I am looking to buy some mods for my new truck... and wanted to know if you have any suggestions. This is my first truck so I have no clue which brands are good and which to better stay away from...
- Volant CAI
- MagnaFlow Dual Same Side Exhaust
- Bully Dog Power Pup

So how are these brands? Are they any good?
Also how loud is that MagnaFlow exhaust? I don't want something that i ridiculously loud...

Thanks in advance!

 

if u want a good rumble get a 14" magnaflow

 

I think any Cold Air Intakes you install will be a good investment. The most popular brands are K&N, Airaid, AFE, and AEM. Some are oiled based filters and some are dry filters. It just comes down to which style you prefer. Between Magnaflow and Flowmaster, Magnaflow going to be the quieter exhaust system and closer to your stock exhaust for sound. Flowmaster 40’s are really loud and probably not what you are looking for. SCT, Edge and Gryphon are the popular tuners, which most owners use with custom tunes from Troyer, PHP, or VMP. (Check out the Chips, Tuners & Programming forum)

 

so how is K&N? i used it before and had no problem with it, but i heard some horrible stories about the dirt getting in the engine? so would it be better to stay away from K&N?

 

I don’t have a K&N so I can’t comment whether they are good or not. I know some people who have them and love them and others who hate them. They are one of the oldest companies around who make cold air intakes. You can’t go wrong if you purchased one, but as I said any CAI you buy will help your truck breath better and is an improvement over your stock air intake. It comes down to your personal preference.

 

I thought there was a problem with using a CAI on the 09's? Something to do with the engine management and it not liking the extra air. There was a guy who does tuning for F150's on another forum and he said it's a big no no from what i remember.

 

I purchased my CAI shortly after I bought my 2009 F150 and according to Airaid dyno testing, I gain 12hp and 13lbs of torque. I have yet to run into any problem. From what the tech guy told me at Airaid from their testing, the computers in these trucks will compensate for the increase in air flow.

 

just out of curiosity, why did you go with AirAid?

 

I called around and spoke to the technicians at K&N, aFe, AEM, S&B, and Airaid when I went shopping for my CAI. Out of the list I mentioned, the tech at Airaid seemed to be the most knowledgeable about the 2009 F150 engines. At the time I bought mine, only Airaid and K&N had one available. The other companies said it wouldn’t be until the end of the summer before they had one available.

The technician at Airaid said the CAI’s for the 09’s didn’t need a new intake because ford installed a high performance one in the 2009’s. He said after dyno testing with and without their aftermarket intake, they found that performance was the same and added 12hp + 13lbs of torque. So I only needed to purchase the kit with the MAF tube, filter and box which cost me around $200 shipped.

The other companies said I needed to buy their entire setup to make it work, which would have cost me around $325+. I found out later that really wasn’t accurate. By using the stock intake tube, I saved myself around $125+ and gain the same performance.