Check the post entitled "Air Box Filter Silencer" on the 5th gen forum. This mod really sounds like it can work and has been track tested to do better than a POP charger on the same car. If you want more power, less noise, and a stock appearance, I suggest you consider this mod. I will be doing it tonight in place of my HKS intake. I'll post my "butt dyno" results tonight.


Dave

 

Well, guys I went ahead and did this mod. I can't tell a difference between this mod and my HKS intake. My car pulls just as hard, but very quietly. I bought a K&N filter panel to go along with this mod. The car feels much smoother at WOT. I wish I had done this mod in the first place. Here's the setup:

Using the stock airbox, locate the intake inlet that starts above the radiator. Where the inlet pipe dips down, there should be a Y-pipe. The pipe coming in is from a intake resonator located under the battery. Remove this pipe from the resonator. Take a 2.5" piece of vacumn hose and run it from under the bumper into the intake inlet at the Y-pipe. Now you've got cool air coming from over the radiator and from under the nose. I'm using a K&N filter panel. I also removed the intake resonator box that sits inbetween the throttle body and MAF. I used some left over HKS parts to do this.


Dave

 

Did you take any pictures?

 

Not yet. Nothing looks that much different. Pretty much the whole modification is getting rid of the two stock intake resonators (one under the battery and one between the throttle body and MAF sensor) and running a K&N filter panel.

The great thing about this mod is that keeps all heat soak out of the airbox and only fresh air is coming in. I think too many of us get caught up in believing aftermarket intakes really add a lot of hp. They don't, especially on a hot day.

Check out the Air Intake Mod at the 5th gen post to learn more.


Dave

 

I wonder what would happen if i did this and removed my PR CAI. WOuld i still have the same gains w/o worries about water and snow? Maybe i would even gain some of my low-end back. No noise is always better.

 

Dave great research but just one note.

My CLEAN K&N panel filter always felt great right when it was new and right after I cleaned it(totally stock airbox). But after a few thousand miles, the nice intake sucking noise was gone and the car didn't feel as crisp throttle response wise.

I ran a panel filter for about 10k and cleaned it about 2-3 times. Same result everytime.

So give a few thousand and see if you still have the same opinion. Hopefully you will. Good luck.

 

how much power do you guys think this mod will give? I did it to my car and I'm wondering. I haven't been able to tell much if any of a difference yet. thanks

 

I've always wanted to get rid of that reson8tor b-tween the tb and the MAF......but never could find anything to put in its place......cuz I need the two vacuum line inlets....what are good items to use for that....besides the HKS intake stuff? Ene1 know?

 

My car feels even stronger now after driving it with the revised intake box. I didn't reset my computer, so maybe it's adjusted to a slightly leaner setting. What's really weird is that my car now pulls well into the 6000+ range. Before (with the HKS), I felt the car getting flat right at 5900. I'm gonna have to adjust my shiftlight to a slightly higher shift rpm. I will dyno soon and the track opens in 2 1/2 weeks. I want a good answer to whether or not I lost or gained power. My butt can't tell a difference, but with a loud intake, it does give the sensation of going faster.

As for bypassing the resonator in between the TB and MAF. I think there is only really one good way of doing this. Contact PLace Racing and buy their part that goes in place of the resonator. It costs $60 and is well worth it. There are too many headaches trying to find connections and the correct diameter piping to work. I got lucky since I had the HKS intake. I was able to run some extra vacumn line and a "T" joint and I was done.

Jeff-
I'm not getting any "sucking" sound. I barely hear any noise at all except some light engine noise (sounds good) and a little exhaust noise from my wrapped Y-pipe and B-pipe. I'll let you know in few thousand miles what is going on. I might run without a filter at the track and use some panty hose over the intake inlet.


Dave

 

I did something kinda similar with the OEM air box---

Except I removed the whole pieces from the bottom of the air filter box up to the top of the radiator... It felt like the top end gained power --- but I think it suffers from heat soak when idling for long periods ---

Intake temp reading goes from ambient temp up to about 130F on a hot day and stuck idling in heavy traffic ---


I just bought an entire CAI unit --- and since I don't have good cutting tools to put the whole pipe in, I will start just with the upper piece between the throttle body and MAF...
I'll try playing around with the stock resonator plastic piece that goes to the radiator top as well ---

 

This is what I did, and I can now tell drastic differences in performance both high and low end...I took the resonator out completely; I bought a a 2.5" flex hose from Western Auto that I clamped onto the 90 degree elbow coming off the air intake; I ran this hose to the bottom of the car where the plastic pan stuff on the bottom front of the car has a small gap at the back of it; I made a small cut out in the shape of an ellipse and rigged a small lip taped to the flex hose which scoops cold air in from under the car. There is a small difference in the way the engine sounds (it sounds really good now; it's a little deeper), and off the line the car will now spin the tires for about 4 or 5 seconds compared to about 2 before. I do have a K&N filter panel too. This mod is a must for anyone who wants maybe 10 HP for about $8. In all I spent $8 and about 1 hour 15 minutes doin it.

 

Yep, if you can get rid of both resonators, the VQ sounds very good, BUT it is far from loud. My HKS intake was incredibly loud. When I dynoed, a shop tech came out of the office and asked what in the hell had been to my car. He had never heard a intake so loud and deep. I got tired of the noise. Hopefully my car still performs like it did. I can handle a negative 1-2 hp difference. Hell, maybe I gained some torque. It sure feels like I did. Running this setup should flow pretty good and most importantly is that it won't heat soak. It has two slightly pressurized sources of cooler air which should really help at the track.

Dave

 

Lets see some pics.. =) It would be great if more people could confirm that the mod works. Also, the PR CAI mid-pipe. The one that eliminates the resonator for 60 dollars. Do you think it has any gains?

ZuM

 

I'm very interested in more explanations of this. I hate my pop charger, its loud and gets too dirty too easy.

 

The Place Racing CAI still probably has a slight advantage over the this intake due to the fact that the CAI piping is round, has slightly more volume, uses a higher flowing cone intake, and has a velocity stack. BUT, after looking at the stock airbox and the intake setup in general, I have a hard time believing the a CAI has a huge advantage in power. It might make a few more hp, maybe. The stock airbox has a great setup, but the two intake resonators do hamper flow quite a bit. The resonator between the MAF and throttle body isn't extremely restrictive, but every little bit counts. I strongly recommend forking over $60 for the Place Racing piece unless you've got access to a welder.

I'd post pics, but I don't have a digital camera yet. Try it out guys. I'm curious to see what everyone's opinion is.

I think many of us fall into "louder" means faster mentality when we do mods. My HKS intake wailed at WOT which made it feel as if you were flying and this intake just makes a nice soft whoosh. The car is so much smoother at every rpm. The true test comes on 2/11 when the track opens OR if I get my 5th gen muffler mounted and get the car dynoed.

Dave

 

Yup....gotta order the 60 dollar piece soon.....how much to ship it?

 

I have done this same mod to my car over the summer, however i couldn't find a 2.5" hose so i used a 3" one and conformed it to the opening. It seemed to give me some power especially on the bottom end, but it made an annoying resonating sound on the top end, so i got rid of it. I wonder if it was the tubing that made the noise.. do any of you get the noise?

...thinking about this setup just now made me think about bypassing the 'snorkel' thing altogether and just running a hose straight from the airbox to underneath the car.. the airbox inlet is square shaped as i remember.. but it's possible. Any comments on this idea?

 

My intake has no resonating what so ever or annoying sounds. Oddly, it sounds nearly like a BMW inline 6. I used a 2.5" section of vacumn hose and rammed it straight up into the inlet at the y-section. It pops right in. I used some glue just for safety. I too noticed better bottom end pull and my car pulls smoothly thru the entire rpm range straight to 6000-6100. With the HKS intake, I could feel "bumps" and "humps" in the rpm range. I wouldn't suggest pulling the air inlet system and just running hose under the car. Why? Because the intake over the radiator is in a great "pressure" area of the car. The under nose intake I ran is just for a little extra punch. The stock airbox actually becomes pressurized from the intake over the radiator which gives you a nice surge of power right off throttle. The lower intake does work because I pulled my filter yesterday and found a few particles of sand in the filter (sand from out nasty winter streets).

The PLace Racing piece is probably $70 out the door.


Dave