How much performance comes from the large tube that some fabricate to channel the air from the grill into the motor? A little more specifically, does it help on a pretty much stock motor? I was pondering turning the pump up a flat, and it occurred to me that a little better air flow may ease the whole turning up the fuel thing, right?

This came to me when I was looking at Dave's gallery of his truck and motor. Oh and I gotta say this-That is one of the top 10 coolest trucks I've ever seen, and I've been accused of being ate up with ford trucks.Then I realized that he had a turbo and wondered if that would be worth fabbing up on my truck, being a non-turbo.


I have only one concern though. Obviously I wheel this truck and it seems that basically the first hole I hit, I will be dumping water in the motor. Any ideas on that one?

Okay, that little bit aside, I already have good flowing true dual exhaust, If I fab up this intake, can I safely turn up the pump a flat? Maybe only a half?

Come on Dave- lay it on me straight!!

 

well, you have already seen what a larger exhaust will do without more air coming in. now how do you think it will improve with more air??

there are 2 different ways to give yourself more air without worrying about water ingestion.
first you can make a larger air intake by drawing the air from a high place, like through the cowl.
second, you can do an intake like Dave has, with the air filter in a box with water drains in it.
and before you turn the pump up, you really should install a pyrometer to keep an eye on things.

 

I read somewhere that you can take off the air filter housing & drill a bunch of holes in it, this will increase air flow & performance. I am thinking about doing it

 

I also heard about someone removing the "bowl" from the under side of the air cleaner lid?

 

Get rid of the bowl for the first mod.
As for would it work on a NA motor, I could tell a difference even with the turbo cranking out lots of boost, so my answer would be a yes.
As for water, I don't go through water deep enough to get up to the scoop unless I have to. Since it is hooked up to the air cleaner with the stock plastic hose, if I had to go through deep water it would be easy to remove the hose.
Rain, even driving downpours do not get water into my air filter while driving interstate speeds.

SNOW however is a different story. I have to unhook the hose from my air box while driving in snow or plowing snow. The lighter and fluffier the snow is, the worse it is.
Cakes on the bottom of the filter till it shuts the engine down from lack of air.

Holes in the air cleaner will let in more hot air, but hot air is not what you are after.
Cool air is denser, contains more oxygen, burns more fuel cleaner.

A couple mornings ago I had to run up in the mountains.
It was 5 degrees when I left home, below zero when I got up in the mountains.
All I can say is I wish it was zero every day, that cold air getting rammed into the turbo at 80 MPH, get out of my way I am on a mission and the truck is screaming up the mountains.
Think I need an intercooler to cool that boost down so it is that much fun to drive when it is warmer.

Fortunately the temps are going way down again this weekend, I am going for another long ride if they do.