The short version: Pulling the entire intake manifold/airbox stuff and simply replacing it with 6 very short bent 2" tubes each meeting with a throttle body, followed by 6 short velocity stacks. Then I'm using a stainless sheet to make a 2.5" high (roughly) open air box that goes straight from the velocity stacks to the passenger half of the 95-96 grill.

Only problem is the radiator and the rad support is in the way. I'm simply chopping a 15" section of the rad support (I'm talking about the shallow piece that runs from one side of the engine bay to the other, right in front of the radiator. The hood weather stripping sits on this bar when it's closed) and solidifying it with a bent rod that will run under it.

Then I'm planning on lowering the radiator about 1 1/4" (that is all the crossmember allows me to) and also pushing it towards the engine about 1" and giving it a very slight angle towards the engine.

All this so the air uses the straightest possible path (it's going to be FORCED into the engine, no way around it). I am going to put a common filter in front of the 6 TB's so it can still remain a daily driver.

Anybody see a problem with any of this? It's the drawing board. Please pile hypothetical issues on top of each other. As the title says, tear this a new one.

 

Where is your MAF going or are you switching to a MAP based system?

 

MAP. No choice, unfortunately, but I'd like to think that a bigger MAF (like a Q45 MAF) would pretty much do as good a job as the sheetmetal "air box" would if placed directly in front of the engine.

It's not easy working with our overcrowded/ultra tight engine bays, but I think this would be the best possible setup for N/A. Some guys just bend the hood to create an opening so air goes straight into the ITB's, but I think it looks absolutely retarded. It has to remain stock-looking.

 

as far as removing/cutting the rad support that will be fine. there are sr20 guys doing that to stuff some huge intercooler setups in there.

im sure you already tossed the ac condenser so you should have ample room up front.

 

What do you plan on using for TB's?

 

If you pursue this I'd look into RB26 ITB's. The spacing will be too far apart but it's all doable with enough effort.

allen

 

Oh ya, I read that ITB's are a little difficult to tune for good driveability, on a steet car that matters a lot (to me).

allen

 

Thats why Im using short velocity stacks in a common plenum. Should be fast. and Jclaw, Im using a very large ram air box as well. It will be as wide and deep (top/bottom) then run up to my custom plenum. But this will be in my rwd project VQ. Im going to make a setup similar to it for my 3rd gen when it gets warmer out and all the other matience is done.

And your saying you like the idea of having the air forced into the engine at high speed right? Because I sure do...

~Alex

 

I had been trying to think of a way to use the MEVI for something like this. Take the top cover off and have short velocity stacks there. Use the long runners, TB, and MAF at low rpm as usual, in the upper rpm, the MEVI valve opens and gets air in a very short path from the velocity stacks right from the top of the manifold (bypassing filter, MAF, and TB). I think it would make big power, cause it would not be resonance tuned, it would actually have short runners.
The problem is the hood clearance, lack of tight tolerance between butterfly valves and runners, lack of filter on the stacks (unless you use condom filters), and the integration of MAF and MAP to make both work.

 

Something like this? Kin***ix manifold

 

Ram Air doesn't work. The only advantage of pointing the intake to the front (and changing the entire radiator system in the process) is getting cooler air, and there are other, less troublesome ways of doing that.

 

How so? Elaborate, please...

Way I see it, sure as hell is better than having 46786531545 curves in the path from from my fender (CAI) to the back of the intake manifold, then another giant elbow and finally the upper. The straightest path to cold air is always the best.

BTW I'm not "changing the entire radiator system" I'm just moving it a bit. Those 4 mounting points are an absolute piece of cake to make.

Maybe M3 ITB's. Or a bunch of small junkyard TB's. Or some ebay bike quad TB's. "Cheap" is the keyword.

I would really, really like to keep the MAF. Really. It would make my life so much easier. But it would somewhat defeat the purpose of ITB's.

I'm trying to do it once and do it right. Do the intake system once and then move on. Make it the best it can be and never having to worry about it ever again.

 

Great intake manifold idea. your setup will loose torque, but gain bigger on high-ends. let me know your outcome. I'm interested, but i dont have a torquey 3.5 engine to lose torque to begin with. good luck.

 

Lol this it the first thing I thought of when I heard of the mevi! Its the reason I got it instead of the 00vi. One of these days I'll work something out. I figure both maf and map would be 1.) a pain in the butt and 2.) probably would conflict and mess with the computer, unless you could switch signals when the mevi opened up. sorry for highjacking the thread.

 

I guess it could be done using a common plenum and stock MAF (which is good up to 290whp so it's fine for N/A). But it wouldn't have the flow of a straight, open, true ITB setup. IMO anyway.

 

Maybe two MAF's, and when the rpm switch opens the MEVI, it switches the MAF to the one linked to the top cover.

 

That might work. It would make the mevi like a dual runner attach an open air filter to the top so you have a relativley quite car till 5200 or whatever then roar till redline. That would be pretty sweet.

 

whats the difference between this and a 4th gen IM?

 

You can't be serious.......

 

i mean it looks generally the same, just the runners are a bit shorter... and the plenum is bigger

 

ok i was a little wrong.. the runners are a lot longer

 

hey the kinetix design doesn't look too bad. i'm sure somebody could rig up an IM that looks similar to that, maybe without such a sharp turn in that first initial bend following the throttle body

what do you guys think?

 

you can cut the curve off... hmm im starting to wonder how the oovi would work with a plenum that big...