Air charger worth it?

[Motorhead350]

I just found out it's like $260 and would take 10 days to come in. I already have a K&N air filter so would I notice a big benefit by changing the intake or take off one 10th of a second off my e.t.? :confused:

[MarauderMarc]

The k&n intake kit is well worth it. I noticed instant results after installing it. Alot better sound as well. I dont know who you are purchasing from, but if you type in "mercury marauder" on ebay, you will find a power seller who sells them for like 225-240.00 and the shipping is quicker. IMHO just puting an OEM sized replacement filter in does little good. the intake kit is dyno proven to add 17+ rwhp.....you cant go wrong with those gains for the $

[Rider90]

I think it is worth it as well. After the install I had much better mid range power.

[usafsniper]

I just put a JLT Cold Air Intake kit in mine and the results were great. $140 for a complete kit including filter and MAF adapter. The quality is great and only took about 30 minutes to install. Sounds like a hurricane sucking under the hood at full throttle.

Look at his dyno comparisons vs. the K&N.

http://www.jlttruecoldair.com/

[merc]

Real world is at most 10 rwhp, but average is 5 rwhp. It looks good, and doesn't rub the hood liner, and is a quality piece of equipment. The other issue I found is the thick rubber housing around the throttle body retained heat on the JTL kit. Another marauder owner pointed this out to me. He said my K&N was considerably cooler after a 20 mile highway drive then his JTL. The rubber around his intake was very hot to touch and he had a longer cool down period then I did. Those facts could be meaningless, but if you have a change, try for yourself. So to answer your question, go for it. :flamer:

[txmarauder]

It really depends on your current mods and future mods. A stock MM motor only needs 490 cfm of air, the k&n replacement panel filter will flow only 442 cfm. Which is still better than the stock paper element. The JLT and K&N air charger kits with a 6x9 cone filter will flow 1017 cfm which is twice as much as you are flowing now but you will not use nearly half of it. Is the air charger kit worth it? For a stock engine i dont think so, not for the $ to hp ratio since you are already running the k&n replacement. The kit will give you better throttle response which will feel like it is quicker. If you have a s/c than it will definetly make a difference because with my Trilogy @ only 9 psi i need a setup to feed the 790 cfm that my engine now needs compared to the 490cfm it needed before. I dont have either setup as i want the air from outside the hood so its cooler and i want the stock look so i am working on my own idea which is almost done. I will post pics when it is finished. If anyone wants the formulas for their car because different s/c psi makes a difference, here they are.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=bgblack vAlign=top align=left><TD bgColor=#000011>Air Filter Flow Calculations</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>
<ADDRESS>Chuck Leeper with permission from K&N</ADDRESS>
</TD></TR><TR class=bgyellow vAlign=top align=left><TD>Introduction</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>Below is a series of formulas to determine air filter size for a given air flow capacity. Chuck was trouble shooting a problem when he found that air flow he needed was more than his 9" filter could provide. K&N shared this information with him to help trouble shoot his problem.</TD></TR><TR class=bgyellow vAlign=top align=left><TD>Formulas</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>
Square inches of filter required for a motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 20839


CFM required for a 4 stroke motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 3456


CFM required for a 2 stroke motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 1728


CFM required for a turbocharged or supercharged motor = Pounds of Boost / 14.7

Add 1.0 to this answer. This relates to #2 and #3

Example: (CID x maximum RPM x #4 ) / 3456 or 1728


To find circumference of a circle multiply diameter by 3.1416


To find diameter of a circle multiply circumference by .31831

CFM Formulas for Filters



Round: Diameter x Height x 6 x 3.14
Flat Panel: Length x Width x 6
Universal Round Taper: (Base + Top) / 2 = A
Take A x Length x 6 x 3.14
Universal Round Straight: Diameter x Length x 6 x 3.14

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[MENINBLK]

I just found out it's like $260 and would take 10 days to come in. I already have a K&N air filter so would I notice a big benefit by changing the intake or take off one 10th of a second off my e.t.? :confused:

Most K&N Dealers don't carry the 63-1111 AirCharger for the Marauder.
There is also th DryCharger which is a cover for the K&N Open Air Filter
that keeps water and fine particles out of the filter.
The DryCharger is available in 4 colors - Black, Blue, Red, & Yellow.

I purchased mine online from AJUSA.com.
Shipping was FREE and it took 10 days because they had to order it from K&N.
I also purchase my K&N Oil Filters and the DryCharger form AJUSA as well.

The K&N is a smoother walled intake tube and allows faster airflow from the filter to the throttle body.
I also remember reading, I'm not sure if it was on this site or in a magazine,
but the horn that mounts to the opening of the Mass Air Flow,
and doubles as the Filter Mount, was said to be the best in the industry
for directing air into the Mass Air Flow.

I felt an improvement after the install, in the acceleration factor.
The 'seat of the pants' meter will notice something, but your acceleration
in the mid to upper rpm range will definitely be quicker.
After adding Lidio's tune from my Xcal2, there is a HUGE difference in acceleration now.

So whatever you buy, you'll get some kind of performance out of it.
Some of us buy for numbers, some of us buy for esthetics...
Either way, you should be happy with your purchase and any product
should meet your expectations.

[Fourth Horseman]

When I replaced my stock air intake tube with the Metco carbon fiber tube I noticed immediate improved throttle response. When I replaced the Metco tube with the K&N kit I did not notice any additional improvement in throttle response, but I did notice a big improvement in how quickly the engine revs up to red line. In fact, after I installed the K&N kit the first time I stomped on throttle while at highway speed it sort of scared me. The engine roared like I've never heard it roar before - more of a high pitched whine, actually. And the tach shot up to red-line super fast. It was a pretty impressive improvement over the stock filter and Metco tube.

Worth the cost? I'd have to say probably not, but it looks cool and the engine does rev up high a lot faster. I'm glad I got one.

[Rider90]

Both the JLT & K&N are nice kits. I've seen the JLT rub into the hood liner, pretty deep, and my K&N has no side effects and is also supported where JLT is not. Not meaning to start a war, but if we were talking about my money I would wish someone would have told me the same thing.

['03BlkMM]

It really depends on your current mods and future mods. A stock MM motor only needs 490 cfm of air, the k&n replacement panel filter will flow only 442 cfm. Which is still better than the stock paper element. The JLT and K&N air charger kits with a 6x9 cone filter will flow 1017 cfm which is twice as much as you are flowing now but you will not use nearly half of it. Is the air charger kit worth it? For a stock engine i dont think so, not for the $ to hp ratio since you are already running the k&n replacement. The kit will give you better throttle response which will feel like it is quicker. If you have a s/c than it will definetly make a difference because with my Trilogy @ only 9 psi i need a setup to feed the 790 cfm that my engine now needs compared to the 490cfm it needed before. I dont have either setup as i want the air from outside the hood so its cooler and i want the stock look so i am working on my own idea which is almost done. I will post pics when it is finished. If anyone wants the formulas for their car because different s/c psi makes a difference, here they are.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=bgblack vAlign=top align=left><TD bgColor=#000011>Air Filter Flow Calculations</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>
<ADDRESS>Chuck Leeper with permission from K&N</ADDRESS>



</TD></TR><TR class=bgyellow vAlign=top align=left><TD>Introduction</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>Below is a series of formulas to determine air filter size for a given air flow capacity. Chuck was trouble shooting a problem when he found that air flow he needed was more than his 9" filter could provide. K&N shared this information with him to help trouble shoot his problem.</TD></TR><TR class=bgyellow vAlign=top align=left><TD>Formulas</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>


Square inches of filter required for a motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 20839


CFM required for a 4 stroke motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 3456


CFM required for a 2 stroke motor = CID x Maximum RPM / 1728


CFM required for a turbocharged or supercharged motor = Pounds of Boost / 14.7

Add 1.0 to this answer. This relates to #2 and #3

Example: (CID x maximum RPM x #4 ) / 3456 or 1728


To find circumference of a circle multiply diameter by 3.1416


To find diameter of a circle multiply circumference by .31831

CFM Formulas for Filters


Round: Diameter x Height x 6 x 3.14
Flat Panel: Length x Width x 6
Universal Round Taper: (Base + Top) / 2 = A
Take A x Length x 6 x 3.14
Universal Round Straight: Diameter x Length x 6 x 3.14

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The CFM formula used here doesn't take into account pleat depth or density. The stock filter used in the MM has at least double the pleats over a normal filter. It should flow much better than any off the shelf "normal" filter. I find it hard to believe that Ford would have given the engine a filter with a 10% deficiency in air box total air flow right off the showroom floor. Ford was saying in their release literature that the MM redesigned airbox was one of their best flowing to date!

[txmarauder]

The CFM formula used here doesn't take into account pleat depth or density. The stock filter used in the MM has at least double the pleats over a normal filter. It should flow much better than any off the shelf "normal" filter. I find it hard to believe that Ford would have given the engine a filter with a 10% deficiency in air box total air flow right off the showroom floor. Ford was saying in their release literature that the MM redesigned airbox was one of their best flowing to date!
The formula was provided by K&N for their filters, as far as the stock filter having bigger pleats you are right but the pleats are more dense than a k&n so they might cancel each other out, but who knows. If the facotry equiped air filters were up to par then people would not be buying k&n stock replacements as their first mod and seeing instant results. As far as the air box it may be the best design so far but when you have a 70 or so mm maf and then a air filter that IS a restriction no matter whos it is your air inlet better be twice the size of the maf and not the same size as ours are.

[SergntMac]

Back to Dominick's question, all options are about equal in performance and cost, name your poison.