Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

Hello all,


New to this forum. I just bought a used vehicle. It's in good shape. Although it does need a tune up. I bought a 2008 Mazda Tribute. It's got a 2.3 Liter 4-cylinder engine. It's hard going from owning a small car to this but my wife and I will manage. The Mazda Tribute is actually almost the exact same as the 2008 Ford Escape. Learned that from the salesman.

I am looking into getting a cold air intake or new muffler for this vehicle. I actually prefer a cold air intake. Although I can't find one that's already assembled for my type of vehicle. I think I will have to find a mechanic that can make one for me. I prefer the cold air intake because I think (if I'm wrong please let me know) it will be quieter than a new aftermarket muffler. Also more air into the engine means more power and a little bit better fuel economy. I know not that much but every bit helps.

I'm not looking into getting those huge mufflers that usually pass me by on the road lol. Just something that is geared for fuel economy than the stock muffler. Any advice would be great.

Thank you.

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

actually if you are going purely on fuel economy, I would get neither. less restricted flow does mean more power but not better FE. if you think about it a freer flowing intake will make more power but if you are only going to crack the throttle body just a bit, it won't make a difference. the same with the exhaust.

usually an intake will run between $150 and $300 usually. an exhaust system can be $100 to $600 depending on replacing just the muffler vs the entire system and also diameter of pipe and stainless vs regular.

I would take the money I was going to spend on that and either get a scangauge or ultragauge.

https://www.scangauge.com/
https://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm

they will tell you how well you are doing mileage wise. if you really are in the mood for an intake or exhaust, I say go for it. just don't expect better FE from it.

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

What he said.

Flow: Throttle and RPM are your limiting factors here. As long as that throttle is closed, it's a far worse restriction than any intake or exhaust. As long as RPM is low the demand for air is far lower than the free flow rate of the intake and exhaust. If you're concerned about fuel economy then you are not using wide open throttle at high RPM very often.

Temperature: An aftermarket CAI won't change your intake air temperature. Modern vehicles come from the factory with a CAI. Anyway, colder air won't help fuel economy.

If you are interesting in making maximum power all the time, you might increase that slightly, assuming Mazda's engineers were asleep on the job. If they were doing their job reasonably well then intake and exhaust upgrades won't do you any good without some way to use the additional flow capacity (like a tune).

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

beef is right, go with the scan gauge and bump up the tire pressure to sidewall max. Money well spent

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

I second the motion and vote to adjourn the meeting.

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

can we open the floor to wild accusations?

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

Denied!

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

It is an Escape. The door sticker might even state something along the lines of, "made by Ford for Mazda." Any differences are cosmetic. The six cylinders might be different. So you can use Ford Escape or even Mercury Mariner for future research on parts, modifications, care, etc. for your Tribute. Since it was sold smaller relative numbers, you'd likely have better luck using Escape over Tribute starting out.

I agree with what else has been said. Invest in one of those gauges, and then just practice driving for economy before trying mods. Most fuel economy improvements come from the driver.

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

I second this motion.

Re: Cold air intake or new muffler?
 

Sir, you are out of order! :)