Looking at a Spectre type of air intake, it says that a "Blade or Boot in style MAF' can be used. Is either one of these better than the other? It looks like I would have to change the connector if I use the blade type, looks to be a cleaner install. with the boot in style no connector needed. Not sure how this one would look. This is for my "03" 6.0L

 

The "boot" type is the earlier type, more than likely what you have now. The blade type inserts into an adapter screwed into a tube. Either way it needs to be connected to the rest of the system.

 

The "boot" or "screen" type MAF has a different calibration in the ECM than a "blade" type used on later models. This requires some changes in the tune to run properly. Also the power and ground wires need to be switched because the terminal position is different. I made these changes for my swap so I could use a blade MAF instead of the boot type my engine would have come with. I wanted the blade MAF because I just think it looks cleaner; they mount directly to a tube and don't require boots on both sides. Also you can put the blade type MAF in a less restrictive large tube. Lots of people have used both. If you want the least headache, use whatever your engine, ECM, and wire harness came with.