Would the K&N X stream lid be a good horse power increase?

 

in addition to an open element it would not do anything for you, the 14x3 already supplies the engine with more than enough air.

 

tbi's dont get air from the top. They get it from the front and sides. This is due to the injectors on the top, and fuel regulator in the back.

Henceforth, this proves that grounding the ridges in the ULTIMATE TBI articles improves airflow

 

teh maximum available amount of air is always a good thing. i always got my best track results with teh air cleaner removed.
allowing air from teh top with that sort of lid will help a bit.

 

the bang for the buck aint that good IMO

 

I can't see how it would be of any benefit as close as the hood is ti the air cleaner asm, but I guess it would be the next best thing to running no air filter at all.

Steve

 

that's what K&N says:

"Adding more cfm of airflow through your carburetor is as easy as replacing your existing air cleaner with this X-Stream airflow assembly from K&N. It allows air to enter smoothly from the top, which helps draw more air in from the sides. That means you get more airflow headed down the carburetor or throttle body and into the combustion chamber."


if it works that way, then it makes sense!
greetz

S!MON

 

But if your TBI is getting more than enough air from the open element, is it worth all the money for the X stream lid, those things are expensive.

 

yeah thats what i wanted to know.

 

ok, I agree!

other question:

I can't find any open element without chrome on it!!!

I like this one very much,



but the I have to buy a K&N extra

or is the difference not noticable?
greetz

S!MON

 

Well i bought a 14 drop base Edelbrock open elemnet for $39.99 and put it on it made a big difference so.I figured K&N is always braging about the hp claims.So i went and bought a K&N 14x3 and put it on so i went around looking for some ricers to eat and raced some red POS and i really didnt feel no difference.So i just returned the K&N and keeped my good paper element the K&N was $48.95.

 

thx.

that's the answer I needed.
greetz

S!MON

 

or, just buy that open element and get a K&N filter later if you want.

 

Guess I will be the one to play devil advocate here....
I put on because of the way it would look on my engine,to my surprise the car has an "STP" improvement in acceleration
:hail:

 

any track times ???

 

Guess I will be the one to play devil advocate here....
I put on because of the way it would look on my engine,to my surprise the car has an "STP" improvement in acceleration
:hail:

 

I had one. It does absolutely nothing.

 

i bought the K&N/Extreme set up 2 weeks ago... i like it.. the only reason i went with the extreme lid is because im going to buy the SS hood and make it functional... so.. umm... yeah.. thats what i did.

 

you dont have to get a k&n open air top, other companies make em for less.

 

Like who

 

well let me tell you i have one and i noiticed a diffrence not very much though!!! but it does help airflow come in easier. also i removed the fire retardent and you can hear it sucking in more air i also have a cheap 10 dollar open filter because i did not want to spend 39.99 on the 14x3 but... the kn is reusable and the crappy 10.00 one isa not thatz why you buy a kn so it pays to use it longer.

 

S&B Fliters #77-1403/D High Flow Air Filter.

As I recall I paid $85 at a Super Chevy show for it. I originally was set on buying the K&N X-treem Flow air filter lid. I had one on order for 3-months. I finally gave up and cancelled my order and got the S&B instead. It turns out that K&N had stopped production on their filter lids due to field failures of them. They redesigned the lids and are back on the market.

I did have to make a minor modification using a Dremel tool to the inside aluminum piece on the lid for it to sit flush on the threaded hold-down stem. The filter consists of the filter lid and filter element. It also has a "Million Mile Plus Warranty"

S&B had a web site, but it doesn't appear to work any longer. It was: http://www.sbfilters.com/

Maybe they are only selling through distributors now. I did a GOOGLE search on S&B filter and found a few that sell their products.

Contact info:
S&B Filters
1705 S. Campus Ave.
Ontario, CA 91761
(909)947-0015

Lon

 

A little off topic but where did you get that strut tower brace i want one thats cool as hell.

 

I am not going to tell anyone that it actually improved my performance, but I bought one and I love it. It looks cool as hell in the middle of my Edlebrock strut-tower brace (see lonsal's picture above). One other characteristic that I enjoy might not benefit everybody here. I have a 1990 Formula w/cowl-induction hood. The difference that the X-Stream lid made to the the 'intake' sound is incredible. You can really hear it through the opening in the hood. If you didn't know better, you would think that there was a blower sticking through the hood. As far as cost is concerned, considering the amount of money that we spend on other purely cosmetic aspects, it's worth it.

 

Custom. It was made by modifying an Edelbrock 3-point STB. I added the extra braces to tie into the radiator support making it a 4-point. Convertibles need all the extra bracing they can get.

Lon

 

Just curious, but is there any reason why you left the stock snorkel screwed in the front?

 

i have that exact set up.. and i left my snorkle there too.. helps get a little more colder air into the engine bay.. plus i mean its pointing right at it too.. doesnt hurt at all to leave it there..

 

Clutter, weight, looks like it's cool air is almost nill vs the rest of the air surrounding the motor.

 

fadetoblack..On the Formula cowl induction setup.. did you run the extreme filter for your inner lid and if so what size did you get.. I was thinking a 12 inch but i dont think kn offers a 12

 

lonsal was making that extra part on the brace really worth it could you tell a difference?

 

Amazing, nearly 30 posts and not one piece of legitimate data to corroborate any claims either way.

Next topic, what is the best color and why

 

It's hard to say if the added bracing (converting it from a 3-point to 4-point) can be felt. However I can tell you that several people with coupes have commented that my convertible is tighter than theirs. The STB is only one part of the equation. A SFC should also be welded in.

The plastic duct weighs very little and does bring cooler air closer to the open element filter. That is why it was left in place. At one time I had a fiberglass hood with a NACA duct that fed cooler air directly into the filter. I planned to build a custom shroud to duct in air from both that NACA duct and this plastic duct. However the plans have changed for several reasons. That fiberglass hood was designed to use hood pins to latch it. I modified if by grafting on the metal latch portion from a stock steel hood and by glassing in the duct. The hood started coming apart where the latch was grafted on. I don't want to use hood pins, so that hood was removed and stock hood put back on. I'm in the process of gathering parts for a 350 engines and TPI swap so the original plans have been shelved.

My contribution to this topic was merely to answer the question regarding the availability of this style of filter top from another source. However, IMO yes there is a performance gain from the filter top. This is especially true if you can duct in fresh air as I'd planned. I don't have any dyno numbers to prove this though.

Lon

 

THats what i thought other wise why else would people buy an x stream just for looks i mean are thirdgen's have the looks already and now we need the power to go with it.:hail: :hail: :hail:

 

ya know, you guys talk about the problems of hood clearance when going to an open element filter of 14x3" in size. Really for 99.9% of you the only benefit of using an X stream lid, and one of its main purposes for 99.9% of people, is that you could run an inch shorter filter and still get all the air flow that a 14x3" may provide.

EDIT: So if you want to run that carb spacer or certain intake but might now be worried about hood clearance the X stream lid may be an answer for you. Now, if the top of the lid ends up almost being flush with the hood with a 14x2" air filter then going to an aftermarket hood is probably a wiser choice but it may be helpful in certain situations otherwise.

 

also the xtreme lid is 69.00 were i live ... so ionsal said he paid 85.00 for his b and b how is that cheaper than a kn lid???

 

Understand the $85 I paid was not just the filter lid. The S&B filter I bought is a complete package consisting of both the lid, round filter and base.

Lon

 

We ran an open filament vs a k&n x-stream combo on a 305 stock carb last year at a dyno session. The difference was very little, more like a variation in the run rather than a significant gain.

The only useless setup was the stock one as there was a significant difference in the whole torque curve. The torque stayed higher longer allowing for the rated 10 HP/10 ft/lb claim to be pretty accurate. Anyone who didn't have a K&n that day had one by next session.

I ran an no filter vs my early ram air setup using the stock air cleaner housing. I found I had a 0.5 mph difference in trap speeds. Times did not improve enough for me. I rebuilt my ram air to flow double the air under pressure by using the TPI air cleaner box with TBI air cleaner box. I'm pretty sure with this setup, that 0.5 mph difference is all but erased for my engine.

Best is 15.414@89mph
Best trap is 91.7 mph (92.xx with no air cleaner)

Looking to break into 14's with stock heads, cam, intake...

 

i kinda tried that for a while b4 i got the extreme lid i had the filter removed and hooked an extra kn cone filter i had to the end of the base that is round... and i plugged the thermac valve... i bought my lid for 69 and my base was 12.00 for a new on and the filter was 9.99 so we spent about the same money...

 

.
Thats some very good info there slade, thanks. I really appreciate it when someone comes in with some real world tested facts.