I don't know about the F150 but when I was researching for my purchase I heard many people talking about open systems and the fact that they pull in the hot air in and around the engine bay. I would think this would make it a warm air intake or a ram air intake. I've also heard of people who dyno'ed the Volant with the cap off and lost power. the the Volant is sealed and pulls from the factory spot, but has a smooth flowing pipe into the engine.

What sold the Volant for me was never having to touch the filter. you can't say that about the K and N. and I believe the AEM and other dry filters still need to be serviced. I picked mine up from autoanyting with a 15% off coupon so the cost was similar in price to the others.

They're many articles out there that show the K and N and others not only let in more air then the stock paper filter, they also let in MORE Dirt.

I found the following links posted by another member either on this forum or one of the others (can't remember) either way it's good info.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm
http://forums.nicoclub.com/debunking...r-t180100.html

 

My truck was used for R&D for K&Ns CAI. My R/T reponded with improved low end with a big increase in the midrange. Drove back to get a dyno printout and sure enough 21more hp at 3600rpms and 30 more ft-lbs. Peak horsepower increased 10hp and 6ft-lbs more for torque. So thats how mine responded. The other 09 Hemi rams responded differentley. They made higher peak power and less mid range power than mine.

 

Also the stock intake dyno used for comparison had a K&N drop in filter in it.

 

Drop in or not the filter media remains the same. The second article in the links definitely shows the K&N loading up faster, and letting ALOT more dirt through in less time. Makes me wonder. I was going to buy a K&N CAI for my truck, and I still thing the smoother piping would make a difference, but the test results show me some things that disturb me.

 

That's weird cause I've been running K&N filters on my offroad vehicles for years in the desert under the worst dust conditions and never had a problem. It's always spotless on the inside. The only time dust got in was when I didn't oil it after cleaning.

 

I also looked for any manufacturer CAI's and found that Dodge aftermarket - MOPAR brand - on sale at our dealer is an open style ( made by AEM ) and uses a synthetic dry filter media. Also, for on the F150, our Ford dealer parts counter has the open style using the blue oiled filter media in the Ford racing catalog. The vehicle manufacturers are using the open style CAI's as performance upgrades.

 

Another vote for the AFE. The dry filter is nice. I don't like the oil filters. They're too messy and hard to clean once they get dirty. Since it's oil, all the dirt and debris sticks to it like a magnet. The dry filter is simple to clean. Just pull it out and smack it against you leg a few times and you're good to go. I went with AFE just because they weren't crazy expensive and it gives the same increase of air flow as the other ones. Simple to install, it only took like 30 minutes to pull off the old airbox and install the new one. Great sound out of it too. You won't be disappointed.

 

I have the Airaid CAI, and love it. Initially, the engine sounded like it was getting more air than it could push out, so I put on a mufflex. Now it sounds awesome, screams, and I've improved my fuel economy by about 2 mpgs.