I see these custom intakes people make with the cone K&N filters, and they're almost always inside the engine bay pulling in hot air. I know cold air makes more Hp, but then I've heard a fair amount of people say that these intakes in their engine bays work well too because they are getting more air versus stock, even though it isn't cold air. I was wondering, how many people have these intakes with the cone filter in their engine bay? Did you really notice an increase versus stock, or was it just the sound of the engine, and was there an increase in operating temperature? Is it worth making even though it's pulling in hot air? I've already got all the parts but the pipe, I'm starting to have second thoughts, but I guess it's kinda too late to turn back now....

 

I compared homemade cold air to the cone at the track. Bottom line.....cold air was better by 1/10 and an average of about 1.5 mph. I, myself, decided to go cone. More room in the bay and I get the sound.
No increase in op temp for me.

 

I'm thinking i'll make the intake since i already got most all of the parts....

 

I've read a number of times that CAI is better than a cone, but a cone is a lot simpler and takes up a lot less room, and is not restrictive at all. If you have MAF you can't do the Cone anyways.

 

My original air filter can and snorkle were very badly positioned so that there was only about 1 inch of space for the air to get into the snorkle. I modified the intake so I had a fully exposed air filter in the original position. I figured lots of warm air was better than a little cold. Many people told me that cold was better, even if a little restricted, so I did a little math and found out that a 10° increase in temp results in a 3% decrease in oxygen concentration. Under hood temps are probably about 40° above outside air temps so a conservative estimate of oxygen concentration is that it is about 10% less for under hood air than for outside air.
I replaced my stock air box and found a way to route the snorkle to the space inside the fender with a 3" flexible aluminum tube. This is as far as I could get from the under hood air. For daily driving it feels the same but I feel that this is the better way to go.

 

My article...."firebird cold air" is in the tech articles.

Through careful obsrvation and the faithful "butt-dyno", I have determined that my cold-air intake (which is NOT strictly cold air, just more cold than stock would allow) offers a small performance increase at a fractional cost. Not to mention the looks it gets at shows or just infront of friends....and that wonderful noise it makes when you fire the beast up. And to all those that say it's a leak....it is not. I've tested the filtration setup to check for leaks (besides the filter...duh it allows air in) and have found none. I am very happy with the setup.

 

How did you check for filtration leaks? I'd like to be able to compare different filter types to determine for myself which filter best with the least restriction. Thanks.

 

haha

you're still rocking my quote with a cuff and a crease

 

"Butt Dyno" has been around longer than I can remember....

But you, tpi_roc, gave it new meaning.

Long Live the Butt Dyno!

How did I test???? I did not check the filtration cfm or other technical means. I've taken the intake off before and ran LOTS of water through it...enough to fill it up with the filter attached. Water only drained out the filter, nowhere else. The connection to the MAF is a factory connection and a pvc connection rubber piece....neither of these is ever meant to leak. They are all water-tight. And if you're a hypocrite and like to point out flaws....I did not check Air-Tight....just water. I figure that is enough for me and if the particles getting sucked in are smaller than water molecules, they'd probably get past the filter as well.

Tpi_roc...cuff and a crease man, cuff and a crease.

 

I wasn't talking about the cones that stick on the end of the TPI throttle body, I was just saying the people with their home made intakes with the cone filter off to the side, like over by the battery or something... anyway, when I get the pipe I think I'm going to make it. Have it powder coated "Ruby HiPerCoat"

 

Clever, simple and effective.:hail:
I'm currently toying around with the idea of making an air filter of my own design and I would like to find a way to compare different designs without actually using each for a year or so before I could compare trapped dirt. I cringe at the idea of throwing handfulls of dust at my filters to simulate a year's worth of driving. It would be nice to have a microscope now, or some artificial dust of known micron size.

 

Somebody's already done the work for you man. A couple issues of HotRod ago, they did a comparison between filters. Look for it in their backissues or find the article online.

 

Thanks, I'll look up the article. It could tell me if I'm moving in the right direction with my ideas.