Today I added a length of 3" PVC pipe to the intake, which placed the cone filter all the way over where the old airbox used to be. It's a totally straight chute, so the air builds up quite a bit of velocity, and it's also cooler air than what comes from near the exhaust header. I noticed a nice increase in power, and also a very different, deeper exhaust tone. I think you guys should try it. I used about a 9 length of pipe. I want to hear what some of you think when you try it.

DK

do you have pictures? I think a lot of us still have the stock airbox... I've heard the car doesnt run properly until it's warm without the stock airbox... There is some sort of sensor or something in the airbox, do you have any idea what that is? You should make a tech page on building your new intake! I'd build one for sure!

*Doc Brown moment*

"Great Scott! Of course! I forgot to tell you something of paramount importance, and now we're in grave danger of a paradox which could destroy the entire space-time continuoum!"

Heh. Seriously, though, I used to have the same problem whenever I tried to rig up a cold air intake. Fortunately, however, I started hanging out at the firebirdv6.com forum where I learned that you can simulate the correct reading from the IAT (intake air sensor - the one in your airbox) by just plugging in a 4.7k ohm resistor from Radio Shack! Now there are no problems starting whatsoever. Since it's a straight chute, you also don't need that straightener "screen" that goes on the throttle body. You can take that out. I'll try to get pics up ASAP.

Now I have a better and "racier" looking engine bay with that clunky old airbox sitting where it belongs - in my basement. The sound of the car is the biggest difference, though. It's faster, without question, but you also hear the air being sucked into the engine more now at idle. I kinda like it. It also sounds more like a V8 now when you floor it. Granted, I have an aftermarket "Thrush" muffler too. I think a 2 1/2 in exhaust would work best though. I mean, I'm just using the same old stock exhaust except the catco is punched through and I've added the muffler (and straightened out the last bend. That is, instead of the tailpipe doing a 90* turn to come out the back, it just comes out the right side behind the tire.

DK

Here you can see pics of my custom intake project. Tell me what yall think about it.

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/464160/3

and here you can check out the rest of the site.

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/464160/1

There you have it!

DK

Cool... I'll definately check that out. I know intakes always make cars sound better... I've already got dual exhaust on mine, and now that you've told me the answer to my sensor problem, I'm going to build one!

I think I may have a different intake setup than you do... The part Im worries about is the MAF... I think your's is quite different than mine. Maybe it wont be a problem. How does the car handle wet and sloppy conditions now with an exposed element?

Another question...

How did you punch out your catalytic converter... and what kind of differences did you notice after? (sound, power) How loud is your car?

Um, wet or dry makes no difference. The filter is way too high in the engine compartment to get wet.

The catco was done by a mechanic before I started driving the car. It was causing the O2 sensor to foul up, so this mechanic said, "hey, I'll just remove the catalyst and leave the pipe." So, the exhaust looks stock but isn't. I would love dual exhaust, but my car is pretty loud at full throttle. At idle and partial throttle, it rumbles pretty deep. The power difference between catco and non-catco is profound. Even dad noticed it.

Say, how much did that dual exhaust cost, and did it help performance? I think a single 3" pipe going back to a dual outlet muffler would be the best setup for our cars.

DK

Ok, news on the intake. With a batch of bad gas out of its system, the car ran back to back 8.94 0-60 tonight. That's the fastest time I've ever run twice in a row. Boy, if this engine had an overhaul and fresh tranny, I could kick some heiny!

DK

My dual exhaust (not real, just splits at the back, like a camaro muffler), cost me 260 canadian dollars. I left the catco on, becuase I definately dont want a car that wakes up the neighbors at night. But, with catco in place, and camaro dual exhaust on, it sounds soooo nice... smooth yet deep. I fear that if I punch the catco, its going to at least double noise output.

No performance gains with dual exhaust either (since the piping is the same size). Looks great though....

DK, what kind of climate do you live in? The reason I ask is becuase I will have to test a new intake in the depth of winter (gets to temperatures of -35 celcius or so...). I am thinking it may be wise to wait till spring, as this intake may cause problems with very cold conditions. Maybe it wont!

I'm in West Virginia, and the winters can be pretty cold at times. Lately, it has only been at about 25-30* Fahrenheit lows, but it gets into the teens and single digits later on. I really don't expect any problems from it due to the cold. In fact, it just makes more power that way.

You should be able to run about an 8.5 0-60 time with a setup like mine, and your car being younger, running in colder air too.

One difference, however, is the thermostat. Mine is a 180 thermo, but you'd be better off keeping your 195* thermo in weather that cold.

One other thing...I put in a new fuel filter today. The old one had a ton of crud in it! The old spark plugs were showing a lean burn condition, so that led me to get a new filter. So, with the new plugs and filter both, she is running "sweet, clean, and close to the bone." Acceleration is flawless and hard. I really notice it pulling harder on the top end. Can't wait for some more test runs. 8.9? 8.8 maybe? who knows.

DK

I've never timed my car... Dont know how fast she goes...

You should get a stopwatch and time your 0-60. I'd be interested to know. I'd like to get one of those electronic devices that measures automatically. Getting the timing just right manually can be a trick, having to synchronize your finger and foot, and also making sure that you stop the watch exactly when the needle goes over 60. All that assumes that the speedometer is actually correct, and has no lag time. Boy, I sure wish I had one of those devices.

DK

It wouldnt be too hard to build a 0-60 timer into my computer, I wouldnt think. Because these cars use electronic speed sensors, the speed is displayed on the screen... I think the only problem would be refresh time on the computer, becuase it only updates information once every second....

But, It'd be cool to have one built in anyways.

You should go for it! If you could make it record 0-60, you could also bump up the refresh rate. I don't know enough about programming to do that, but maybe you do.

Now I've kind of reached a sticking point with my car performance wise. I guess a larger catback system would be the next step. Headers would be nice but no one makes them for our cars. Maybe I could rig up an exhaust pump to simulate a better exhaust

DK