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Stock Airbox Mod .... Is it worth it?

7K views 24 replies 13 participants last post by  Qyn 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, In my quest for stock appearance + maximum performance...

I have though this up...




What do you all think ?

Is it worth it?

here is what my engine bay looks like at the moment.. I will soon be rid of this KSpec intake manifold and i'll be swapping back to a stock ported manifold.... Prooven to go 4 tenths of a second faster than the crapspec...





so far... my sleeper look modifications include:

1. Stock Heat shield for the 1.8L elantra header.. ( See picture above*)
2. Stock airbox and plastic battery heat shield plate.. (see picture above*)


My future plans will include:

1. Stock intake manifold (ported)
2. Stock engine cover plastics.
3. Stock intake elbow... I still need someone to source this for me from their stock parts... I'll buy one for $20 shipped if anyone wants to sell me their stock one?



Sweet :)
 
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#2 ·
After I saw your post yesterday I have been thinking about doing the same thing. I want to keep it looking stock also; however, I'm debating removing that extra resavour on the elbow like you did, just want to make the trip a little smoother.

Is there a reason becides looking stock that you want a stock elbow with that resavour on it?
 
#3 ·
I removed all the material that wasn't necessary from the bottom of the air box so the air has a straight shot through the bottom of the box into the panel filter. I left the rim where the filter sits intact and left enough of the plastic from the bottom housing so that the three bolts on the bottom of the box still connect to the rim where the filter sits. Plus I switched to a K&N hi-perf panel filter. I'm still using the stock air box top and the stock air tube from the filter box to the aluminum air intake on the engine.

There is definitely an increase in noise. The first time I modified the bottom of the box, I'd just drilled 2" diameter holes in the sides and bottom of the air box and I must have hit a resonant frequency because it was very loud! After trimming the bottom of the box more, it's gotten acceptably quieter but it's still louder than stock.

As for performance, I think I percieve a decrease in lag between the time I step on the gas and when the car accelerates, and a bit more torque at the low end and power on the high end of the RPM range. Of course, I'm drawing in the warmer air from under the hood, so I don't know if the decrease in air resistance overcomes the increase in air temperature. I wish I had a dyno...
 
#6 ·
:diablo: To add to your already good idea here is one of my own Ford. Add a piece of plastic conduit to your modified airbox that leads to an enlarged hole in the fender, or even better out through the hole into the fender well behind the wheel well. Thus a stock appearing CAI !
 
#8 ·
slvrsleeper said:
:diablo: To add to your already good idea here is one of my own Ford. Add a piece of plastic conduit to your modified airbox that leads to an enlarged hole in the fender, or even better out through the hole into the fender well behind the wheel well. Thus a stock appearing CAI !

lol... thats what I originally installed when I first bought the car... it was awesome like that... but I flooded my engine once ... luckily it didnt damage anything...

then i switched to a complete 3 inch CAI and that produced the BEST results so far... either way... i'm going for the stock look now so I wont be going back to the full CAI.

I'm still considering options for getting cold air up to the stock airbox.... THe biggest problem is the location of the battery... it is too close to the fender to get a decent sized air duct up to the airbox.... Its still possible to re-position the battery tray like I did with the 3 inch CAI but that will make it noticable....
 
#11 · (Edited)
jameswing said:
...

kylemorg- Do you have any pics of your "box"?
I feel like I'm hijacking FordFasteRR's thread.

I'll take some snapshots this weekend and post them under a new thread.

Somewhat Off Topic:
I'm also trying to rig a heat shield that will separate most of the engine bay from the right side (if you're standing at the front bumper; basically trying to extend the plastic heat shield down to the bottom of the radiator. I hand-bent some aluminum and riveted it up sloppy just to test it out, but it seemed to create too much resistance and looked ugly. However, some air can get past the aluminum tube on the right side, so I've also started tinkering with some sheet aluminum bolted to the side of the radiator. I'm also going to fabricate some aluminum to fit between the radiator support panel and the bumper/plastic grilles to funnel a bit of fresh air over to the air intake side of the car.

Way Off Topic:
It was nice setting up a home-built CAI with my old 1989 Subaru Justy; the radiator only took up 2/3 of the grille area and there was a metal plate covering the rest of the opening (on the same side as the factory air intake snorkel). On that car, I was able to cut a hole in the metal plate, trim a funnel to fit between the plastic grille and that opening, and use the flexible heat-riser aluminum tubing to duct right into the factory air box -- basically a Ram-Air setup. It was really funny to do that with a 3 cylinder 1.2 liter engine!
 
#18 · (Edited)
racedude48 said:
well if i was going for the sleeper look i would definitley put my money into the inside of the motor and make it as fast as possible without having outside modifications
and who said I have outside modifications ?


jameswing said:
hows that running compared to the stock hole? Looks functional, but deffiantly not pretty.

I just went for a spin... it actually sounds much better than with the stock hole and it does seem to pull slightly harder with the wider hole....

overall, I think its the perfect mod for the sleeper look... now i want the K&N panel filter...

Next comes the stock intake manifold !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#19 · (Edited)
A long time ago, I saw this from PSC in Australia. I asked if they were going to make one for XD, and they said it was in developement. That has been almost 2 years now. I have a drop in K&N panel filter, and would love one of these. These are for the J2. You can see in the second picture, the size of the opening before and after the intake was attached (Basically, what Ford was going for). Wonder if getting the bottom part, or just the intake, it could be modded to work? Hmm...
 

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#20 · (Edited)
I saw that too & it was made from CF. & according to thier web page it drew cooler air since the CF insulated better than the metal. the only drawback was it was 200 $AU of about 120 USD. before shipping & I was not sure if it was the same spec, ie fitment for the US cars. so many questions, so few answers, it is too bad the OZ is soooo far from the US. do you have the web page with the info, I lost it
 
#23 ·
Hi I can't see your pics, can you up-load them again please.
I've had a look under mine today and there is this "airbox" in behind the lower bumper and inner guard.

I removed a bit of the inner guard and could see this box/intake and wondered "were is the intake"?
Had a feel around but couldn't find it. So I thought what if I drilled a big hole in the front with my hole saw?

I also found this pipe coming out on the raditor side that goes up and keeps air supplied to the battery.
Could you use this? Run a hose off it and into the side of the air filter box?
That way the stock box would get air from the front then pass it up the air filter via the battery pipe and stock route.
Like to know whats in the bottom intake befre I go putting holes in it.

Mike.
 
#25 ·
Hello rugby1au! I'd advise making a new thread with your questions about the intake, and to look at other threads on the issue. This one is from 2004, and it's unlikely that those pics will ever return.
 
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