KKM intake?

[OutlawStar]

Is the KKM intake any good? Has anyone noticed any Hp gains?

[topgunz1]

yep theyre good, performance is about the same as any other intake on the market, maybe 3 or 4. pair it with an exhaust and you'll notice a difference. the best part about them is that they sound MEAN.

[Fett]

Sound is great, but if you have no other performance mods to complete it, then you will loose power and quickness.

[JF]

Right Fett.............................. That stock intake is sooooooooooo open, that air just rockets right through it. Loose power and quickness???????
I'd like to see the dyno plots showing that. KKM was my first mod in Feb 99. It made a difference by itself and it made even better gains after adding headers exhaust. I'm just not clear on how a KKM causes loss of power and quickness.

[Cooper]

As with all open element filters in our car, the KKM will fall victim to heatsoak under certain conditions, therefore causing a noticeable loss of power and sluggish performance.

[JF]

I live in Florida and am very aware of heat soak. Heat soak is a given and I agree that is a loss of power issue, but to just state a KKM gives loss of power and quickness is misleading.

[ArizonaCougar]

KKM was my first mod, as well, and after adding exhaust to it I am extremely satisfied. I'm not going to knock Weapon-R or Injen or BAT because I've never tried their intakes, but I will just say that *I* have never seen a thread under the "Problems" section having to do with a KKM intake. Dollar for dollar, I don't think there's a better way to go. If you want to mod and mod and mod, by all means go all-out and get the Weapon-R w/ air box & "ram air" tube from CustomCougars. If you're just content to have an open-air filter, I see no reason to get anything *but* the KKM. And like topgunz & fett said, they sound mean as hell at WOT.

[BazookaJOE]

I have to agree with Arizona

KKm was my first mod. I had just the intake and I noticed a power difference. I did notice my gas milage went down though. That could be partially due to the fact that my foot was always on the floor. You car sounds completley different also.

JOE

[ArizonaCougar]

Oh definitely...the lead-foot effect will be noticed once adding an intake i.e., your mileage might go down due to stomping on the gas to hear the sound. Along those same lines, though, I got 29mpg on the way back from the Can-Am Cruise last year with only a KKM and YD Duals (also, I've got an ATX). I don't know about everybody else, but that was an enormous gain for me over stock.

[Fett]

Originally posted by: JF
Right Fett.............................. That stock intake is sooooooooooo open, that air just rockets right through it. Loose power and quickness???????
I'd like to see the dyno plots showing that. KKM was my first mod in Feb 99. It made a difference by itself and it made even better gains after adding headers exhaust. I'm just not clear on how a KKM causes loss of power and quickness.

Ok, for starters what was the first thing I said...HRMMM? Hey I know, let's go back and look....



Sound is great, but if you have no other performance mods to complete it, then you will loose power and quickness.

Now lets dive deeper into your obviously educated comments. As mentioned above, heat soak is a HUGE problem, especially in Florida...where I also happen to live. If heat was not a problem, then why all the hoopla surrounding "cold air intakes", and various ways of getting colder air into the engine?

The bottom line is that you loose low end torque with an open element filter, and when you add hot air into the mix, you will lose not gain.

I have experimented time and time again with this topic, and I really don't feel like typing it all out again. However, armed with only a G-tech, and open road, a weekend to kill, two open element filters, and two V6 MTX Cougars...I was able to prove it. With filter, slower times (not by a whole lot), and less power. With stock filter, quicker times, more power. I will be more than glad to do a full scale experiment at the dyno next to where I work, if you want to pay the $50 dyno fee.

[JF]

No need, learned something new today. Sorry, I wasn't aware of your experiment. All I read was the statement above. If I had 50 bucks for a dyno I'd have done tests myself. Time for me to complete a cold air system.

[Fett]

One day I would really like to set aside an afternoon and run some real dyno tests on my stock Cougar with and without the intake, but unfortunatly I have a very hectic life right now.

I will most likely talk to the guys this weekend and see if they are up for letting me play with their dyno.

[ArizonaCougar]

True, Fett...and I didn't mention heat soak in my post, either, which I probably should have. I suppose I just neglect to even consider it as the road temps in AZ are so damned high in the summer anyway, that I expect a substantial loss in power.

Let me ask you this, though...honest question - not trying to be a smart-ass. How will a "snorkel" (aka, Weapon R ram-air tube) or any other ghetto setup somebody rigs combat heat soak in the summer time in Florida or Arizona? For instance, I could run a tube through my wheel well down into the grill to get "cooler" air while driving (and presumptively a performance gain), but if I'm stuck in traffic on one of the surface streets with jet-black asphalt (not that I'm going to need performance then), I'll still heat soak - "ram air" or not. Do you disagree? I'd appreciate your opinion... Thanks in advance.

[caenus]

Fett is telling the truth with the intake, or at least any open element intake. They do increase your MAX HP by 3 hp or so, but keep in mind, thats max. As you accelerate you have torque and hp numbers at each rpm (look at a dyno). Usually with intakes, I've seen the hp curve get higher near the end, but lower in the beginning. So as fett said you lose power and low end torque, but once you get moving in the upper rpms, you should feel a gain. I know when I got my injen intake (first mod) it felt a hell of a lot faster, but now looking back 9months I think it was mostly psychological. Hearing the intake and hearing the louder engine seems to make you think you're moving faster.

The low end loss might be because of heat soak as well. A few months ago I noticed lots of heatsoak when sitting at a light for more then 30 sec. Car really felt bogged down when you went to accelerate. I've been working on my own air box (which some S. FL members have seen) and with my airbox half done, and a 3" flexible tube run down the fender, and popping out underneath the car (no one can see it) I've eliminated virtually all of my heatsoak. I can now sit at a light for at least 90 secs without heatsoak. 90 sec was approx the longest I've had to wait. If anyone wants to send me dyno money, I am willing to show gains/losses :) And btw I won't be selling my airbox so please don't ask. It'll be pretty easy for anyone to make, and no its not aluminum or metal.

Also, KKM is a good intake like the others. One thing I didn't like about the KKM and reason I got an injen was the accordian tube. I don't think the KKM intake replaces that tube, however the injen does. Might do noting for performance, but I think the intake tube looks better, IMO.

[OutlawStar]

Thanks for answering my questions. I am now planning on getting a KKM intake for sure. I was gonna go with the K&N air charger kit but its not street legal and it costs 150$ more than the KKM intake.

[B3NN3TT]

Originally posted by: caenus
One thing I didn't like about the KKM and reason I got an injen was the accordian tube. I don't think the KKM intake replaces that tube, however the injen does. Might do noting for performance, but I think the intake tube looks better, IMO.


Exactly why I didn't go with the KKM. Sure, an open element will get better results than the stock box, but why go half-way? ASeems to me the aluminum stack cuts down the turbulence, plus the diameter is a little larger. BAT sells the stack alone; you can get a stack and a MAF adapter from BAT and slap a big ol' K&N on it. It gets my endorsement... photo attached-

[MrFroge]

I installed the KKN made for the Contour ( it has the cold air fender intake).. My problem that the straight pipe and MAF unit are all polished metal and sitting in traffic or at low speed, the engine compartment heats them, and thus the air inside, to the point you can't touch them with your hand..

Currently I'm experimenting with plastic coatings ( those that don't outgas) to insulate the airflow from the engine compartment heat..

[Frank]

I'm with Fett on this.

My car used to run:

16.1 with the open-element K&N (similar to KKM, but better)
16.0 with the Contour SVT airbox and paper filter
15.9 with a slightly modded SVT airbox and a K&N filter

I have around 15-20 timeslips to back this trend up.

Dyno data:

155HP with the Open K&N and engine bay cool
147HP with the Open K&N and engine bay warm
152HP with the SVT airbox and PAPER, engine bay cool
149HP with the SVT airbox and PAPER, engine bay warm

That's compared to the SVT airbox... compared to the stock airbox, you MIGHT get 5 horsepower on a cool car with no hood... and you might just break-even when the engine bay is warm and the car is moving... wow, that sure is worth $100! (or $150+ for the more blingin' intakes out there)

Intakes add sound, but they don't significantly change the performance of your Cougar. In my case, they just made the car more tempermental (fast one day, slow the next) as the ECU was constantly trying to adjust for the changes in air density when the car was moving vs. sitting in traffic.

Also... it doesn't matter much summer vs. winter. It's always ALOT hotter in the engine bay than it is the fenderwell. I wouldn't be surprised if the temperature difference isn't HIGHER in the winter, when ambient air is so cold, but the engine is still cookin' at 190-210 degrees.

Heatshields are a possibilty, but they also compromise flow characteristics, while still not sealing the intake from engine bay heat (and remember, air is going to take the path of least resistance when the engine is sucking a massive 250CFM, and it will find a way around that heatshild). End result is probably still a wash, give or take 1-2hp.

The best solution is to relocate the filter to the region between the front bumper cover and the fenderwell... and this is what I'm currently trying to get moving on!

[JF]

Frank, Thanks for that data. I've been toying around with relocation of the filter element to the fender well, front bumper too. The only catch for me so far has been finding the best material for the tubing. Thanks again for sharing the info.

[Croc]

I have the Injen intake and I noticed a positive power/acceleration difference after installing it. I never experienced any heatsoak. I got higher gas milage, when I wasn't mashing the pedal to hear the intake! After the installation of my stainless y-pipe, high-flow cat and dual yodude, I was on a short road trip to my buddy at U of I and I had my gas milage guage keyed up on the dash and I was averaging about 27-28mpg @ 80-85mph. Not sure if it could be better, but I was happy!

[cougarXR7]

Originally posted by: Fett
Sound is great, but if you have no other performance mods to complete it, then you will loose power and quickness.

I have the weapon R dragon intake with stock exhaust, I cannot feel loss in power in the lower rpm's, and my tires break loose through the 1 to 2 shift more so than they did before I added the intake. Sorry I know this is a little off topic. I'm sure the kkm should be a quality product I know a few people around me who use there products and they never complain about any of them.

[Eminem]

All you guys with this heatsoak problem should just move to Canada. I've never had a problem with road temperature haha

[NorCalCoug]

You will NOT Experience heatsoak when the car is in motion. When the car is in motion, engine bay temperatures are equivalent to outside air temperatures, give or take 3 degrees. Heat soak will kill you off the line, yes, but in motion you are getting air from outside.

Dyno testing of the Mirko Racing intake, for example, showed an 8hp gain throughout the rev range and a 2lb/ft torque gain throughout the rev range. I was there, I watched as the Dyno was done, I even helped put the car up on it and swap out the intakes. For control sake, the car had the ECU reset, then run on stock airbox. Then had ECU reset, then run on the intake w/GreenFilters cotton gauze air filter. (Conical).

G-Tech runs with my car on stock intake were a full .15 seconds slower than with the aftermarket intake. My gas mileage was also better, and I documented it.

:shrug: Your mileage and gains may vary.