I just installed a k&n today with the intake tubing leading down in front of the engine block. my question is: on the old air box (the canister that houses the old filter) there is a bundle of wires that clip into the canister. what is this? and do i have to somehow connect it to my new setup? i wanna go and test my car out but i want to figure this thing out first.

 

thats probably your IAT - intake air temp sensor. u should drill it into the intake tube somewhere, but i heard those things really dont do much of anything unless its really cold, but i could be wrong. id just drill it in just to be safe.

 

i just left mine dangling when i had a k&n close to the throttle body. i dont think it harmed anything...

 

For a second I thought you were talking about your MAF or something.. Yeah that's your IAT....and it's a single wire connector, not a bundle. Only 'bundle' with the intake is the MAF's on 2.8's. Keep the location of your air intake and your IAT sensor close, or make sure they're in areas that have close to the same temperature, and you'll be a-ok.

 

below's a pic of what i think is the IAT....is this it? my air intake setup is getting cold air from under the car. my IAT sensor is in the front corner of the engine bay, far away from any heat. so not neccessarily cold, but not hot at all either...so you think this is ok? it'll be a pain in the *** if i have to drill it into the intake tubing. i want to remove the air box just to get rid of a little weight...could i just tape the sensor up in that corner where it's staying cool?

 

Yup, that's it. Disconnect it, wrench it out, remove the centerbolt and remove your filter can. Reconnect and set the IAT as far away from the engine and radiator as you can, and tape or twist-tie it in place.

 

one more question...i guess i can find out myself tommorow by going out and looking at it....but do i just have to unclip the wire, or do i have to unscrew that whole attatchment piece that screws into the air box...i don't know if the sensor is at the end of the clip or at the end of the screw in tip...

 

Sensor is inside the can, and it clips together. You have to unclip it, unscrew the sensor assembly itself, then reconnect them together. With it disconnected, it throws a default value, which can give you slightly off air fuel ratios because the car may think the air is more/less dense than it actually is.

 

ok great, that'll save me alot of trouble not having to fit it into the intake tubing...thanks for the info

 

actually the IAT sensor in the maf cars is used form timing retard/ advance. if the air is hot itll pull timing and if its cold itll add timing. so keeping the iat cool will ad some timing. if you run it colder then what the engine see by a good bit make sure to use good gas and keep and ear out for detonation.

 

Do the S/D cars use it for this as well? Seeing as his car is a 3.1... But still, I didn't know that! Learn something new every day...

 

first off, '92 v-6 are SD, if that makes a difference. i use the lowest grade of gas, just cause it says $4 a tank.....well since i'm pullin air into the engine that's from under the car and doesn't get heated, shouldn't the air that's getting read by the IAT sensor in the corner of the car stay relatively the same temp. as the air gettin sucked into the engine? cause if it's really cold, then really cold air will be getting sucked into the engine, and the IAT will read really cold air since it's not getting engine heat. and if it's really hot outside, the temp of the air going into the engine should be the same as the unheated air getting read by the IAT, right?

 

Thing is the engine bay has a lot of ambient heat, from the engine itself, the exhaust manifolds, the radiator..it gets a lot hotter under that hood than outside air is! But if the IAT is located far enough away from these heat sources, such as tucked in there by the canister, it will probably read close enough. But the air getting into your engine WILL be colder than that read by the IAT, because air lower to the ground is also colder and more dense than higher-up air, not to mention the intake location is out of the engine bay which is the essential part.