Airbox mod... No h8ers

[elwesso]

Now, before you read this, let me clarify some things...

1. I am not trying to outsmart the engineers2. I am bored with nothing to do3. I was expecting no performance improvements5. I am pleased with the results

So, you will wonder what I did.... Heres a picture of the stock airbox.



I thought to myself... Why do we need any of those little things off to the side.. They are just absorbing the precious sound that I want to hear.... So I looked, and there are just rivets holding on those things..... So I took my uber JDM tyte old skewel snap on drill and drilled out the rivets...



So there is a huge gaping hole on the side..... for now, i have (PMQ youll love this) some cardboard wraped in saran wrap.. I didnt want to spend a lot of time on ti since it was really cold outside... First is a shot with the 2 things taken off, and then a shot of the cardboard "plug"





So whats the result? Much deeper, boomier sound… no difference in performance (duh), but im glad I did it… I will take some videos.. you can hear the engine nicely over the stereo going. Eventually I will fabricate something out of some plastic, paint it black and make it look like its made to be that way…

Edit: It looks pretty much the same from the top... Ill post some internal pictures of the airbox, before and after if anyone cares.....

[AZhitman]

OK, next step Wesmeister.

Get some 4" hose (old shop vac) and run it down to the front fascia.

If you wanna get tricky, add a "scoop" to the end of it and attach it perpendicular to the ground.

Instant ramair.

And you WILL feel a difference in throttle response, albeit very small.

[Q45tech]

What I did as an experiment long ago, was to cut a 2 " diamter hole centered where the 4509 is imprinted in your picture. Enlarged the natural hole that leads down to the area where the Active cooler fan could be..........already has a front low forward facing vent below bumper. Used 2" flex, then right angle PVC later.........

All this work yielded a 1" drop in restriction in front of the MAF as measure from the top [after filter point].

1" = 0.0361 psi almost ---------3/4 of a theoretical HP increase.

The natural sqwished oval/rectanangle feed to the air box is ~~ 7 square inches as is the MAF input/output.....throttle body etc.

The engine just doesn't consume a large enough volume of air ........not due to restrictions........just that it is small sized ........it already gets most of the air pressure it needs with low restrictions in front of MAF...........why cones are so ineffecetive.

I wonder why members don't record the sounds they want and play them under the engine cover with a separate sound system.

[elwesso]

What I did as an experiment long ago, was to cut a 2 " diamter hole centered where the 4509 is imprinted in your picture. Enlarged the natural hole that leads down to the area where the Active cooler fan could be..........already has a front low forward facing vent below bumper. Used 2" flex, then right angle PVC later.........

All this work yielded a 1" drop in restriction in front of the MAF as measure from the top [after filter point].

1" = 0.0361 psi almost ---------3/4 of a theoretical HP increase.

The natural sqwished oval/rectanangle feed to the air box is ~~ 7 square inches as is the MAF input/output.....throttle body etc.

The engine just doesn't consume a large enough volume of air ........not due to restrictions........just that it is small sized ........it already gets most of the air pressure it needs with low restrictions in front of MAF...........why cones are so ineffecetive.

I wonder why members don't record the sounds they want and play them under the engine cover with a separate sound system.

Great post dennis... But like I said, I wasnt really going for any HP gains, and ive learned that there really isnt much to be had... Some, maybe a little, but not much... I bet more HP could be made by driving in indiana right now (about 15F)

Greg, the only thing that is preventing me from furthering this is

a) I dont want to waste any more timeb) see attached picture... I already have sort of a "home brew" CAI made... This is how the car came, as I assume Rex did this (among other jerry riggings)...

I did notice that as i took this apart, the little connector that goes from the headlight air hole to the airbox is missing... So i really am not getting the full effect... Fortunately I have the one from my old Q so I can throw it on there...

[maxnix]

What I did as an experiment long ago, was to cut a 2 " diamter hole centered where the 4509 is imprinted in your picture. Enlarged the natural hole that leads down to the area where the Active cooler fan could be..........already has a front low forward facing vent below bumper. Used 2" flex, then right angle PVC later.........

All this work yielded a 1" drop in restriction in front of the MAF as measure from the top [after filter point].

1" = 0.0361 psi almost ---------3/4 of a theoretical HP increase.

The natural sqwished oval/rectanangle feed to the air box is ~~ 7 square inches as is the MAF input/output.....throttle body etc.

The engine just doesn't consume a large enough volume of air ........not due to restrictions........just that it is small sized ........it already gets most of the air pressure it needs with low restrictions in front of MAF...........why cones are so ineffecetive.

I wonder why members don't record the sounds they want and play them under the engine cover with a separate sound system.

And who needs a harmonically tuned intake anyway?
Modified by maxnix at 8:56 AM 12/21/2004

[PoorManQ45]

So there is a huge gaping hole on the side..... for now, i have (PMQ youll love this) some cardboard wraped in saran wrap.. I didnt want to spend a lot of time on ti since it was really cold outside... First is a shot with the 2 things taken off, and then a shot of the cardboard "plug"[im

Wes.. Wes ... Wes.. You are a disgrace to the PMQ club. You should know that I would only use Duct tape

Nice job. I was actually just thinking about taking out those stupid silencers. They just waste what precious little engine space that we have

I wonder why members don't record the sounds they want and play them under the engine cover with a separate sound system.

I'm suprised that no one caught the funny that Dennis made . Anyway, that's kind of like what Jesda and a few over people were saying about simulating a BOV. Get PA system, on every shift, go "pssshhh" into the mic

[elwesso]

PMQ... I did use duct tape, you cant see it though.. I used the gray bird to hold hte cardboard onto hte box.....

[squeefoo]

Wes.. Wes ... Wes.. You are a disgrace to the PMQ club. You should know that I would only use Duct tape

Nice job. I was actually just thinking about taking out those stupid silencers. They just waste what precious little engine space that we have

H8 H8 H8 H8

I did this same thing when I relocated the EVAP can further back so I could install my remote oil filter (adding an oil gauge when it's parked this winter).

DUCT TAPE !!?? BwaahaaahaaaSaran wrapped cardboard !!?? Bwaahaaahaaa

I used the flat sides of a black anti-freeze bottle to patch the holes, screwed them on (the inside) nicely, and sealed with black RTV. Really easy to get to the oil filter now, w/o all the gymnastics.

Ripped all the stuff out of the bumper too (not sure why either). Very interesting Hemholz whine now esp. on the freeway; not sure I'd take out the bumper stuff again because of it.

This winter I'll also be adding ducting to the brakes and the airbox.

[PoorManQ45]

I used the flat sides of a black anti-freeze bottle to patch the holes, screwed them on (the inside) nicely, and sealed with black RTV. Really easy to get to the oil filter now, w/o all the gymnastics.

Ripped all the stuff out of the bumper too (not sure why either). Very interesting Hemholz whine now esp. on the freeway; not sure I'd take out the bumper stuff again because of it.

This winter I'll also be adding ducting to the brakes and the airbox.

OMG, it appears that I have competition for "president" of the PMQ club. I'm gonna bust out the duct tape.

Hm... I wonder how a hood scoop would look on the Q45 .

Or maybe no hood at al .

But seriously Squeefoo, that is the best "cheap" mod I have heard of. And it probably works excellent!

[elwesso]

squee... Like I said this isnt permanent... I just wanted to see what it was gonna be like.. Ill use your method and make it right, but I got the urge to do it right then and didnt have excessive flat plastic laying around.....

[squeefoo]

Nobody can tell I'm teasing? Just in case you actually want to it really works well. If it comes to fighting over "cheap"... PMQ is the Bruce Lee of cheap DucTape Fu? Cheep won do?

I'm so cheap I don't have a DigiCam yet, otherwise I'd show you the results.

[PoorManQ45]

I'm so cheap I don't have a DigiCam yet, otherwise I'd show you the results.

Me neither. Don't have cable or broadband either . I'm just a cheap dude I guess.

[elwesso]

Nobody can tell I'm teasing? Just in case you actually want to it really works well. If it comes to fighting over "cheap"... PMQ is the Bruce Lee of cheap DucTape Fu? Cheep won do?

I'm so cheap I don't have a DigiCam yet, otherwise I'd show you the results.

LOL..... I think i need to lighten up today.....

Change PMQ to CWD... LOL!!!!!!

[1qckser]

Wes, I did the same thing to my airbox last spring but I sealed the ends with some black abs that I cut to fit with my dremmel, then I cut the 3 inch hole in the bottom of the box, works ok.

[Q45tech]

I remember back in 1993-94, when Goldrush [CA reseller] was selling special hogged out Throttle bodies for Q for $495 [exchanged you got a 1-2 HP increase or so they claimed]..........the real winner was the extrude hone plenum and runners for $1200 [exchanged] they claimed 5-8 HP.........at least they were being truthful.

JWT 26-30 HP ecu reprogram was the bargain. The higher number occurred with the louder the exhaust[ Stillen/Stromung others of that time].

With The 2-2.5 from the K&N cone air filter might have reached 310 HP some claimed 318 HP/337 lb/ft with everything available installed.

I'm back to settling for maybe 300-305 HP with just ecu.At 272k still does 0>80 mph in under 11 seconds. [10.4-10.9 depending on ambient temperature].

55-80 my Q still beats a 2005 LS430 and stays with the new G35 AT---- good enough for me considering the $30,000-$55,000 I'm saving.

As to the 15F ambient [60-15=45/11=4% more HP] vs 60F and probably 10% more than summer~~~0.3, 0.4, even 0.5 seconds faster quarter mile bet you are at 15.0 secs or better.

[AZhitman]

Bottom line is, there ain't many cars on the road that can hang with a JWT'd (and well-maintained) G50 from 45-80.

Many have tried, many have failed.