Dual CAI Mod (4 Viewers)

[rlabair]

I've finally added a CAI to my Lx450, in fact I added two in one! I am happy with both the ease of, look and performance results of the mod. I also did the Landtank mod and my engine runs smooth and has increased power in the mid-range. Click off the o/d and hold on. On throttle it growls, off throttle its almost as quiet as stock. For those that like CAI its a cheap, easy, effective mod. For those that don't thanks for checkin out the thread.

Here's the parts list.
Rubber Plumbing Tube 10.00
Piper holder for mounting 2.00
Air filter from autozone 20.00 (I had an extra filter to begin with)
Roof flashing for heat shield 5.00
Total parts 37.00

The only cutting was on the plastic piece coming from the fender so it forced air directly into the end of the main filter. And, I scored the edges of the flashing to get it fitted and mounted. That's it, the rest was easy. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!




[/ATTACH]

 

[Ebag333]

Umm.......if CAI stands for Cold Air Intake, I think you'd better rename it to WAI or even HAI.

 

[rlabair]

Haha, yeah you may be right there. However the main filter is directly inline with the cold air intake coming up through the fender and the shield directs that air to the rear filter. Can't get any closer than that unless you use a completely enclosed heat shield. It ain't perfect but it is what it is.

 

[alia176]

I would use a scangauge to check the IAT with the factory setup then again with your setup. I have a feeling that your setup will produce hotter IAT due to the filter that's located directly above the exh manifold. However, I applaud your originality!

 

[Ebag333]

Haha, yeah you may be right there. However the main filter is directly inline with the cold air intake coming up through the fender and the shield directs that air to the rear filter. Can't get any closer than that unless you use a completely enclosed heat shield. It ain't perfect but it is what it is.

You probably don't want to be hearing this....but....

I can guarantee you that you are going to be absorbing tons of heat. Unless that second filter is for show, that's positioned directly above the exhaust downpipes, so you're going to be getting tons of heat from that.

The OEM setup pulls air directly from the fender well in a completely closed setup, what you've done is open up that sealed box and replace it with some flashing that is no longer completely sealed. You may suck in most of the cold air from the intake, but you'll suck in tons of hot air from the engine bay as well.

Additionally, there's a filtration issue there. The OEM filter setup will filter far
more than those K&N's.

Don't believe me?

Filtration Testing for Amsoil, K&N, Napa, Jackson Racing, Baldwin, and Mazda air filters on a Miata

The OEM filter is a foam filter similar to the two best ones in that test.


"But wait!" you say, "the K&N will flow better!"

Um, that may be true, but lets think about a couple of things here.

A filters job, first and foremost is to remove particles. A good filter would remove 100% of particles, but a good filter would also not let any air flow. No filter will flow the best, but will not remove anything.

And even if the K&N air filters did actually flow better (which is not necessarily the case), you've replaced a very large volume air filter with two smaller ones, which likely negates any gain you may have had.

Are you going to actually notice that extra 1 HP (at the engine, reduced further when you measure it at the wheels)? Probably not.

Are you going to notice the extra wear and tear on the engine from more particles getting into the engine? If you keep it long enough, yup.

Are you going to notice your wallet getting lighter by several hundred bones when you have to replace the MAF/VAF because oil contaminated it and ruined it? Probably.

Oh, that's right. Oil (the same oil that K&N and other companies tell you to use) is not only messy, but can ruin your intake sensor. :whoops:

An interesting comment from that test I linked to above:

In the e-mail I received from K&N, I actually got contradictory information on this point. They claimed that the deposit on my test filter was oil (it isn't), and then they said oil does not leave the filter and damage mass air sensors. Honestly, you can't have it both ways. Either oil leaves the filter or it doesn't. Oil will damage a mass air sensor if it gets on the sensor wiring. This is highly documented by TSBs easily available online.

I get what you're trying to do, and I applaud the idea and motivation behind it. But, and I hate to say it, you just spent $37 doing something that is worse for the engine. Your air temps will be higher. You will let in more particles. The oil from the filters may damage sensors behind it. You will flow the same or even worse. There is absolutely no benefit to the mod....and every reason not to.


The air intake on an 80 is incredibly well designed. The filters are also top notch, far better than just about anything aftermarket.

For one, the 80's air filter is huge, far bigger than the engine needs (and far larger than what most competitors would use). For another, the OEM filter is designed to be reused, not thrown away (it has cleaning instructions printed right on it, no oil needed). Finally, the OEM design has a pre-filtration catch can integrated into it, which you've removed. So a lot of the crap that would have been caught there is now going straight to your filters...which--as the K&N doesn't filter as well--in turn is going straight into your engine.



Here's my unsolicited advice. Undo what you've done, return it to stock, and buy a new OEM filter from Mr. Cdan as a way of apologizing to your truck.

 

[NKP Garage]

I have to agree with Ebag333 here. We've been looking at various ways to improve the intake on these trucks for a couple of months now and all in all, the OEM setup is designed really well. There's literally no better way to get COLDER air in than the OEM setup. We do have a few ideas to open up the intake and allow the air to get in with less restriction, but as far as colder air, you won't do better than the OEM setup on these trucks.

 

[rlabair]

I don't disagree with anything you guys have stated, technically you are correct. However, I keep my filters lightly oiled and clean both them and the MAF with every oil change. My engine is kept clean both inside and out and runs like a top. Regarding the filters and contaminents; I recently sold an e30 BMW with over 200k on the odometer, it was a track car with a Racing Dynamic filter, never a problem. My current track car is an M3 with 135k on the odometer and it has had a ITG foam filter on it for its life, never a problem and it runs like a beast. So in this friendly debate you offer technical proof on paper and I counter with my experience of actual experience with this type of filter. I really appreciate your viewpoints, I guess we just agree to disagree. Thanks for the feedback on the post!

 

[retrofive]

Not my kinda of mod, but each to their own. Keep us posted on how she's running down the road.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I'm with EBag on this one

K&N's are garbage (and I've been selling them for 15+ years....even have the stupid ping pong ball demonstrator in my shop lol)

When clean, they flow great and filter like poop

When dirty, they filter great and flow like poop

When I bought my rig a couple years ago, the PO had installed a K&N and it was the first thing I replaced (with OEM of course)




Rick

 

[rlabair]

HaHa, It's kinda funny that K&N's are getting bashed in this thread cause neither filter used in this mod is even a K&N!

 

[Ebag333]

HaHa, It's kinda funny that K&N's are getting bashed in this thread cause neither filter used in this mod is even a K&N!

Same design, style, and theory.

Just a K&N by a different name.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

HaHa, It's kinda funny that K&N's are getting bashed in this thread cause
neither filter used in this mod is even a K&N! I run ITG and Racing Dynamic
filters in my vehicles. But, I did just put some K&N filters on my sons scooter.
Rick, if the K&N are POS why do you continue selling them, are they big sellers
or do you just use the pingpong ball demo to sell people on the stock filters?

Any aftermarket cotton based filter that uses oil to trap debris is garbage lol

Whether it be a K&N or one of those K&N knock-off's you'd find in the ricer isles at Pep Boys and VatoZone

Why do I still sell them?

The same reason why speed shops sell HID's and Honda stickers to the riceboys

$$$$

 

[retrofive]

IMO comparing performance cars to the LC... apples and oranges. I loved my old M3 Dinan stage 4. I would not tune/mod my LC like my old M3. Different beasts here.

 

[rlabair]

C'mon admit it, if you could tune it like your old M3 you would, in fact we all would!

I'm not trying to tune my truck like my M3. My point was that I've used these types of filters for years on my vehicles and have never had an engine problem that I would attribute to my air filter. Now electrical probs, oil probs, heat, yes but air filter damage? Nope not here and I imagine none of you have had any problems with your stock filters either.

My truck sees very little off road use other than to deer camp or the four wheel trails so our driving habits and needs may be different. Sounds like you guys are more experienced in four wheeling then I am so it makes sense that you might be more concerned about engine contamination due to dust, dirt and the like.

At least we drive similar trucks! Haha

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

My current track car is an M3 with 135k on the odometer and it has had a ITG foam filter on it for its life, never a problem and it runs like a beast.

Would it really be any less of a beast with the OEM filter?

I'm not trying to tune my truck like my M3. My point was that I've used these types of filters for years on my vehicles and have never had an engine problem that I would attribute to my air filter.

The point we're trying to make is why take that chance

5-7hp from a high flow filter isn't worth risking possible bad filtration for my engine, but that's just me

The last car I sold had a CAI with K&N installed as a dealer package.

I didn't like it, but I had no choice.

The filter was pre-oiled and it ruined the MAF within a week of driving my brand new car

Warranty took care of it, but even the dealer suggested I get a regular paper filter

Couldn't find one to fit that CAI package (it was an extra large filter), so I did the next best thing and left it dirty for the best filtration (flow be damned!!)

It turned out to be a nice addition when I made my sales video...

YouTube - 98 SNAKE EATER FOR SALE!!

but I made sure I let the new owner know how much I despise oiled filters and the reasoning behind it

 

[FJason80]

You gotta give the guy some originality points! I mean, most people on this forum do mods that INCREASE performance / reliability............ Way to stray from the pack a little.

 

[lt1fire]

While I wouldn't do this because the gains on an 80 seem pointless, i've run K/N type filters on many, many cars before with great gains and no adverse effects. Desert racers all run them, my friend who runs his sand rail at least once every other week for hours in the desert or at pismo or glamis has been running the same engine for the last 10 years with a K/N on it.

 

[alia176]

While I wouldn't do this because the gains on an 80 seem pointless, i've run K/N type filters on many, many cars before with great gains and no adverse effects. Desert racers all run them, my friend who runs his sand rail at least once every other week for hours in the desert or at pismo or glamis has been running the same engine for the last 10 years with a K/N on it.

curious, did you take apart any of the intake manifolds on the cars to see if the runners were still squeaky clean?

 

[landtank]

As for the IATs, I did some testing on the stock system a few years ago and found some nice gains by insulating the filter canister with a winter jacket. That canister would transmit quite a bit of heat to the air.

I'd think having this setup suck that heat directly in would only give even higher IATs.

 

[lt1fire]

curious, did you take apart any of the intake manifolds on the cars to see if the runners were still squeaky clean?

Personally that is one thing I never did. I took engines apart but never looked at the intake as most of the time I was putting a higher perfomance one on anyway.