Cutting the airbox bad in the summer?

[funnyperson1]

I had read a couple threads here about cutting holes in the airbox to allow more airflow. I had recently bought a new K&N filter and I was thinking that combining a non restrictive airbox with the new filter I could see a 1 or maybe even 2 mpg gain with a little more power as well.

I was interested and talked to a friend at my dads office. He said that my current airbox was taking in cold air and cutting it would give the engine warm air....giving me even worse performance.

My thoughts are that cutting the box wouldn't bring the air intake THAT much closer to the engine heat to negate the benefits of the extra flow. Also this guy is a ricer and has been modding CRX's for years, I don't know about his knowledge of SUVs.

The reason I'm thinking about doing this is because I had gotten 11MPG one time although I loved the little bit of sound the new filter added and was driving like . Then after altering my driving style (keeping rpms below 2500 whenever possible) I'm getting 14-15. This is with a mix of 60/40 city to highway driving.

This seems a bit low to me, I see most around here getting 17-18. Any cheap mods I can do to get the mileage up would also be appreciated. I don't want to put too much money into the truck because it could die or get traded in at any time. After all it does have 146k miles on it, and driving to tech getting 15mpg isn't helping my pockets any. I do love this truck, but I'm not rich!

Thanks.

 

[funnyperson1]

Err anyone?

Ok maybe I will rephrase it a bit. Has anyone who lives in a hot climate experienced a drop in gas mileage/performance with a cut airbox or an open air intake.

Thanks.

 

[KPT]

I have a K&N cone. Performance is always better regardless of temp. The tiny little hole the stock airbox breathes through is just not big enough.

 

[SiLenZe]

http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/airtemp.html
1% horsepower increase for every 10 degrees drop in air intake temperature

my recomendation is to either keep the stock airbox with a drop in k&n filter, or an aftermarket kit with a heat shield or aftermarket airbox. you can remove the factory air silencer tube from the front, it just pops out and cut a bigger hole if desired. you could also wrap your tubes with heat shielding like they did. your trying to get the most air inside the engine at the lowest temperature.

http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/aircleaner.html

 

[Bronco638]

I was curious about this too (cool 'outside' air versus hot engine compartment air) so I dropped KKM is note and asked them. Their response:

"Our Testing has shown underhood air temperatures when driving down the road to be a few degrees warmer than outside air . With these results, we do not feel it is necessary to put restrictions on incoming air to the filter, by placing costly shields or ducting in our induction systems which would cause more restrictions. Basically, the underhood area is not a hot still air chamber. When driving down the road there is quite a bit of airflow under the hood area."

Hope this helps - Dave.

 

[aldive]

Heat is not a factor at sppeds over 20 MPH,

Tests measuring IAT and comparing to ambient temp shows that the IAT is not more than a degree or two of ambient.

 

[Bwana Bob]

Do the 1st gen trucks (1992-1994) have an air silencer tube? My 92 has a plastic baffle where the air intake attaches behind the grille. Is this baffle just a silencer or do I need it to keep bugs and rain out?


Thank.


Bob

 

[funnyperson1]

http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/airtemp.html
1% horsepower increase for every 10 degrees drop in air intake temperature

my recomendation is to either keep the stock airbox with a drop in k&n filter, or an aftermarket kit with a heat shield or aftermarket airbox. you can remove the factory air silencer tube from the front, it just pops out and cut a bigger hole if desired. you could also wrap your tubes with heat shielding like they did. your trying to get the most air inside the engine at the lowest temperature.

http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/aircleaner.html

Those links were very informative, thank you.

It looks like some thermal barrier tape wrapped around the intake would do me some good.

What is curious is that they lost performance after removing the factory silencer.

I think I will first get some thermal insulation and go from there. This does look encouraging as most of my driving this summer will be from 40-60mph and it seems like at those speeds, heat isn't a big issue. Then when school starts almost all of my driving will be from 75-90mph on my way to/from VT.

Thank you all for your help.

If anyone has any other cheap ways to improve gas mileage, please let me know.

 

[Jason94sport]

Where I live South FL it's a 100% more hot then where you are. I have a real cold air kit on my Acura & see a slight gain in MPG in any weather. On the X I have a KKM intake I just put on last week. Not sure how that will work for MPG. It's still an SUV that guzzles gas. Might see 1 or 2 gain but I'm sure it won't be that much of a difference.
The best ways to increase fuel economy are very simple. Stay off the gas, & make sure your truck has the noraml maintance done. Your plug/wires etc are all good, & check tire pressure.

 

[funnyperson1]

Where I live South FL it's a 100% more hot then where you are. I have a real cold air kit on my Acura & see a slight gain in MPG in any weather. On the X I have a KKM intake I just put on last week. Not sure how that will work for MPG. It's still an SUV that guzzles gas. Might see 1 or 2 gain but I'm sure it won't be that much of a difference.
The best ways to increase fuel economy are very simple. Stay off the gas, & make sure your truck has the noraml maintance done. Your plug/wires etc are all good, & check tire pressure.

Thanks, that is what I had wanted to know. I knew that if people in FL and Cali were straight with their open air intakes, then I shouldn't have any problems .