Swiss Cheese Airbox?

[xfreak]

All right I got a kkm coming at the end of Jan. but I cant leave well enough alone.I heard saleen talking about drilling holes in the airbox and how that helped out with air flow. So my question is this, Is it worth it? If so what are the suggestions on doing it the right way. I already have a k&n filter in it so if poppin some holes actually help,then that shoud keep me entertained for a while.

 

[SaleenEXP]

ha, you mean me? I know theres a lot of people on here that have done it, I definitley know RTstork did it and enjoyed the results combined with is exhaust.

look for one of his post, and then check under his sig, he has a link for pictures for his Explorer, Mustang and S-10, look aeound the Explorer pictures and I think I remember seeing pics of his "swiss cheese" air box, I also think he wrote a thread or somebody did somewhere on how to do this ect...

 

[xfreak]

Whats up saleen, hey just looked at his pics and got no shot of the air box,so what did he do, simply drill holes in the box?

 

[SaleenEXP]

what up bro.....heres a link where RTstork replied too along with a bunch of others: Dead Link Removed
keep searching on here, and I know there was a thread somewhere around on how to/or exactly what to use ect and I think RTstork wrote it.

edit - also, did you remove the air-silencer? Remove that, and cut the front off the airbox like RTstork did, that way it'll pull in cold air from right behind the headlight.

 

[xfreak]

so what, does a cut air box help almost as much as a conical filter or what? Ive already got a K&N filter and Im not going off road. So if it helps that much,why go with a kkm in my application? I would love to put that money towards my exhaust. Also finally and also sounding like a moron on this one, as far as removing the air silencer, why and how? At this moment Im trying to remember what that looks like.

 

[RTStork]

By cutting the front of the airbox vs just using an open filter like the KKM or K&N FIPK, you only allow the engine to pull cooler air from outside the front of the Explorer. The open filters pull in air from all sides and most of it is hot air under the hood. Cooler air makes more power. Its probably not a big difference in our case, but for what its worth, I noticed a power increase over the FIPK that I had before. So, same or more power, for FREE! Here's a link with somw airbox pics. There's also some where I did the same thing on my Jeep Cherokee.
http://community.webshots.com/album/36826615gOhgVc

 

[xfreak]

Well,I did it. RT,thanks for the help. I used your guidelines and pics and they came in handy. To be honest it was very easy and did produce some noticeable results. I dont know if it is as good as a kkm or a mac but is a fast easy and cheaper route to take. I did notice a little quicker jump when i was trying it out but the most gain was in 3000 to 4000 rpm range at about 30 mph. An added bonus was that my engine sounded a little beefier,more than I expected. Thanks to RT and Saleen. This might keep me satisfied for a few weeks till the exhaust.

 

[GJarrett]

http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=16092

 

[xfreak]

Gerald I did try your method but after my friend chad lost two pints of blood, I told him that he diddnt have to hold the box anymore.Anyhoo I run out of shells and started to throw rocks at the airbox but realized Im no Mick Dundee, so I went to the sawzall and I am happy to report I and chad have all of our fingers and toes. But chad is still nurseing the other wound, being a buckshot to the groin!( I told him to hold it away from his body, but did he listen, of course not.)

 

[Jongoldsberry]

Air box cut out

Here is pictures i found of a cut out air box.http://www.generation-edge.com/forums/airbox.asp

 

[tenikiwon]

Air Silencer?

edit - also, did you remove the air-silencer? Remove that, and cut the front off the airbox like RTstork did, that way it'll pull in cold air from right behind the headlight.

What's the air silencer?

 

[RTStork]

On the front of the airbox, there should be a tube where air enters the airbox. This is the "silencer". Most modern vehicles have some sort of silencer/reducer to reduce intake noise. This works but also restricts airflow. Chunk it!

 

[xfreak]

Wow, its cool to see this thread come back after a couple of months. Anyways, I decided to keep my cut airbox over a kkm. I'm still very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Digger196]

what you do is egt the largest bit you can find. and drill as many holes as you can possible.

i took a 2" wood hole drilling bit and went to town. i got 3 i think on the top and 1 draining hole on the bottom to drain the water in the case i went underwater!

 

[davesexplorer]

Why even keep the airbox?

 

[xfreak]

Acts as a heat shield

 

[explr1]

Heres how I did mine, works great!!!

http://www.explorerforum.com/data/showphoto.php?photo=2055&size=big&papass=&sort=1&thecat=

 

[XLT Xtreme]

O.K. guys don't mean to be stupid but how do you remove the airbox on a 99 sohc. Can not see no screws or bolts holding it in but its in there good. Help me!

 

[SiLenZe]

id love to pull mine out also but those grommets holding it on the bottom are insane. i cant get at them to put wd-40 either.

 

[explr1]

Originally posted by SiLenZe
those grommets holding it on the bottom are insane.

Grab on to the airbox and pull straight up and at an angle away from the fender, thats all there is to it. I do have the airbox that holds the conical filter. The panel filter boxes might be harder.