Hi folks, I'm new here. Got the wife a minivan so her old 2k2 auto Max is now my beater. I'll be spending the next few months de-womanizing the car (aka maintenance and cleaning it up) so I'll post more about my progress when I get some stuff done.

Anyhoo. Ripped out the resonator and accordion pipe, replaced with a pair of couplers and a five inch length of 3" pipe I painted black. Put a hole in the pipe for a grommet and a nipple, ghetto-rigged some silicon hose to connect the PVC.

Sawed off the bottom of the lower resonator and attached some dryer hose.

then went to town on the airbox and installed a K&N dropin. The local pepboys had the fram air hog on clearance for $7, but they were out of my size.

I'm not sure I feel too good about using a clothes hanger to hold the filter on long term, I think I'll hack up another airbox or fabricate a more substantial bracket.

Impressions: Typical intake-wow-intake syndrome. I've installed about a dozen in my lifetime. In the beginning you hear all the noise and the whooshing sounds, and start thinking "wow, big power!" After a while, you realize it didn't do much.

In this case, it added a little bit of responsiveness, and a ton of noise. It growls up to about 5k, and then the intake note changes between 5k and 6k. My car is pretty much stock except for an upgraded exhaust. Did it make power? Maybe, maybe not. I just tested it in 90 degree weather, so maybe it'll be different at night. I'll take it for a shakedown run after dinner and hook it up to a datalogger to see what it's doing.

 

not bad. props to you.

 

nice...where did u get the 3" pipe that u painted black..been looking for a piece like that for something im doing. . .


how come its so dirty lol

 

I just had a piece laying around. Your local autoparts store should sell them as part of those build-your-own-intake kits. The grommet and vacuum fitting came from an autoparts store as well.

It's dirty because my wife drove the car for the past three years. Trust me, cars I drive are usually clean enough to eat off of under the bonnet.

 

I've got the same set-up minus the PVC pipe and I drilled the filter panel instead of using the hanger. Gives the intake a nice growl without being too loud. Definitely pulls a little better from 5000 rpm to redline.

 

Scott.. everytime I see your sig, it makes me want to go outside and wax my car.

 

Well, do you actually go out and wax it?

 

Not yet.. the wife has subjected the car to horror upon horrors. Paint is rough and full of contaminants. Plus, part of me says.. if it can't be as clean as Scott's car, there's no point in doing it.

Anycase, back on topic. Took the car out at night, about ~65F ambient and noticed that it would chirp the tires on the 1-2 upshift where it previously didn't. It does have that nice boost past 5000RPM that you mentioned, but unfortunately the VQ doesn't rev that much past 5000 before it shifts.

I've got a dead precat to..um.. fix.. with some cattman headers next.

 

The computers tell our engines to go rich after 5000 rpm which is why getting more air to the engine helps at that rpm. Leans out the mixture somewhat.

 

Ahh, if ya do the GAB incorrectly, the hanger may come loose which would let unfiltered air into the engine, like mine and it eff'd up my MAF.. Luckily the 2k-2k1 MAF is only 110ish, but the 2k2-2k3 is like $400+ IIRC, unless you do the IAT sensor(Intake ambient temperature, right?) retrofit onto the 2k1 MAF... GL, lol it does sound nice and throaty, even with the accordion pipe not being there. But i heard that without the accordion pipe being there you actually lose low end torque..

 

true story.. theres dyos around here somewhere i think about that too..

 

with an automatic, losing some of that low end does kind of suck. However, I don't plan on spending that much time in the low RPMS

 

i believe it was irishj who was the one who figured this out, i think he was trying to find the intake that made the most gains, he used the Place Racing CAI with the accordion pipe, i think :P.. I remember i was planning on buying that intake a LONG time ago.. i even have the brochure somewhere around here.. lol

yah, my car pulls hard through 3-6.5k in 1st and 2nd... (I'm automatic + VLSD)
my dad's car, an 03 infiniti m45 is another story