As an M1 owner, I'd only suggest going that route if you are planning other mod changes. Those mod changes do not need to be aggressive at all. Those mods ALSO really need to be thought of in terms of requiring a tuner to tap them. If you are on the mild side, then the basic superchips is the choice. Going beyond, you are really limited to B&G (costly) and Hemifever (mixed results from what I've seen of the clientele here).

A minimum budget to start seeing the M1 -- $1000

Do a search here on DF for M1 threads. We have a dedicated thread there where F1 Air Gap came to the discussion too. The input in that thread would not have changed since then. In the thread, I don't ever recall someone that has gotten the Hughes intake offer their experience. In fact, I don't recall any post/thread here about them, not that I've looked for them or say they don't exist.

I'm skeptical of the "loss" in bottom end. It may be just me b/c I have 4.10 gears.

If you are just street DD type driver, then bolting on the M1 is a good choice. It literally is a bolt on.

all I have done to the truck is a 10 series flowmaster inplace of the stock one and have a spectre cai on the way here. I will get a tuner eventually. is the superchips better than the sct tunner? If this helps my truck has 3.50 in the rear.

are you speaking of the 2 or 4 barrel intake? and did you also buy the install kit?

Also a M1 owner, 2bbl and yes the install kit is needed. Yes true bolt on no messing around with fuel lines or unshrouding of injector ports, has a spot for the air temp sensor whereas the F1 does not, min mods and you will gain so called lost tq.

I know Sheriff420 has an AirGap and he complained about fuel rail fitment and the lack of the air temp sensor like merc just said. I think it's also taller than the M1 as well.

As for the loss of low end, it's a perceived loss, me thinks, because low end is pretty much all these Magnums have. When you move it up a 1000rpm it is perceived as loss.
I think HS 1.7's can fix that quite easily.

^^^ 1.7's and a tune and it will gain tq in the lower band and carry it all the way over 5000 rpm no more flat power after 3500-3700 rpm. One of my tricks is to stay with the stock TB no big gulp here, I have a 52mm BBK TB in the shop tried it and over 2500 it helped but took away from lower end, put the stock tb back on and its never left. This of course is not a stock motor comp wise or cam wise so results will be different.

^Bingo. I know for a fact that my rig runs out of steam at 3500rpm. :(

So now add in 4.56 gears, towing out of OD and 315/75r16 that puts me at 2800 rpm at 60 mph give or take, so if I had the stock kegger intake I only have 700 rpm to play with before it falls off for power, so are going deep gears and towing such a good thing when the stock motor falls off like it does.

So yours pulls well even with 37s?

when you say 1.7 im assuming you mean rocker arm ratio, correct? Im not so much looking to hotrod my truck right now. I just want to have an intake thaty has 0% chance of a plenum leak and since im messing with . im going to Texas tech in the fall. when I went to visit I had to go up some hilly road and my engine hated it. it pinged like crazy and scared the piss out of me. plus the mileage SUCKED! it averaged out to a little over 13 mpg. ive never got that bad of mileage on the highway in that truck.