Just thinking out loud….expense could be a reason. Wanting the stock look might be another.

personally, I do like the Mina smooth tube, but would be more tempted if it came in a black finish. As it stands now, my stock tube is still working OK. I’ll replace it when it gets the typical cracks.

Z

 

Markmbaha1 & Zray,,

I personally like the Jaguar Tube with all its little Nooks & Crannies...Jaguar/Ford spent a bunch of money developing it and each one of those little pockets has a job to do...The Metal one may be shinier and all Chrome Plated but the Jaguar one has a purpose and serves its purpose! Also, it didn't cost anything extra....!

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

I'm interested to know what purpose each noon serves. Did they also design those faulty gen1 and Gen 2 Tensioners? Ok yea being caddy.

 

Having owned several Fords, and worked with several other, I have never been impressed with Ford's "Better Ideas". Of course they did get rid of the Jags Lucas Electronics, but there still are a lot of things that could have been done better.

 

In defense of Ford, and all other manufacturers:

There might be some perfect cars being made, but I can’t afford them. Hence the ratio of two accountants for every engineer.

The engineers are constantly being pressured to make everything cheaper (and worse as it turns out). I’ve been buying Fords, Shelby’s, and all British sport cars from the 1960’s forward. Every model of every make is made with better quality control the first year out. Once it’s determined to be a money maker, the cheapening efforts get redoubled

Certainly glaring engineering faults get corrected to minimize warranty claims. But the bulk of the switches & gizmos get cheaper and cheaper over time.

Z

PS when I buy a used car I first investigate the known faults of the make and model in question . Then I narrow my search to those examples that have already had the issues addressed. That’s the only way I’ve found to actually Be driving the csr
inste of fixing it all the time.

 

My understanding is that all of the bongs on the stock tube were for noise reduction and not performance. The first drive after the Mina tube was put in throttle response felt more spontaneous. And there was no objectionable noise increase. I did store the old tube in case I ever sell the car and someone wants the stock look.

 

I installed the Mina Gallery aluminum intake tube kit strictly for durability after the factory plastic tube and its 2012 replacement OEM plastic tube both developed the infamous cracks and splits in their accordion sections. I did not care about looks. I did not care about performance. I simply wanted a permanent solution to the problem. The Mina kit fit that bill perfectly....

 

All “the bongs” are helmholtz resonators. They are in the tubes to tune the duct acoustically to improve airflow. Never tested it on a dyne but my personal understanding is the improved noise you experience is actually detrimental to engine performance. Might be worth some extra research before junking the standard duct. Also standard paper filter is far superior and extremely cheap. No risk of MAF contamination either.

 

Very interesting. It certainly makes sens they didnt make a bumpy tube out of leftover material that was just there. Thank you.

 

Guys, It was made to fit our XKR's, which it does...It is quiet and serves its purpose well...The Filter Box does its purpose very well in that it has (2) Air Inlets....(1) on the side that runs into the Right Fender-Well and one on the Front that opens into the Front Grill area...(More than enough fresh air).. I won't say COLD air, as it is Texas Air.... You take what you get! But it is enough Air even with the Throttle wide-open....In addition, I use a Flat K&N Filter, which I change out at least once a year....and it seems to make a louder noise than the stock Filter, which I like! I haven't found anything I like better than this system....If I do, I will change.....

Oh! I forgot....My Alcantara Headliner has fallen down! I guess it's the Texas Heat that did it....Do any of you folk's have any suggestions on Glues or whatever that will keep on sticking? This time it has been about 4 years before letting loose....Wish someone made a better Glue or something that will withstand the Heat!

I am a Happy Guy anyway!

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

Cold air intake aside, its obvious that the stock solution provides cold air while an open filter don't.

But replacing a stock paper filter with a K&N provides more power.

 

B.C.,
Good solution to dropping headliner?? Get a convertible. My headliner only drops when I want it to.....

 

yes they do, but often at the expense of contaminating the MAF sensor. Even lightly sprayed K&N’s will “flow” some oil downstream.


I started using K&N filters in the late 1960’s on carbureted dirt bikes. In that realm they perform very well. I’m just not sold on them being used in more sophisticated applications.


Z

 

Sam.
I knew I would get some kind of an answer from you about my Headliner! I had a Convertible once and that was enough "Thank You!" It was a 1964 Chevy II and my Wife at the time just Loved it! Kinda wish I had it Today!

Billy Clyde

 

The video about air filters posted above seems like a very fair and accurate comparison. I believe that in general engines, especially in "performance" vehicles are pretty well maxed out to yield the best balance of performance and driveability. When I had my 95 Corvette there were all sorts of easy do-it-yourself mods that promised horsepower increases such as adjustable fuel pressure regulator, aftermarket MAF, Hypertech programmer, mods to the intake system, etc. Each of these were relatively inexpensive but there were no real dramatic increases. The net result of doing ALL of the easy-peasy performance improvements was that if the car felt faster it was due to a reduction in weight of your wallet.

Then there were the more expensive things like free flowing exhaust and headers but even for those mods there was not much bang-for-the-buck and most that ended up doing exhaust mods ended up complaining about unpleasant noise and droning in the cabin. The only thing I did where I could actually feel some dramatic improvement was replacing the rockers with higher ratio roller rockers but, again, this required actually going into the engine.

 

Hi Mark. Re; cold air induction. Although I have a '99 XK8 with the 4.0, I did try the cold air system and needed to convert back. Check Engine light and various codes set off. I noticed I could not control the heat intake under the hood. Map sensor temp reading of air intake much higher exterior, ambient Temp. This problem went on for a year before I converted back. I kept the smooth pipe from the factory air box to the intake as well as added a K&N filter to factory set up and all has been fine for over a year. You may have better luck with the kit than I, new computer 4.2 Liter may make a difference. Hope of some help. Rich

 

Thank you. After all the above there was a strong case made that the existing set up is the best cold air and the tube with its nooks and crannies were engineered to exacting specifications on purpose. I'll most likely not make any changes. Thanks for your input.
Mark