jezza

Everyone loves intakes because they make a nifty noise, and occasionally add a little power. The bummer is they use air filters you can never find again, they look very obviously aftermarket which makes dealers unhappy, and they're not cheap.

So, here's my DIY solution. There's an (a) and a (b) option. Tools required include your hands and perhaps a phillips head screwdriver, and a 10mm (or 12mm, I don't recall) socket. The only money you'll have to spend is for some duct tape if you don't already have any.

First, remove the front and passenger side engine bay panels (the passenger side has one delrin nut that I used a phillips head to remove... it's near the fuse box, and you just need to pull up slightly on the panel as you unscrew to get it off).

Now what we're going to do is remove the intake snorkel. All you need to do is remove the one 10mm (or 12mm, don't recall) bolt, and use a flathead screwdriver to pull up the pushpin. Then it just pull right out of the airbox.

See that big buldge on the snorkel? That's the intake silencer. It's there to break up the airflow... smooth airflow = more noise. Making it more turbulent makes it quieter.

So now you've got two choices:

Option 1: run it like it is. I took the car for a drive like it is now, intake snorkel completely off. At cruise, it sounds exactly like it always does... quiet. Even under heavy throttle at low rpm, it's not terribly loud. However, above 4k rpms under a heavy right foot, it absolutely screams. It sounds very much l ike the sound clips of the LMS intake that I've heard. It's worth trying just to hear it

Upsides: it's free. Makes a great noise. Keeps the stock airbox.
Downsides: pulling air from the engine bay. I can't imagine it's any worse than any other short ram (ala the LMS).

Option 2: here's where the duct tape comes in. Rip off a piece and feel inside the snorkel where the silencer is. There's a small hole where the air is allowed to flow up into the silencer. It's pretty small, and a single piece of duct tape is enough to cover it up. Voila, you're done. Put everything back together.

Upsides: costs about 2 cents. Keeps the stock airbox. Noise?... haven't tested it yet... will report back shortly. Ok... just got back from a drive. Basically, this sounds like stock. Perhaps a marginal change, but that's probably just me imagining things. However, I did run Option 1 without any of the plastic engine bay trim, whereas this time I had put it all back on. Since it's all there to cut down on noise, my guess is it may be louder with it all off. As would Option 1 be somewhat quieter with it all back on.
Downsides: none that come to mind (if you're worried about the duct tape getting sucked up, don't forget... everything we're mucking with is in the air stream BEFORE the air filter. So even if the duct tape does come off, the air filter will stop it, and the piece of tape you'll use is very small).

So there you have it. Here are a couple pics of the bits involved:

This is with the intake snorkel removed. The big red square is where it attaches to the airbox.


Here's the intake snorkel. The silencer is that big growth on top of it.

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

By using option 1, you've just deleted the best feature of the stock intake, IMO... If added sound is what you're after, you could also accomplish this by removing two of the resonators - one on the snorkel, and another on the intake tube itself. Great ingenuity, though - this is definitely something people who are seeking a bit of a different sound can try!

Javier

NovaIS350

Indeed..that snorkel doesnt create turbulence (assumption, not factual). It actually gathers incoming cold air and diverts it straight into the airbox, a "Ram Air" if you will. What you've done is made a "hot ram air" gathering super heated gases from the engine bay...and you are right, it's not different than the aftermarket intakes without the heat shields or use of the OEM airbox.

jezza

Read more closely. I didn't say the snorkel is there to create turbulence. Yes, the snorkel is there to pull air in from outside the engine bay. The silencer that's part of the snorkel (the big bulbous part in the bottom pic) is the piece that's designed to create turbulence, and thereby reduce noise.

I'm not quite clear on what "heated gasses" you think would be pulled in from the engine bay. CO2 gets shot out the back. Yes, the air will be hotter, but other than the normal elements that make up breathable air, there are no "gasses" in the engine bay.

jezza

Yes, read Option 2...

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

I did, but you didn't mention anything about removing BOTH resonators...

Javier

jezza

I see your point now, yes. I'm sure adding a JoeZ, etc. would make it that much louder.

On another note, I know everyone is rather Machiavellian when it comes to pulling in hotter under-hood air. But keep in mind that it's a pretty minimal decrease in power, especially once you're moving. I had plenty of, admittedly not the cutting edge of engineering, muscle cars that had air filter right on top of the block, which is about the worst place to put them in terms of heat. They ran pretty well

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

No, no - sorry, I should have been clearer... I'm not referring to changing the whole intake pipe - just removing the second resonator found on the intake tube itself:



Javier

tt061880

I'm going to refer to your diagram and use the terms from there. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, smoother airflow means more power isn't it? And from what you're saying, if I remove the silencer on the "air cleaner inlet" and the resonator, the intake will be louder yet the air movement will be smoother?

jezza

Yes. Although as I said, the silencer on the inlet tube can't be removed. It's one big plastic casting. You'd need to otherwise stop the air from entering the silencer, which is where the duct tape comes in. But like I also said, this makes little to no difference in noise, and most likely does nothing as far as power is concerned.

The real fun is when the intake inlet comes off completely... but of course there are then other drawbacks associated.

jezza

I'd try it, but there are two problems:

1) you'd need something to plug the holes with, which leads to...
2) you're dealing with modifying something up-stream from the air cleaner. If you plug the tube with something and do a bad job, it's getting sucked straight into the motor.

Which is why something like a JoeZ is probably safer and ultimately easier.

tt061880

thanks for sharing the infos JEzza

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

I agree on all points. The JoeZ pipe, however, would add $100 to the equation - not expensive, but definitely not "on the cheap," in staying with the spirit of your thread Oh, and if I recall correctly, a member here (Gernby, maybe?) did remove the resonator from the scoop - I think he used a dremel...

Javier

*EDIT* It was Gernby, click here to view his post.

NovaIS350

Air is combination of gasses...making it a gas..heated or not...bro