L_Sport

Hope this post helps every one out there who has been thinking of going with a short ram intake mod. All of the adapters or intake kits on the net that I found for the first gen lex were priced at about 130 - 150 bucks! WOW that is a chunk of change, so I decided to go with universal parts and make them work. The universal billet adapter I went with I found at my local auto parts store and was about 12.99 and reusable high flow cone filter was about 21.99 (you can also get a more expansive filter like Wepon R or K&N but they all seem to work the same to me). Now these are prices I can work with. However there was a little modification involved. Although the adapter was universal the holes it came with still did not line up so I had to make my own (make sure that the adapter you buy has a big mounting plate so you can make your own holes). Once installed the sound that you hear when you "get on it" is awesome! You can really here that V8 breath and growl! She also feels a little more responsive and the power seems more available when you get on it, however this mod is not gonna make your LS a hotrod, also to get the true benefit of an intake you should also have an after market exhaust (coming next).

Total price about 35 bucks
Total time for mod about an hour (considered removal of old restrictive air box)

In order to do this mod, you have to remove you old restrictive airbox and filter. I would keep it in case you ever want to go back to stock. (removal too me about 20 minutes tops. Once that old crap is out you can mount the new MAF adapter plate and new cone filter as seen below.


This is my second attempt, although my first attempt was successful I wanted to upgrade my adapter to billet aluminum. Here is my old adapter shown installed before I tossed it. If you notice between the filter and the MAF there is a gray plastic adapter with bolts holding it on. That adapter was a temp fix, it was too small and the holes didn't line up so I notched the outside edges so it would fit onto the MAF and the nuts tighten down on it to hold it in place. "No Bueno" but a quick fix until I found a better adapter.


As you can see the quality upgrade with the billet aluminum universal adapter over the plastic crappy one I was using. Even though they come with some pre-drilled holes and some pre-tapped holes closer to the center that you can drill if needed none of the holes lined Up!!! URRR frustrating.


so here I am pressing a piece of cardboard to the studs on the MAF so I can make a template


marked the imprints with a sharpy so I could see the holes.


I then drilled the temple with my drill to make the holes through the cardboard, then placed the template over the mounting plate of the adapter then marked through the template with the sharpy and transfered the holes to the adapter. Then I drilled the new holes on the adapter. It slid nicely right onto the MAF after that!


I then bolted it right on! The black hole you see on the adapter is an optional breather to insert a mas air flow sensor wire which the 1st gen doesn't have or any LS I think but it doesn't matter cause I just slid the filter over it and clamped it down so it doesn't effect anything. The seal is air tight.


Here is the air filter mounted on the new billet adapter. Nice fit, nice look, nice performance and a good upgrade from that temp piece of plastic I once had on there! Now for the rest of the piping behind the MAF! I will post pics of that as well.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

ive seen similar things done in the past but no evidence of them outperforming the OEM intake with a fresh filter.....

L_Sport

True, the old filter was dirty and beat up, these filters like K&N are a money saver in long run because they are re-usable. You can swap your paper filter with a drop in K&N also and still keep the stock airbox. Even though companies like K&N show HP gains with Dyno read outs and what not, the biggest gain to me is hearing my v8 breath! I like the sporty sound. It sounds very natural, I want to hear my motor as apposed to someone who doesn't want to hear their motor at all, this mod is not for everyone. Personally It was a well spent 35 bucks. Oh and it looks sharp when you pop the hood too.

L_Sport

Here is a similar intake kit from "Rod Millen" for the LS 1990-1992 sold on www.lexstasy.com for a whopping $215 bucks, I have a buddy with a 1992 that has this mod and is almost identical to the mod posted above for $35 bucks. The only difference in his is that the mounting stack that the cone filter mounts to on the Rod Millen adapter is 2.5" longer, this makes the front of the filter shoved to the front of the engine bay and fitment is very hard, at first glance it doesn't seem like that part is made to fit properly, it takes a little fiddling around to get it on and the filter is still pressed up against the front of the bay and rubs a lot.

trukn1

Hmm,, very nice. Keep us updated on the progress.

RocKrawler

Quick suggestion: Before you install the filter wipe either your finger or a white rag around the area BEHIND the filter to make sure its clean - then after a few months pop the filter off and do it again, see if there's any fine dust or silt - if so the filter isnt doing its job. I was told to do the same thing with my old K&N... I did & couldnt believe how much crap the K&N let through, and into my motor. I immediately removed the K&N & went back to a stock filter, it wasnt worth what it was letting into my motor.

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

OEM will outperform short arms any day.
The noise is all you gained, say good bye to gas mileage and true performance.
Any intake breathing hot engine air is useless . Might as well added a turbo blow off siren for effect.

L_Sport

So I guess all the stats online for Wepon R, K&N, Injen and a dozen other brands are phony? I see that on some intake K&N puts out there is a aluminum or black plastic wall that separated the space where the intake sits from the rest of the engine bay. Are those phony too, do they do absolutely nothing? I work at a shop that has a C&C machine and I was going to C&C a custom aluminum plate with rubber weather stripping to fit perfectly in that space. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't sink $200+ on the Rod Millen intake. With all of the statistics out there and all the millions of cars out there with intake that are similar to this one and show power gains on the dyno, what will it take for me to get the stamp of approval around here, what is the best after market set up for the 1st gen LS? I think the heat shielded wall with help No? Please help, I don't wanna go back to stock, when everyone and their cousin have proven K&N and Injen short ram cone filter installed out there.

Adjustments:

1: Replace black piping and baffle behind MAF with high flow mandrel bent aluminum intake pipe and hook up breathers to new pipe.

2: Fabricate aluminum intake heat shielded wall for intake space to keep area cooler.

Example of wall below

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

yes, but you have no heatshield....neither does the injen or the RMM made for the 1LS.....

Ursus

Good job on the writeup alias. I like to hear my egnie a little every now and then. Keep us updated on the heat shield your fabbing up. And the best way to ever prove nay sayers is to just do it and let the proof be in the pudding so to speak.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

prove nay sayers what? wrong? right?

he has no way to prove anything unless he dynos before and after his mod...

L_Sport

Well, I have checked around and the heat shield is supposed to make a difference. Aluminum isn't supposed to transfer heat so it's a good material choice. I will make continue working on the the intake heat shield wall and see how that goes. I took out all the parts and have them sitting on my work table right now and put back the stock box with a fresh filter and gonna rock that until I get the heat shield made. I never through anything away! LOL

jcrome04

It's not really "nay-saying" but rather the truth. All you're doing with a short ram is sucking hot air into the engine. I did the Lexkost type of setup with my intake (without ducting any extra cold air into it) and I LOST 2MPG. So I'm back to stock with a K&N.
I can agree with it sounding good though. It sounds great when you get on it!



PD is right. Get a B/A Dyno. with and without your heatshield, etc..

I'd say even with a heatshield find some other way to get more cool air ducted in.

jdmSRT

Looks good. I was going to make one as well from parts at pep boys. In case nobody knows they make a maf adapter for our cars and it's like 12.99 or so. Fits perfectly too FYI. But I still need to get smogged so I will wait until after. If you can figure out a heat sheild please let me know that would be great with this car.

Now if I can only find a decent set of performance headers...

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

do some research.
there are some headers available, though you will have to relocate the cats and fab up a custom exhaust.