CAI indepth.....

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Originally Posted by Longshot270

That is a good observation. One thing that is recommended for people with CAIs are the canned tow tunes. They are written with a richer A/F ratio and it helps counter act the lean effects.

I bolded the part that I usually find important. Air is a fluid and fluid dynamics is a tricky subject.

I usually go fishing to waste time...but whatever floats your boat.

When I read the OP, the combination of the Edge and CAI caught my eye while I was still on the first sentence, and I was actually surprised that nobody else mentioned it.

I understand fluid dynamics, but not to the point that I can confidently speak on it. You are definitely right about air being a fluid and it being tricky. I have searched a little today and I can't seem to find an article that I read on Banks Power, specifically addressing air being a fluid, but here a chunk borrowed from one of their articles:

Courtesy of BANKS POWER:

In the confines of a stock motorhome or truck, your gas or diesel engine’s inherent power is limited by factory restrictions in the intake and exhaust. With your engine starved for air, a tremendous amount of power traveling through the power-train is unnecessarily wasted before it gets to where it matters—your vehicle’s rear wheels. Airflow restrictions make poor engine efficiency, which soaks up fuel, runs a hot exhaust, compromises performance and shortens engine life.



How airflow restrictions waste power

* Intake restrictions cause engine to labor (“pumping losses”)
* Exhaust backpressure generates a tremendous engine heat-load
* Power is robbed from the crankshaft to expel exhaust
* Cooling fan runs often, wasting power and making the cab noisy
* Hot, overworked lubricants degrade faster and increase friction
* Gasoline-vehicle makers mask poor-airflow problems (eg. detonation) with overly-rich fuel
* Excess fuel is wasted, worsening mileage and emissions
* Inadequate airflow chokes engine’s potential

Think of an engine as an air pump that produces power. To run it, fuel is needed. In a typical stock vehicle, a gasoline engine produces only about 250 horsepower for every 1,000-horsepower’s worth of fuel put in. Diesel engines are more efficient—they put out about 320 horsepower for every 1000 in, only wasting 68%—still leaving lots of room for improvement!

Hampsterzone, you discussed backpressure in one of your earlier posts. As you notice, backpressure actually creates heat excess heat in the engine acting as a "parasitic loss" in power.

As for the time wasting that I did this morning, I was trying to do some calculations in regards to engine CFM airflow requirements in comparison to the ability of air systems to move them, but unfortunately I was unable to find the capability of the stock air system. But just for and , the max CFM flow of the 5.4L 3V engine at 5500 RPM is 628 based on the calculator that I have.

I would have gone fishing, except for a few things...its was only about 3:30am when I started the post, around 5:00am when I finished it and I'm pretty sure you can't get your line wet until first light. It was about 25 degrees outside and the closest place to go fishing is a GOOD hour plus away. The only reason that I was still up was my daughter had late start at school and I had to take her so my wife could go to work.

This discussion has been great and I only hope that we can keep the information flowing. If I find the article of air as fluid, I will definitely pass it on.