Will a RECIPROCATING SAW work to cut the hole in the fender well for a CAI?CAI

 

Probably not since 1) there is not much room in that area to work with and 2) the metal in some parts are thicker then you think.

What I did since I did not have a dremel was to layout the template, drill small holes all around, very close to each other, put in a bigger bit and drill the same holes again. Then I took a chisel and just hammered the small area between the holes. You will end up with a lot of teeths with this method. Then I placed a plastic liner, like the ones that go on the edge of your door so it won't ding other cars, inside the hole so it covers all the teeths and thus won't scratch your intake pipe. It worked for me.

 

A saws-all (sp?) does wonders.

 

Plasma cutter if you got one.

 

Or a James Bond laser watch if you have one of those.

 

a dremel is your friend.

 

You can do the drill thing but I did mine with an awl and a hammer. You do have to deal with the area that is thicker under the battery shelf nut but you can get really close holes with the awl. Then just start banging it out. You can finish with a sawzall if you have one or some cutters.

 

a Sawzall is a type of Reciprocating saw, it's just a brand name

it could work, but it's a little hard to control it

 

I used this:



I bought one at Home Depot for ~$6. It took awhile, but it works well and leaves a relatively smooth edge. Good for someone who doesn't have a ton of power tools (like myself).

 

A couple of M100s might do the job also.

 

Mizeree_X, what is that? Does it drill a hole then let you cut with the middle part?

 

Yup, exactly. You drill a hole with it then move the middle part up and down as you apply pressure in the direction you want to cut. It's a pretty cool little bit.

 

anyone have any pics of their CAI?

 

Yup check my site (in my sig or the WWW at the bottom).

BTW on topic for the post. I used a hole saw but since I had to do some modifying I used a sawzall to finish it up. It worked great but I had my fender off (for other reasons) and no fender liner.

 

A sawzall will do the job. I heard the dremel can do it but you're going to burn through a sh*tload of heavy duty metal cutting discs. Just be careful with the sawzall because it can take a wrong turn here n there and get away from you and you're going to need at least 4-7 metal cutting saw blades to do the complete job.

 

4-7 blades . Not unless they are some major cheap blades. I used the blade on my Sawzall that hadnt been changed in a while and I have used it to cut exhaust pipe and some 1/8" steel when Craig B was here (for his sway bar bracket). It still cut through the thin sheetmetal of the maxima like butter...even the reinforced part.

If any one goes through that many blades to cut the hole for the CAI then they need to invest in better blades LOL. The blade I was using is just a black and decker from WalMart so its not like it was an expensive special blade.

Just be sure to use the right blade (designed for thin metal) that will have a fine tooth pattern. A course tooth pattern will not work very well.

 

Anyone have the hole template for 89-94 maximas for the cold air intake install?

 

I know, it's what I used. A lil rough yes, but tin snips can fix your mistakes

 

i got a template. send me your e-mail addy

 

I know littlepiggie has a template, just pm him or email him, i'm sure he'll help you.

 

 

Just make sure to paypal him money before you get your template, he'll get back to you right away