Ideas on Cold Air Intake System?

csbarr12 · May 14, 2007

New member here, i have a 1996 Bronco and im looking to put a Cold Air Intake(Ram Air) on the vehicle. Right now i get about 12mpg which is not bad, but according to the reviews a cold air intake would increase power/mpg. If anyone has any ideas on where to buy this from or what type of system to get, It would be much appreciated.

keeprollling · May 14, 2007

csbarr12 said:
New member here, i have a 1996 Bronco and im looking to put a Cold Air Intake(Ram Air) on the vehicle. Right now i get about 12mpg which is not bad, but according to the reviews a cold air intake would increase power/mpg. If anyone has any ideas on where to buy this from or what type of system to get, It would be much appreciated.

I just ordered my CAI filter yesterday. My plan was to buy a kit but after seeing the prices on the K&N kits, I opted to build one myself using the design of the kit they sell you which is only a bracket with two on it. I purchased the filter element on ebay which with tax and shipping ran me 50 bucks. This weekend I am going to the muffler shop and picking up two short 3" pipes and I am going to use some metal from an old bed rail I have laying around the backyard to create the mounting base.

This is the filter I purchased on ebay: click here

For the newer Broncos that have the MAF sensor, there is alot more Cold Air Intake options. Although they claim alot, they are not the big name company of K&N so I would not know how well the work. You can find these real inexpensive and they claim give you a significant increas in HP and torque.

This is an example of the cheaper versions on ebay

I hope this helps, I know RoadKill has some more information as he installed one on his Bronco. He posted some pictures illustrating the setup Click Here to see the thread.

Roadkill · May 14, 2007

My setup is not a true "cold" air intake since it draws air from inside the engine compartment and not cooler outside air by means of a scoop or inlet. It does, however, provide a huge increase in airflow over the factory setup which must draw all its air through this tiny inlet:

After I installed the system, my milage increased from 11-12 mpg to 15 mpg. Only 3-4 mpg, but still over 20% increase. I don't know if it gets the whole 11 horsepower gain that K&N claims, but there was a noticeable increase in throttle response and power. I should also add that I did my exhaust upgrade the same day so I don't know for sure how much of the improvements came from which modification.

Good luck with your project and, of course, Welcome to BroncoZone! >

csbarr12 · May 15, 2007

thanks for the help, and which K&N system did you use? I just saw one of their newer models here http://www.autoanything.com/air-intakes/61A1916A0A0.aspx But I am not sure if this is the setup that I wish to go with. I have seen the setup you have gone with, and that was my second option. Which do you think would be better?

My avatar is my Bronco, picked it up last Friday, its got the 5.0 liter 302, not as big of an engine, but it still does its job very well.

Roadkill · May 15, 2007

The top one on this page is the one I have. (part #5725101) If your truck has Mass Air, which it probably does, you will have to go with either the top or bottom one. If it is not Mass Air equiped, the middle one is the one for you. I chose the top one because I thought the extra $120 was a bit steep for the replacement air tube.

csbarr12 · May 15, 2007

Awesome, thanks for the advice, and looks like I will go with the top one also.

hoghappy · May 17, 2007

Ok guys...I couldn't stand it any longer...just ordered the K&N cold air kit for my 93. I will try it with no other changes first to get a true reading of the MPG increase. I have an awesome ram cold air kit in my 94 9c1 caprice and love it...but never really noticed a MPG difference, just more power and response. I need to get some pics of that uploaded. I really want to increase my 10.4 MPG in the black beast. :blink: Roadkill...you get 15 MPG....man that would be nice! Anyone try the throttle body spacers? I see mixed reviews. Maybe that is next?

Roadkill · May 17, 2007

hoghappy said:
:blink: Roadkill...you get 15 MPG....man that would be nice!

To be fair, I should make one small disclaimer. In addition to more efficient equipment, how you drive is also very important. When I first installed that stuff, my mileage actually decreased a little bit. The newfound power and throttle response was just too tempting for me and I changed my driving habbits for the worse. Rocket starts, spinning tires, stuff like that. It wasn't until after I returned to my senses and started driving sensibly again that I started getting the better mileage. I still "get on it" a little now and then, but for the most part, I drive it like there are eggs under the pedals. I know the sound of big old wide MT's spinning is hard to resist, but if you really want to see a mileage return on you investment, resist you must. B)

keeprollling · May 17, 2007

hoghappy said:
Ok guys...I couldn't stand it any longer...just ordered the K&N cold air kit for my 93. I will try it with no other changes first to get a true reading of the MPG increase. I have an awesome ram cold air kit in my 94 9c1 caprice and love it...but never really noticed a MPG difference, just more power and response. I need to get some pics of that uploaded. I really want to increase my 10.4 MPG in the black beast. :blink: Roadkill...you get 15 MPG....man that would be nice! Anyone try the throttle body spacers? I see mixed reviews. Maybe that is next?

I did install one this morning, I ran into problems, I posted a thread with the info and will have a few pictures of the install later on it the week or weekend.

csbarr12 · May 17, 2007

what system did you end up purchasing??? and is your bronco MAS equipped?

keeprollling · May 17, 2007

csbarr12 said:
what system did you end up purchasing??? and is your bronco MAS equipped?

This is the filter I bought

The throttle spacer I installed today is also on ebay.

csbarr12 · May 18, 2007

aight, i appreciate all the help. Was talkin to my dad, and he actually wants me to wait until we put new headers/exhaust on the vehicle before we do that. Because he wants to decrease the amount of air pressure being put on the engine before he adds more to it. at least i think thats how he worded it lol

Roadkill · May 18, 2007

Sounds like your dad knows whats up. In order to get full benefit from increased air going in, you have to have a way to get it out. That's why I did mine all at once. But if I had to do one at a time, I probably would have done the exhaust first, too.

csbarr12 · May 18, 2007

yea, hes also glad that i have this site so we can check up on what he says, hes not too familiar with Fords, hes a dodge man lol. Hes a big military guy so thats where he learned alot, says hes pulled a ton of Chevys out with his old dodge lol

We would like to know if you have any suggestions on headers though

Roadkill · May 18, 2007

I have not gotten that far on my own project yet. But if I do ever get them, I would probably go with a set of shorty headers that would bolt up to my existing y-pipe without modification. That's just my personal preference, though. Other people might tell you different.

csbarr12 · May 18, 2007

well I know im not looking to do any modification for the headers. and the brand is Shorty?? lol im not too parts/brand name inclined.

like this???

http://www.performancecenter.com/product.p...onco/302%7E5.0l

Roadkill · May 18, 2007

"Shorty" is just a term used to describe a header that is a drop in replacement for your stock manifolds. Traditional headers have much longer collectors and require modification to the rest of the exhaust system to install. Just make sure if you get a set, that they are for your year and engine setup so they will have the EGR connector in the right place.

csbarr12 · May 18, 2007

ahhhh i understand now.

alright sweet then, at least i know what to be looking for lol

i do appreciate all the help

Ideas on Cold Air Intake System?

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