Shaking After Cone Filter Install

[JHServin]

So as the title says my 1990 2+2 started shaking real bad as soon as I fired it up after installing a cone filter. The idle is kind of stable, but I can feel the car shaking real bad (hard not to) and I can also hear the exhaust burbling/rapid low pops in waves. When under acceleration the power is not smooth at all. I have searched numerous times and all the results I get lead me to the duct tape trick or the flower pot method, is this the solution to this problem as well or is this a problem completely different to the stalling out problem. Oh also as soon as this problem came up i switched back to the stock air box and filters, the problem went away so I know its the cone filter. When I bought my car it did not come with the splash guard and I still don't have one. So pretty much all i want to know is, is this a result of turbulence and air flow too smooth for the MAF to read? And is this a job for duct tape? I will appreciate all the help I can get, thanks in advance.

[DCaff300ZX]

Having gone through the issue where the flower pot solved the problem of a larger front bumper opening causing wind turbulence at freeway speed, I'd say that it seems a good chance that your missing splash pan may well be causing a turbulence problem at speed, but it doesn't explain any shaking/hesitation at idle if that is the case?
Find a cheap plastic flower pot big enough to cover the cone air filter but leaves enough space (1"+/-) to breathe, and you have the flower pot mod...a cheap and easy fix. Mine even worked with a half-flower pot.

[TTkickedin]

Did you check to make sure the MAF sensor was installed correctly and the harness is mounted right when you have the cone filter on??

Chances are if you bought a cheapo filter that it's not filtering right. Sounds like a vacuum leak too, who knows at this point.

What brand is the filter? did it come with other hardware or just the filter?

Try to take pics of the installation, and post up the exact steps you took to install.

Also, this thread would do more justice in the Tech section, ask Mark or Tony to move it for you

[300ZXttZMAN]

Moved to the Z32 tech.

What brand is the air filter?

[nissanfreak12]

Are you sure your not missing in a cylinder? Sounds like your not running on all cylinders.

[JHServin]

Like I said car runs fine on the stock air box just not on the open air filter. I'm going to try the flowerpot method thanks to all that replied and if anybody has another suggestion let me know.

[TTkickedin]

You responded back, but forgot to answer these 3 questions:

1. what brand is the filter?

2. Pics?

3. Did you mount the Maf harness on the maf sensor correctly when you installed the cone filter?



And adding this: 4. Why not buy a system proven to work for the z instead, like the pop charger system?

[JHServin]

First of all don't laugh its a spectre air filter, I have the correct MAF adapter, but I haven't had time to take pictures. The MAF harness is mounted correctly and so is the sensor. I didn't buy the pop charger system because I'm not looking to get any real performance gain, I just wanted to "dress it up" a little bit and maybe gain some mpg while I'm at it but if its gonna make my car run erratically it wouldn't bother me to forget the whole idea.

[nissanfreak12]

The reason I brought up the engine "missing", just doing what you did should not cause the issue you have. I first got my car with a cheap spectra filter on it, ran good other than minor vac leaks. There is something that got messed with, wiring, vac leaks, coincident problem. Have you tried re-installing the factory air filter system? Are you absolutely sure everything is clamped down?

Have you pulled any codes from the ECU?

[JHServin]

The car runs great on the stock air filter system.