Cold Air vs. More Air

damacman said:

Although I would also concur with Gino, most folks look at a Cold Air Intake because it is relatively inexpensive and can give a little bang for the buck. I also have a MAC CAI, but I'm still using mine.

After reading on this board (and others) how useless the kits were, and how the bend in front of the MAF caused the motor to run rich, I began to do a little investigating. Yep, running a finger inside the exhaust pipe revealed a black sooty deposit as was reported - proof that the motor was indeed running rich.

First thing I did was to remove the front part of the intake pipe and cut the bend off entirely. I then affixed the air filter directly in front of the MAF and called it good. As it was spring time, the car ran WAY MO' BETTER! But, the moment it got over 90 degrees, I could tell the car was more sluggish. More research -- OK, now I'm pulling REALLY hot air from the engine compartment into the intake. Not good for making power . . .

The next thing I did was to a little research on the fabled DarkWolf Mod - hey let me find the elbow I cut off so I can try this! I bought a second silicone rubber dealy and clamped it so that the MAF is rotated 90 degrees towards the motor. This worked equally as well as did the open element under the hood, but performs the same no matter what the heat. Now, this is the way it has been ever since.

Had I known what I know about this know, I would've spent alot less time jacking with this silly thing and moved onto something far more important though!

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01mgvert said:

I agree that there are bigger fish to fry. You can see from my signature below that I've fried many of these fish. I understand that horsepower gains come largely by making the intake and exhaust more efficient. Aside from a catback exhaust, I've done all the major bolt-on mods. I'm concerned that there is still a bottleneck on the intake, specifically at the air filter. I've been running a K & N filter with a shortened silencer for four months but I wonder if the intake has access to enough air. The air box and air silencer seem to place major restrictions on air flow. More air seems better than slightly colder air.

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GinoGT said:

Taking the silencer off or cutting the airbox to be more opened would be all you need. Right now, your restrictions are the heads, cams, and intake manifold.

A big air filter setup that flows 2000cfm (made up a number) doesn't mean crap when the heads only flow 160.

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