot.
With a tune and headers the intake looked to finally do something. However i was using my intakes back before BAMA had their Hybrid tune and from what I hear their new tunes have been revamped and people really like them more.
Anyways, bottom line...there is no best intake. Get what you think looks best and go from there. They all make around the same power and plus you get that added sound.

JoeMidnight

stock.

hogasswild

I don't know what CAI you tried, but I have a JLT for the last 80,000 miles and it is awesome IMO. My only other CAI was on my 350z which was the pop charger and it was not as good performing as the JLT I have now.

hogasswild

The thing with most of these breathing mods is that sure you might get away with a stock calibration and not pull a lean code, but why chance it? You need to revise the tune and add more fuel to ensure its at the optimal ratio for the car.

Fintile

I had an Injen, who makes great intakes for the import scene, didn't work to well. Gets too hot under the hood and had it from March till late July in San Diego so the hot summer might have added to the mess. Then I bought a brand new Airaid and not as much heat. Intake wS cooler to touch than the Injen but they both bogged up so much more down low. I even had the BAMA 91 race tune. Still not happy. Won't suggest an intake to anyone unless you are looking to buy headers.too much speculation for someone who is unsure to gamble the money. Get a tune and axel backs to start you won't ever regret it.