DIY: COMPLETE, very detailed airbox/intake modification write-up.

[me=mk3]

Will this work with the stock, paper air filter? Does it make the nice sound without a k&n?

[me=mk3]

Will this work with the stock, paper air filter? Does it make the nice sound without a k&n?

[GLXkiD]

dont matter

[me=mk3]

I just did this and it doesnt sound very impressive. I had a cone air filter before and it was making a nicer and louder sound. I am using the paper air filter. Any ideas how to make it louder? Are u sure the k&n will not work better sound wise???

[Breezy.]

Quote, originally posted by me=mk3 »

I just did this and it doesnt sound very impressive. I had a cone air filter before and it was making a nicer and louder sound. I am using the paper air filter. Any ideas how to make it louder? Are u sure the k&n will not work better sound wise???

well, first, did you modify the airbox/intake exactly as in the directions with the same cut-out? with a K&N, it shouldn't be much louder I believe. i had a K&N in my airbox before I modified it. it should be louder than your previous cone setup, but even if it isn't, at least you know it performs better. after all, quiet and fast is better than loud and slow.

[victor2.0]

interesting......hmmm

[jron]

Quote, originally posted by Breezy. »

it should be louder than your previous cone setup

no way.

[me=mk3]

I did everything exactly as it says, except the air filter.

[Breezy.]

Quote, originally posted by me=mk3 »

I did everything exactly as it says, except the air filter.

i'm not sure then. i thought i recalled others saying this makes it louder. just wondering, do you have a VR6 or 2.0L.?

[Josh1581]

I appreciate the debate in this thread!

I just got myself a 96 Jetta 2.0 and was debating CAI vs. Cone filter vs. Air Box Mod. I did something similar(not as much cut out and used a 2" or so hole saw to punch a couple holes in it and didn't take out the plastic grid) w/my wife's 96 Jetta Trek and (this is the best part) it sounded so good my wife actually turned down her radio all the way so she could hear her car when she accelerated it sounded so good! K&N drop in is the way to go with this mod. Since changing to synthetic oil and doing the airbox mod I've gotten as good as 32 mpg on road trips. City driving wasn't so good due to my wife getting up on it so she could hear how cool it sounds! Looks like I'll be doing the mod to my Jetta but with more cut out.

[me=mk3]

Mine is a 2.0. I will buy a k&n this week and I will see if its better or not.

[Tylergeiger1]

Ok i have a mk3 vr6 and im running a short ram intake, Are you guys saying that it would be better with the airbox mod? As far as hp and mpg?

[Breezy.]

Quote, originally posted by Tylergeiger1 »

Ok i have a mk3 vr6 and im running a short ram intake, Are you guys saying that it would be better with the airbox mod? As far as hp and mpg?

yes sir.

[jadugartir]

I can see why you would cut the outer housing to allow more air in...

not to be a *****, but why would you take out the honeycomb piece for the MAF? wouldnt that subject the tiny filament on the MAF to unregulated air gusts that would give jumpy readings, which determines how much fuel your motor gets? again im just suggesting this for discussion im not trying to bash your mod...

[willthewheelman]

Quote, originally posted by jadugartir »

I can see why you would cut the outer housing to allow more air in... not to be a *****, but why would you take out the honeycomb piece for the MAF? wouldnt that subject the tiny filament on the MAF to unregulated air gusts that would give jumpy readings, which determines how much fuel your motor gets? again im just suggesting this for discussion im not trying to bash your mod...

shhhhhs he thinks it runs better let him think that.

thats a hell of a mod for more noise.

[Breezy.]

Quote, originally posted by jadugartir »

I can see why you would cut the outer housing to allow more air in... not to be a *****, but why would you take out the honeycomb piece for the MAF? wouldnt that subject the tiny filament on the MAF to unregulated air gusts that would give jumpy readings, which determines how much fuel your motor gets? again im just suggesting this for discussion im not trying to bash your mod...

totally understood. i explained my point of it and the cautions people say about it, but like it says in the original post, i experienced no problems at all. no check engine lights and no drivability problems at all. if you are nervous about removing it, you do not have to. the honeycomb pops right back on the MAF. it is not at all permanent. try it if you'd like and if you decide against it, you can always put it back on. other people have had luck with this modification if that helps.

[cWa]

I'm about to do this tomorrow with a friend. I just hope it smokes his CAI.

[Scottacular]

Quote, originally posted by jadugartir »

I can see why you would cut the outer housing to allow more air in... not to be a BLAM!, but why would you take out the honeycomb piece for the MAF? wouldnt that subject the tiny filament on the MAF to unregulated air gusts that would give jumpy readings, which determines how much fuel your motor gets? again im just suggesting this for discussion im not trying to bash your mod...

I think another question to ask is if the increased airflow will have a negative affect on the MAF and cause it to fail prematurely. Look at me actin' all edumacated and stuff.

No, but seriously, MAFs aren't cheap and I would hate to see that little filament thingy break off just for a little more noise.

How long is the longest someone has had that piece removed without any problems? What kind of daily driving is done with this mod done? Just looking for some input to ease everyone's (including mine) minds. Thanks!

[georgekelp]

Quote, originally posted by Scottacular »

I think another question to ask is if the increased airflow will have a negative affect on the MAF and cause it to fail prematurely. Look at me actin' all edumacated and stuff.

You are worried about more airflow from this mod?

Think about the tons and tons of people who Force Induct their engines.

You don't think more air flows through the MAF in that situation?

This is such a minor mod, there is NO need to worry.

[Scottacular]

Quote, originally posted by georgekelp »

You are worried about more airflow from this mod? Think about the tons and tons of people who Force Induct their engines. You don't think more air flows through the MAF in that situation? This is such a minor mod, there is NO need to worry.

I guess I never thought of that. Thanks for pointing that out.

EDIT: And it's not really the increased airflow I was wondering about. It's just having blasts of "non-diffused" air (if that's what you want to call it) that I was wondering about. I know that when I had my Nissan, any kind of intake mod made people pucker up waiting for their $500 MAF to break. Not fun.


Modified by Scottacular at 11:41 AM 3-12-2007

[Breezy.]

Maybe you guys missed what I added to the original post about the honeycomb. anyway, here...

Quote, originally posted by Breezy. »

Remove this plastic honeycomb piece from the MAF. It's there to give the MAF the most accurate readings, but I’ve been running without this piece for a long time without any problems. If anything, it helped. Remember, this piece pops right out, so you can always push it back in if you ever want to re-attach it. It is not a permanent modification to the MAF. Take the following from someone on the 300zxclub.com forums: "Removing the mesh on the mass airflow sensor (MAS) will up the boost on turbo'd vehicles a couple pounds....this allows for more air to enter with less restriction...did this on my skyline...probably do some good for NA too. But... the mesh is there for a reason....the mesh channels the air through the MAS and onto the sensor...without it, there is an argument that the sensor may be getting an incorrect reading...but it worked for me....its up to you... On the 300ZX if you do the mesh removal, you will increase air volume from 300cfm to about 700cfm. It will increase your boost and your response, and will get rid of most of your hesitation problems...... oh, and it should lean her out a bit too, good for those of you with hight boost. And iv'e seen articles where LS1's are being dyno tuned with the mesh removed."

Really, it's not a big deal and I have no idea why people are so worried and stressing over removing this piece. As I said, it pops right out and can always pop back in if you ever feel the need to. I didn't do it for more sound, but for more airflow rather. I had it off for almost a full year with no problems and I had absolutely no intend to put it back on if I had kept the car. Just try it. You have nothing to lose.

[agentx1]

great writeup, thanks.

[cWa]

Awesome mod write-up Breezy. Just did it today. I still need a K&N filter, hopefully it'll sound even better after that! Thanks again.

[TDI Driver]

Really good DIY. I'll definitely be doing this to my car after I get bigger nozzles and a chip, as doing this stock won't get me any real gain except a cool noise.

I do however recommend this to all of the 2.0 and VR drivers though.

[giametta88]

Will I see more gains if I have a Eurospeed exhaust rather than a stock one? I can't wait to see how it will sound.

[georgekelp]

Quote, originally posted by giametta88 »

Will I see more gains if I have a Eurospeed exhaust rather than a stock one? I can't wait to see how it will sound.

Any aftermarket exhaust will help.

Since the engine is pulling in more air, it needs to excape through a bigger hole.

[Scottyg]

Thanks for the DIY!

I just finished it (except for the honeycomb and velocity stack removal). I don't notice even the slightest change in noise though....hmm

[WhiteVR696]

how does the bottom half of the box come off? i know theres something holding it on on the fender side but how do i get to that?

[Scottacular]

I'm doing this tomorrow morning. I will take some disassembly pics.

[98blackvdub]

i did everything except remove the honeycomb and i love it. Very very pleased and im still running a Fram filter (k/n is on the way). a little off subject but is there a noticeable performance increase with the suitcase removed? what woould i put in its place? just weld up a piece of piping the same size???

[me=mk3]

Quote, originally posted by Scottyg »

Thanks for the DIY! I just finished it (except for the honeycomb and velocity stack removal). I don't notice even the slightest change in noise though....hmm

you have to floor it to hear it

[masonr]

Do you know what this would do with a lot of rain. I live in Hawaii and on an island that dumps around 200 in.'s a year. I am worried that i can get some water in there and either roundhouse kick the maf sensor to death or something else. If anyone else lives somewhere with a lot of rain please let me know.

thanks

[rayray086]

Picked up a cheap air box to mess around with, so I'll be attempting this mod soon too.

One curious question though:

Will air intake benefit even greater with that mod to the front quarter panel?

[Breezy.]

glad to see the good results people are having.

Quote, originally posted by 98blackvdub »

i did everything except remove the honeycomb and i love it. Very very pleased and im still running a Fram filter (k/n is on the way). a little off subject but is there a noticeable performance increase with the suitcase removed? what woould i put in its place? just weld up a piece of piping the same size???

I would definitely say so. You lose 45lbs in weight or so by ditching the suitcase, you gain throttle response, and I definitely felt a bit more power. After all, you are gaining more exhaust velocity by removing the suitcase because the suitcase is not a straight-through muffler. And the sound from it is incredible. Here is a sound clip: http://smg.photobucket.com/alb...6.flv

Quote, originally posted by masonr »

Do you know what this would do with a lot of rain. I live in Hawaii and on an island that dumps around 200 in.'s a year. I am worried that i can get some water in there and either roundhouse kick the maf sensor to death or something else. If anyone else lives somewhere with a lot of rain please let me know. thanks

you have nothing to worry about. its just as safe as an unmodified airbox.

Quote, originally posted by rayray086 »

Picked up a cheap air box to mess around with, so I'll be attempting this mod soon too. One curious question though: Will air intake benefit even greater with that mod to the front quarter panel?

my guess is barely, if any at all. that vent seems to sit too much into the fender (or the airbox seems to sit too close to the headlight) for that air to be that effective. plus, the cost of doing that modification will never be justified/worth it for the minimal gain in airflow, i'd say.

something awesome that i noticed by sticking my head in there is seeing that not only does air creep past the headlight gap, but also from the gap between the grill and fender and bumper. i think i actually remember being able to stick my finger from inside the bay to the gap between the panels as dumb as that sounds.

[rayray086]

Quote, originally posted by Breezy. »

my guess is barely, if any at all. that vent seems to sit too much into the fender (or the airbox seems to sit too close to the headlight) for that air to be that effective. plus, the cost of doing that modification will never be justified/worth it for the minimal gain in airflow, i'd say.

I personally think the vent will help by providing more [relatively] colder air externally as opposed from inside the engine bay. I suppose one could re-route the air to the airbox to fix the positioning issue.

But yes, the panel work involved in fabricating those vents would prove too costly for this to be a "cheap mod", which was what you originally wanted it to be!

And if anyone knows, what are the differences in performance between using a "normal" paper panel filter and a K&N panel filter, in this case?


Modified by rayray086 at 3:18 AM 3-14-2007