s13 short ram intake

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I read the writeup of the s14 short ram intake and want to do it to my s13, I already have a filter and adaptor installed, so I suppose all I would have to do would be to buy a 45 degree PVC bend and extend the battery cables according to the FAQ. But i have a question: What about all the hoses connecting to the intake portion that you cut off? He mentions plugging one in his FAQ, and I assume the s13 and s14 are the same, so what do I do with those other hoses? There are 2 big hoses (1" diameter) and 2 smaller hoses (1/4" diameter) that need to be taken care of. Maybe I am missing this, but the pics in that FAQ are small and hard to see. Anyone done this? What are your opinions?

Short Ram intake install

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

If you look closely, you can see that he had bought a set of mini filters to cap off the hoses (they are blue). I am going to do this same conversion in my S13 in a few days, so I'll tell you how it went.

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I tried this and it appears it will not work on an s13 because of the configuration. The intake itself can bemoved with only the 45 degree pipe as noted, but the battery is another story. By comparing my engine bay with the pictures in the install, we have a few things changed. On the side where the battery is relocated to, there is no flat space big enough for the battery to fit into. Plus the fact that there is a fuse box placed right in the center of where the battery is to be relocated, it appears to be immovable unless alot of wires were extended or some way was found to reloacte this box. This may still work on an s13 with a smaller battery, but it looks like it won't work with a standard battery easily.

If you do this please tell me how you accomplished it.

Post by **Syntax360** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

has anyone gotten it to work with the breather filters on a S13? I tried this once and hooked up breather filters to all of the hoses and the car would idle for a moment and die. the only way i've been able to keep her running is to plug those hoses back into the intake. it makes no sense to me! air is air! :-(

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Yeah that's what i was excecting it to do if breather filters were attached. As you can see stock they are behind the MAS, so they are getting already metered air, but if you just connect them to the atmosphere then you are getting the metered air from the MAS + extra air coming from outside. So there ends up being more air in the engine than the computer thinks. I suppose this would cause the engine to die, although I'm sure there must be some way of compensating, although I suspect you would need fuel management, like an S-AFC.

Post by **bazan** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

That sounds about right. The hoses attached to the intake are PCV and EGR right? They are returning air to the intake which is essentially a vacumn. The intake is sucking the air in both through the filter and MAF and these hoses. Am I wrong?

Post by **Syntax360** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

wow....that makes perfect sense. but is there any way to get past this without buying a $500 toy? and it will stay alive if u gas it, but if u just let her sit at a flat idle, the cart chokes.

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

sure, just instead of providing a filter, route the hoses to behind the MAS. it wouldn't be too hard either. There are 4 total hoses connecting to the intake on my car, the bigger one on top closest to the throttle body doesn't seem to be touched during the relocation of the intake, so this isn't a problem. The smaller hose coming from the top side of the valve cover is just for bypassing oil, alot of people put a filter on that one anyways so oil blowby doesn't drain into the intake and cause a loss of efficiency. You should only have to plug in the other smaller tube and the bigger tube that attaches to the bottom of the intake, although I have no clue what the bigger tube does.

I would assume all you would do is drill a couple holes into the PVC bend and use PVC glue to glue on 2 smaller pvc tubes the right size to connect the two tubes in question. Shouldn't be too difficult, and you can paint the whole PVC thing black so it doesn't look like crap PVC piping homemade intake.

I'm more concerned about the battery on the S13, I don't want to relocate to the hatch, I want it inside the engine bay (this is a daily driver) so if anyone has any ideas without buying one of those small batteries please clue me in...

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I have an Optima battery, which can be mounted at any angle. Maybe I will try putting it on its side, but I don't know if thats a great idea.

Post by **bazan** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Optima Batteries are sealed specifically for that purpose, so you can store or mount them in any position. Personally I would move the battery to the trunk. Better access, and solves your problem with out trying to mess up your engine bay.

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

2 questions: How much is an optima battery?

-And-

Is it worth it to move the stock battery to the trunk for this mod alone? Will it help me out at all in other ways (weight distrib maybe?) and I assume I need to put it into a sealed box and mount it so nothing spills. And I suppose all that is needed is longer battery cables.

Anyways thanks for the input.

Post by **driftaholic** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

i got my optima red top at pep boys for $105, and it wont spill, cause it's an optima

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Same price for me - my KA starts everytime with no problem now. Lights don't dim when kicking the bass.

Post by **Calvin** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Syntax360 wrote:has anyone gotten it to work with the breather filters on a S13? I tried this once and hooked up breather filters to all of the hoses and the car would idle for a moment and die. the only way i've been able to keep her running is to plug those hoses back into the intake. it makes no sense to me! air is air! :-(

One of the fat hoses supplies air to the air regulator, the IAA, and the AAC. These three things are what supply air to the engine when the car is idling (throttle plate closed). When you disconnect the hose, the car continues to suck idle air, BUT is no longer pulling the air through the MAF. So the MAF registers no air, and the ECU matches the fuel quantity to the air going through the MAF (i.e. zero), and without fuel the car dies.

Post by **Calvin** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

encasemyheart wrote:This may still work on an s13 with a smaller battery, but it looks like it won't work with a standard battery easily.

Perfect excuse to put the battery in the trunk =)

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I did it. My K&N filter is connected to the MAF, which is connected to the stock rubber tube, connected to the 45 degree PVC, to a 3 inch rubber PVC connector, to the throttle chamber. It is a tight fit, but it is possible. The battery has been moved to the other side of the engine bay using an extension cable, and connecting the negative side to the engine block just above the distributor. To place the battery, I had to move the relay box aside (pull hard and it will come loose) and though I did not have to put the battery on its side, an Optima battery connected to the side terminals is recommended. As for the extra vacuum tubes, all tubes are connected to the PVC pipe with hose connectors, except for the thickest tube (coming from below, near the radiator), because I could not see how to connect this yet. Does anyone know what this tube is for and should it be connected? You will need to cut the tape around the MAF wiring in order to make it reach, so don't forget to tape it all back up afterwards. Other than that, the car definitely has better throttle response, and it even sounds better. Eventually I would like to streamline it even more, but I will need a bigger MAF. For a bit more power, I would like to also figure out a way to get more air to the intake, because there is no air inlet on that side of the car. This may be done by removing the stock metal battery tray, I will experiment tomorrow. Any questions feel free to post back.

Post by **encasemyheart** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

So did you notice any difference in power? WOuld you recommend this?

And with the relay box I could get it up, it just couldn't be moved because of all the wires connecting to it, how did you get around this?

Also if you find out what the bottom hose is for let me know, I have no clue.

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Yes I noticed a definite increase in power on the low end (around 2000 RPM) which is where that engine needs it. For the price ($15 worth of parts) it is worth it. As for the relay box, all I did was tilt it up on its side and install the battery next to it at an angle. This lets the battery sit low enough to clear the hood. Be sure to strap down the battery and insulate the positive terminal. You don't want sparks flying every time you hit a speed bump. I am still studying my Chiltons manual to find out what that other hose is for. Everything should be connected to the intake for emissions. I will let you know.

Post by **Squirrel** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I did put a k&n cone filter on my s13 and rerouted the egr tube to where the valve cover breather is normally one a stock intake tube. there car has an increase in power but sometimes when first given gas it falls on its face. im guessing this is because the air coming through the egr line isnt resigistering in the mas. how can i get around this. does anyone know how an injen or aem intake gets around this problem because it doesn't look like they even have a port for the egr and i have heard no have an egr hooked up can damage your motor though i dont know how.

Post by **bazan** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

the large hose coming up from the bottom of the radiator is a resonator for the intake. All it does is quiet down the intake some. It is not necessary for the car to run.

Post by **Nismo1182** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Heres my set up (battery is in the trunk). Did notice some nice gains along with the awsome sound at 6000 rpms.You can see i routed the rubber hoses to the rubber sleeve going to the throttle body. Only side effect i keep experiencing is a cold start issue. car idles rough when its cold, like around 500 rpm and wants to stall. This only happens for about 30 seconds. Once the car warms up, its fine.

Post by **RedDario** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

That looks similar to my setup except that I have the DOHC. The next step I want to take is to take a saws all to the original battery platform and route the filter down through the body into the chamber below. This way I can get fresh cold air from the inlet under the turn signal.

Post by **danton84** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I performed the short intake mod on my '90 240 sx with much sucess. Instead of using pvc piping, I used a piece of 2 1/2 in. 90 degree bent exhaust pipe from Auto Zone. You will have to cut if a little to make it fit. I cut the stock rubber connector of the throttle body just behind where the line from the valve cover attaches. I put the piping into this and clamped it down. To connect the other end to the MAF use a 2 in. piece of rubber cuppling. You will have to cut this down a bit. The ends of the piping are different- make sure the bigger end connects to the Throttle Body and the smaller end to the MAF. Cut a bit off the small end so that there will be enough room for the MAF and filter. There are three lines that are connected to the stock like. One of them is a vacuum and you will need to plug this with a big bolt. Put breather filters on the other two lines. If you don't plug the vacuum you will have idle problems. As for the battery, I was able to relocate where the stock air box was. I just pushed the fuse box out of the way and had to place the battery at a bit of an angle. If you do this you will have to remove the battery every time you need to access the fuse box which shouldn't be often if at all. Hope this helps. If you have any questions e-mail me at [email protected]. I will try and get some pics.

Post by **Norgad** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

I've also done this mod... All those hoses are driving me nuts! But I did get some problems with all of these... for my opinion about this, I think that the more hoses you can reconnect back, the better it is... At first, It was working when I had just the big hoses plugs in (the one the push some air) And after, I've plug the other hoses back and I got more juices like this... only things is I think it need to be sealed very carefully not to let any air enter other then by the filter... I still got some problem with that though... Maybe thinking about switching to manufacture short air...

Website · Post by **TheDrumAndTheBass** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

Damn, I guess I'm 2 steps ahead of everyone. I actually went to my local metal shop and had them make me one. Just made all the measurments and gave them to the people there. And two weeks later I had my new intake in my possession. Tell me what you think. O and BTW this is on a 89 S13 Coupe. KA24ERyan

Website · Post by **TheDrumAndTheBass** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:03 am

And yet another shot of the whole engine.

s13 short ram intake

s13 short ram intake

Short Air Intake Mod

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