Torque Obsessed

I thought I'd make this its own thread so people could search for it. I did this partly for sound reasons (I don't like the sounds from the Novi 1200), and partly for cosmetic reasons (I wanted some bling!). This might help with colder IAT's, but I'm too lazy to test that theory, sorry.

Here's what was needed. I got everything from www.siliconeintakes.com because they had the lowest prices I could find.

(2) 3.5" polished aluminum 90 degree bends
(1) 3.5" polished aluminum 45 degree bend
(2) 3.5" silicone couplers
(7) 3.5" t-bolt clamps (just 5 would do, but I replaced some of the SOS worm clamps)
Here's an old "before" pic in case anyone doesn't know what the SOS kit normally looks like.


Gotta love a box full of bling! I wound up not needing the long 90 on the left. (I had expected that, but ordered it anyway just in case.)



First, the hard part - opening up the hole in the engine bay behind the passenger side headlight. My car had already been hacked up in this area, so I figured what the heck, I'd go for it. I was able to cut the thin metal pretty easily using some metal shears and then just bent it out of the way. And now you know I'm not that good with my hands, so no, my work isn't pretty.



Next, I cut away part of the headlight support bracket. Yes, you can just remove this (I did for a week and it seemed OK, up to 80mph), but I wanted to re-use it if possible.



Next, I started assembling the CAI from the bottom up. This is the bottom 90, which I later cut shorter so the filter would fit. (I actually cut both 90's shorter because they would have been too tall otherwise.)


I had to cut the piping shorter in several places because this is a pretty tight space and the pieces I had ordered were longer than I needed. This was pretty easy using my band saw, but with enough time and determination you could do it with a hack saw or maybe a Skilsaw.


Here you can see that I’ve marked up where I’m going to cut the 45-degree bend. I had ordered a long one in case I needed it, but I think the smaller size might have fit too.


Here’s the 45 after cutting it. I don’t have a bead roller and I’m too lazy to buy one or make one, so I just used some big pliers to bend up the edges of the pipe to form a lip.


And finally, here are some pics of the finished setup. I trimmed away about 1" of the silicone from the main bend coming out of the supercharger so that the 45 would fit into it at the angle I wanted. I really wanted to just do a straight section here instead of a 45, but the fan motor support was in the way and I didn't want to cut it.

ahrmike

damn, looks good. been thinking of somehow utilizing the KN box I have so I dont have to worry about hydrolock..which I suppose isnt a big problem since turbo setups have that fat intercooler to "hold" some water until it evaps...

Deception

Nice work TO, looking to do this myself in next few weeks... summer temps really bog the car down

sata3000

looks good!

DFWs2k

Awesome, im thinking about a hood scoop right over the filter

RAIN H8R

Awesome idea! I bet that rattles at least a little bit with engine movement. Id be interested to see if all the edges you are resting on cut through the intake piping.

Sideways

Do you think 1/2 inch larger (4") tubing would fit or is it tight already?

sunman

nice job man, looks good. What kind of differences in sound did you notice? Any changes in performance that you could feel?

RAIN H8R

It looks like a tight fit already...but those are just pictures. I wonder if routing the piping like an AEM CAI would fit better....?

I'm not hating on the OPs design, I think its a brilliant idea!

Torque Obsessed

I've only had it out for a brief run so far, and I've got mixed opinions. At idle and at cruise, it does make the setup quieter so I don't have to hear the gear noise from the blower. No rattles or other unexpected issues. 4" looks like it might fit if you were willing to remove that headlight bracket, and/or cut into it farther. The piping is in there really tight the way I installed it, and I'm actually most worried that it could push too hard against the back of the headlight. It's 1/16" aluminum, much thicker and stronger than the thin sheetmetal I cut through, so I am not worried about the edges cutting into the pipe.

The question in my mind is whether it restricts performance any. The car doesn't feel uber strong at the moment, though that could be from heatsoak sitting at a light on a 94 degree day before running it. I'm going to see if I can get my laptop hooked up to the E-manage so I can log boost levels and AFR's to see if the CAI affects performance. With luck I'll get that sorted out for a run tomorrow morning when it's a bit cooler.