HobHayward

I've seen mention of this, and heard that it'll boost 5 HP, which sounds great for a free mod... And my lack of money makes me want to give it a shot. However, I've had a hard time finding anything using the search, I did find this though: http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=157750

Now before I go and f up my airbox, does anyone have any particular advice, is it worth doing? Is it not gonna screw with anything else?

I have a bone stock '95 max.

Thanks

Also, if you know of any other "free" or cheap DIY mods, let me know, thanks(links are good too, as the list of how-to's no longer has many links that take you to the right place)!

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

Free:

clean your throttle body and IACV
debadge/remove pinstripe
make extra bright cornering lights

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Most of them work for me

...you did read this thread, didn't you? I WAS TOLD TO READ THE STICKIES BUT THE LINKS DON'T WORK!!

Garrick

That looks retarded. You'd be better off just taking off the snorkel, you still lose low-end but you should feel less dumb doing so. Try an OSCAI, it looks more legit, considering he made his own CAI on a 5th Gen. Just search.

99grnmaxgxe

iTrader: (11)

There's a How-To section on here, it should have some low cost mods.

castlemax

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't rely on anything that can be found in the clothing section at your local wal-mart.

HobHayward

I read in another thread here, and saw the dyno graphs of 3 cars that had the GAB done, and gained 9WHP =0

There is another method wit which the GAB has been done, which is to just dremel a huge hole in the airbox, and disconnect the resonators. Has anyone done it themselves with legit results?

Garrick

I removed my snorkel and put some holes in the airbox and I didn't really notice a difference but it sounds really mean when you put a load on the engine. Then I made my own CAI through some link on the 5th Gen how-to section. It's pretty cool but it I don't think it really makes a difference. Do you have the link to this thread about the 9 extra hp? It sounds kind of shady.

mowgli29

iTrader: (21)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=553161

look at post 23.

hot_wax_tree

uh nice idea frenchie!!

Garrick

That's very interesting.

dr-rjp

iTrader: (4)

If you're looking for free to cheap mods, I'm your guy. I have probably experimented with the greatest number of mods ever devised for a stock intake (and have also gotten flamed the most, too).

Not all of them are original ideas, mind you, but more than a few are definitely different. I've also taken existing ideas and made some minor improvements to them as well. For the rest, like drilling holes in the stock air box, I have found them to be counterproductive.

Here's a link to my CarDoman site that explains some of them:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/830246

The first one is what others have done, but with a "twist," literally.

Mod #1: Removing the link to the resonator

Before doing anything, you need to remove the stock intake. The scoop in front is held down with two bolts to the frame. After doing that, you need to remove the resonator elbow. The first 1/3 of the intake has an elbow tube running from the bottom of the intake to the resonator box located where you cannot see anything but the lip to which the elbow is attached. The way to remove the elbow is to grab hold of the elbow at the middle and twist it to the right about a 1/4 turn.

You can also remove it by holding onto the middle of the resonator elbow and rotating the entire intake to the left so that the end part that goes into the box comes free. Basically turning the intake to the left does the same thing as turning the elbow to the right.

The end of the elbow going into the resonator box may come off before the intake end. If so, then you can take out the entire intake and when it is clear of the engine bay, remove the elbow.

Now, here comes the fun part: closing up the hole in the bottom of the intake.

The best thing to use is a paddle ball. It fits nicely against the inside opening of the intake and actually leaves you enough room to reattach the elbow to the intake and back onto the resonator box. Why would you want to do that? Essentially, to provide more support to the intake, make it seem like your intake is stock, or just to know where the darn thing is! :-0

The next best thing to plug the hole is the cap from a plastic spray bottle. The caps from spray paint fit perfectly. You would put the cap in head first (top facing the intake), and then fasten it to the intake with black duct tape or gorilla tape.

You may ask, why not attach a hose or tube to it instead, and place the other end facing an outside source of air?

The answer is that the intake is curved such that any incoming air from the scoop goes downwards into the resonator box. If you get air going up that entrance, the air will head out the scoop instead of going towards your air box. Try it yourself. Put a cool air source like a hair dryer or blower into the hole and put your free hand over the mouth of the scoop. When you feel the rush of air against your palm, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

OK, onto mod #2.

Mod #2: Making the scoop opening larger.

You will need a hole saw that is, at least 2" in diameter but less than 3" in diameter. What you are going to do is to remove the hour glass-shaped divider that is on the inside of the scoop.

Turn the intake over so that the bottom of the scoop is facing upwards. Notice the indentation on the bottom of the scoop? That is what you will be removing with the hole saw. If you are unable to hold the hole saw over the indentation (when your hole saw starts skidding off the scoop), you can use a flat piece of wood that is at least an inch larger than your hole saw, and drill through that first so you can use it to steady the hole saw in place.

If you place your scoop over a block of wood, or on a workbench, you can knock out both the top and bottom of the scoop divider at the same time. If not, then you can simply turn it over after cutting through the bottom half of the scoop, and proceed to cut through the top of the scoop.

When you're done, you will need to cover up the holes. You can use the remaining plastic from the container you used (or will use) to make the scoop extender (Mod #3 below) to cut out pieces that are, of course, wider than the openings, and then proceed to tape or glue them to the top and bottom of the scoop.

These pieces do not need to be round. you can cut them into squares, rectangles, or any sized polygon that will fit without extending beyond the edges of the scoop.

When done, you wil have a much wider opening for the outside air to enter. If you have a heat gun, you can also widen the opening even more by heating the top of the scoop and pushing upwards against it with a flat object, like with a board, to raise up the top of the scoop. DON'T TOUCH THE PLASTIC SCOOP YET. IT WILL STILL BE HOT!

If you do us a heat gun, please wear a mask that is designed to filter out toxic fumes like those produced when heating polystyrene or PVC pipe.

Mod #3 Now comes the last mod. The scoop extender.

The scoop extender is designed to redirect incoming air upwards towards the mouth of the scoop so that the volume of intake air increases with speed.

My CarDomain page has a photo of this mod.

You begin the process by acquiring a plastic jug or container that has been used for dispensing one of the following:

crystal cat litter
dry cat food or dog food
liquid laundry detergent (64oz jug)
gallon water jug

You can use any other container made of plastic that has a wide flat side and a narrow small side. If you find another type of plastic container, please let me know and I'll include it here.

What you are going to do is to cut out a piece from the bottom half of the container so that you end up with something that looks like a dust pan without the handle.

By the way, the first thing you may notice on my CarDomain site is that my "stock" intake is white. The white coating is liquid ceramic that insulates the intake from heat inside the engine bay. If you want to do yours like mine, I can provide the details.

Now, when you have carved out a piece that looks like mine or something close to it, the next step would be to attach it flush with the bottom edge of the scoop and use black (or white) duct tape to fasten it. The extender then justs hangs downward facing the inside of your grille.

You need not worry about water hitting it and possibly going into the intake. If you make yours out of a container that has a large, flat side, then any water that hits it will splash outwards to the sides instead of going upwards.

There are probably better looking ways to attach it than tape, but I don't know of any that would not require drilling holes ito the frame.

If you have any questions, PM me.

PS: here is one last mod that is free and quick. Lift up your hood, and look under the front part (where it attaches to the grill). There is a rubber strip that is used to isolate the engine bay from the outside. It runs across the entire length of hood EXCEPT for a open space put there to allow incoming air to pass into the scoop.

What it does, in effect, is produce one of the most inefficient intakes I have ever seen. It forces incoming air to change direction 90 degrees upwards towards the top of the hood where it has to make another 90 degree turn to get into the scoop.
In total, the air has to pass through THREE NARROW SPACES even before it gets to your air box. If that is not bad enough, then consider that beneath the scoop is a hot radiator that will heat up the incoming air, thus robbing you of the power you paid for.

You can reduce this heating source by putting an insulating surface between the scoop and the radiator top -- something like a kitchen "hot plate pad," or heat-resistant insulating foam.

But I digress.

You will probably notice, right off the bat, that this section of hood (within the rubber strip) is fairly dirty. That dirt actually impedes the passage of the intake air after it makes it's second, 90 degree turn to get into the scoop.

Now, if you clean that area and wax it really good, you will have a nice, slippery surface with very little resistance for the incoming air to pass over.

Pyromaniac1050

iTrader: (6)

might as well go to ebay and find youself a deal on a p.o.s short ram

Garrick

Have you read any of this thread, or are you trying to get your post count up?

KyleFort32

iTrader: (3)

^^ definatly me before i lost my 15 post virginity

Garrick

^^ You lost me, speak in full sentences.

Pyromaniac1050

iTrader: (6)

you caught me. sorry mr senior member. but yes i did read this thread, im just sayin that you can sometimes find a good deal on a crappy little intake on ebay. i got one for my old t-bird and that cost me $30 shipped. you guys really dont make it easy for newbies................the hazing will now commence.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

I've got my old air intake bottom half with holes drilled in it if you want to put it on and then if you change your mind about it you can just take it off.

btw all of the stuff yall are posting about is for 5th gens. they get the gains from the GAB etc.

honor_your_life

I suggest not going the cheap way. That airbox mod certainly is ghetto, I would go a better way. But it isn't my car, I wish you luck with your ghetto mods.

-Ryan,

Garrick

Reference already made, thanks.

Garrick

But we're not discussing a "crappy" intake this is something that potentially improve our cars.

dr-rjp

iTrader: (4)

OK...here's an absolutely free mod that will give people with a stock intake an instant 10% increase in power!!

Nothing to add. No tools required.

What is it?

Pull the hood release and let the hood stay latched in a partially open position. The power increase you'll get comes compliments of removing the obstacles that the outside air has to travel before it ever gets to your throttle body.

Seriously, though, just think of the possibilities if the incoming air did not have to snake its way up over the frame, under the hood, and then squeeze itself through to the skinny, little mouth of the snorkel.

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

HobHayward

Hmmm....................... If I try *anything* it'll just be the ghetto CAI, seems a tad more legit.

Speaking of the OSCAI - I couldn't find the how to, does anyone know where it is?

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

You want a good mod for your intake? Don't touch it. It's good the way it is. You'll just ruin it trying to make your own intake. Stock box gives the best overall performance. You lose power from one area of the curve with HAI or CAI. Stay stock and don't screw with it. I have no idea where you got 5hp gain from cutting your box haha. That's crazy. As everyone already said, the link you posted in 5th gen so it helps you none anyways. Point of this rambling is that you shouldn't screw with your intake. Stay stock and move on to a different DIY mod.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

It's just noise.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

edit- wow great post from my cell phone....pos.

MorpheusZero

iTrader: (10)

+1. Sure does sound cool if you're bored though.

dr-rjp

iTrader: (4)

Yes, I agree. This is excellent advice for anyone who is deathly afraid to remove or replace anything that does not have Nissan's stamp of approval...which includes absolutely everything that is not OE, such as K&N filters, etc.

But...for the rest of us who have long since gotten over our fear of futzing around under the hood, the only thing you have to lose is the other guy in the stock 4th Gen you left sitting at the light.

Look...it's not that the 4th Gen stock box sucks...

..it's that the stock box does not suck enough!

Air, glorious air.

Want to see how Nissan could have done it right? Take a look at the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer's stock intake: the filter box is about where our battery is located, and their scoop is sitting exactly where our scoop is sitting, except that the scoop is wider in width and height and has no silly obstructions in the middle of it.

In other words, like Mod #2.

I agree that drilling holes in the air box produces more sound but less substance. Hot air will kill your performance faster than a red light in your rear view.

However, if you correctly do the three simple mods that I proposed:

• blocking off the resonator inlet to the intake;
• removing the "hour-glass" obstruction from the middle of the scoop, and
• adding the "extender" to the scoop's front edge

all those OEM stock-boxed 4th Gens will be eating your dust.

It's your ride.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

wow ive never seen guys get so critical over something worth gains significant to that of a change in outside temperature.

like Freeway said...its a noise maker. if your dieing to modify something, cut the holes in the box and satisfy the ricer inside you. I wish yall would put all that effort into discovering things that actually need improvement.

lilaclucymaxima

iTrader: (16)

Back when my max was an auto I had my stock air box hacked for a week or so. Sounded good, lost low-end power. So I got rid of it. If you're looking for more noise without losing power... pr style cai (about $30-$40 on ebay) with stock resonator, but that's irrelevant to your question anyway. To answer your question, it's not worth doing.

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

haha I have no idea why I got yelled at that I'm afraid to take off the stock box haha. Just because I say stock box is best does not mean I'm afraid of anything none stock. That's just stupid. When I see dyno's on that wide mouth add on then maybe I'll agree. Otherwise I'm sticking to the other dyno's I've seen that show stock has a better curve.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

I just feel like people aren't looking at the big picture here. So lets say you cut a hole in your box or whatever and the dyno shows a magical 5 horsepower difference. I dont see how this transforms your car into a stock maxima smokin' machine...because...it doesnt. I'm not trying to be a pessimist or kill creativity here but I dont see why people are still fighting for this.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

OMG! Hahahahahaha!!

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

yeah I just don't understand why people are still saying to do OSCAI when its been proven to not be that good for your car. If you look around most guys that have been here a long time, and are not boosted, have gone through intakes and gone back to stock. No matter what after market intake you put on it does not make your car better. It main gain something, but loses something else. Proven. Not sure how there is still an argument for this. Yea modifying the stock intake could be a good thing but nothing big. Just wish people could look at dyno's and if they have ideas, dyno them. Get the facts straight for everyone.

HobHayward

More of the issue lies in that a lot of people DO believe in these mods. It certainly makes it confusing for the noobs like me, who get mixed messages.

So, TBH I dunno what to think atm, I'm not inclined to think that mods from someone who leaves their hood unlatched while driving would have much merit... But I did see dyno's, and hear from vets that it can make a difference =/

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

that's what I'm saying...where did you see a dyno showing better results from making your own CAI? I've done research on here and there is no thread I could find that actually proves the gains. People say average 5hp but nobody has shown that. And I'm not sure the temp is dropped that much. Average of 1/2hp for every 1 less degree. That could be possible in the wheel well but still unproven. I can't find any specific dyno proving CAI are better now. I was all about them before but they do take away high end power as well. I just think that having stock, which produces good low and high end is enough when you're doing other engine mods as well. If you're only a low end guy, then get a CAI. It'll boost low end (potentially) and take some of your highend away. If you're good with that then do it.

btw: I'd like to know which vets have said that stock sucks. From my head most vets are either boosted or stock intake...Def not all of them, but most that I am thinking of at the moment.

HobHayward

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....1&postcount=23

That ^^^ He says GAB is good...=/

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

learn to link to a single post rather than the whole thread which has all of 4 posts even relevant to this one. Click on the post number and there ya go.

and in response to your "gab is good" he has a 5th gen and those are the cars that have any minimal gains from this "modification". It has already been stated many times in this thread.

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

Yeah he's running 5th gen stock box...and he has it modified. He's not running a hacked box. Its a ghetto rigged box. Meaning he has somethign done to it. I believe it's not hacked like you think. Do what you want. Keep camparing your car to a 5th gen. It's getting you no where.