$15 Supercharger? (not quite!)

[dantye]

FYI: It is probably unlikely that it is stainless steel. More likely bright tin plate on steel. Not that it makes too much difference, but it is likely to corrode in an engine compartment environment. Would be a good idea to multiple clear coat it.

Thanks!

It is labeled "Stainless Steel," but I took a magnet to it, and you are right! Damned Chinese crap! (Since it's already in pieces, I doubt K-Mart will take it back. I just pitched it.

Since Gus' AFM bracket allows me to attach the AFM at two different angles, I've decided to use lower angle, which lowers the filter and "aims" the fIlter directly at the cold air hole I cut. This, plus just being further below the hood (where the hottest air collects at idle) should help some. We will see how it runs when the streets dry out.

Thanks again. I guess the moral is: Take a magnet with you when shopping for ANYTHING stainless steel!

[RRoller123]

I bet if you put a few clear coats on it, that would protect it pretty well! Spray the inside and outside with 3 or 4 coats and it should be pretty well protected from the chemical elements. Just the ends would then need to be attended to. They can be sprayed too, or brushed with an acrylic, which would probably do the job. Good luck!

[dantye]

For now, I have decided to opt for "Physics over Fabrication" by changing the AFM angle, which lowers the filter farther from the hood and lines it up with the cold air intake I cut. This should improve the % of cold combustion air both at idle and at road speed. I will not worry about a heat shield unless performance dictates.

Picture = 1000 words:



Couldn't really find a good place for another air hole in outer fender without moving a bunch of wiring or cutting fender liner, so the only result of that exploration was putting a crack in the cold plastic fender liner while removing it. One more thing to fix!

[Razooli]

California won't pass my car for smog with a cone filter on it so I've done some similar mods to the stock air box, cutting a hole in front of the box, plugging the stock inlet and enlarging the 2 holes from the removed AC lines in the radiator wall to a single 2.5" hole.


Pics before enlarging holes

I've since put some sealed ducting from the hole to the box. I measured the temperatures ... the engine air at the stock inlet was around 160°, the air inside the box was around 90° at idle and drops to around 67-70° while driving. The outside temp was 61° while I was doing the test. The car seems a bit peppier ... sounds better anyhow and it idles and drives smoothly. I'm also going to try a K&N in place the old stock filter.
FWIW, when I took the cone off and put the box back on for my smog test in August, the car idled smoother and the slight hesitation on acceleration I was experiencing was gone. Don't think I'll be going back to the cone.

[dantye]

Filter box mods that work are fine, but my original filter box had been seriously warped by the prior owner miss-fitting a filter, followed by years of neglect. I was not able to straighten it, and it was leaking unfiltered air. So I changed to a cone filter primarily for cleaner, not colder air. However, since cold combustion air IS important, I'm trying to provide more of it. We will see how it goes.

In Wisconsin, the fine, dry, sand/salt spray from spring roads is NOT something you want in an engine. The cone filter also makes regular cleaning under the hood easier - something we need to do quite often here.

[geno58]

Some grades of Stainless are magnetic, generally the lower grades.

[dantye]

Decided to use a novel approach that clamps the heat shield on with the K&N filter clamp. Required some fab on a $7 brushed stainless office canister from Wal-Mart. (Not sure how it would work with other conversions.)

FINALLY WORKING: Cut about 1/3 of the stainless bucket away, and cut curve in bottom to fit the filter diameter, leaving 3 stainless tabs to hold it on with the Air Filter clamp. Then crimp the straight sharp edges for both strength and safety.


This shield keeps out most dirt and water thrown out by V-belt, pulleys, and fan. But it allows larger particles in the air stream from the round air openings shown above to drop out the bottom of the shield:

[SunnySideUp]

I did something similar to Razooli's modification of the stock air box. Rather than an enlarged slot I opted for a series of large holes in the front and down the fender side. I left the rear and engine-side of the box alone to keep the amount of hot air ingested to a minimum. It looks totally stock and folks at the DMV haven't a clue since they can't see it.



I was considering using the cone filter approach. I was apprehensive because of the need to fab a heat shield of some sort. I also wondered about whether the configuration and small increase in surface area of the typical cone filter would really be any better over the panel filter if the panel filter could just get more free air available to it. Modifying the stock air box produced a notable difference, not neck-whipping, but notable. I purchased K&N panel filter during one of IAP's sales and that helped a bit, too. It was an inexpensive mod that has seemed to help. I even get that guttural growl sound from the intake like one would get with a cone filter when you punch the accelerator (not as quite as loud, but it's definitely there). For me this was a less expensive and acceptable alternative to the cone filter approach.

I also decommissioned the pre-heater manifold on top of the throat of the aluminum collector box on top of the intake plenums. I live in an area of the Southwest where I don't have to worry about icing in the intake during cold weather. It didn't make sense to re-heat the air after making efforts to cool it down. If I relocate to a cooler climate I can always re-instate the pre-heater manifold.

[dantye]

One of the reasons I originally went to a cone filter is that my air box was severely warped from the PO having kept it clamped wrong for 20 years in sometimes 30 below weather. There was no way to get a filter to seal properly, so it was leaking a lot of unfiltered air. I have finally ditched the can heat shield idea, and settled for getting the filter as much cold air as possible and locating it as low as possible. This required a mod to Gus' AFM bracket to prevent it from interfering with the AMF electrical connector. A photo of the bracket mod is here: https://picasaweb.google.com/dantye/FIA ... 5694527122
followed (after some exhaust repair photos) by several photos that show the 2 1/2" cold air holes and my current filter set-up. The sound is great, but more important, the improvement in acceleration at road speed is significant.

Whatever works to keep rolling! Here in Wisconsin, the Gov't. doesn't inspect cars. (But they DO inspect Cheese!)

[Razooli]

I did something similar to Razooli's modification of the stock air box. Rather than an enlarged slot I opted for a series of large holes in the front and down the fender side. I left the rear and engine-side of the box alone to keep the amount of hot air ingested to a minimum. It looks totally stock and folks at the DMV haven't a clue since they can't see it.

Good job! Gotta keep the DMV in the dark!
I thought I'd post the finish of my air box mod. I read Jason Miller's blog entries on his fabrication of a custom air box for his coupe (http://www.millersmule.com/blog/project ... 1-forming/) and got inspired to replace my "cardboard and duct tape" connector with something more elegant. I enlarged the hole in the front panels and made a custom fiberglass connector that fits tightly between the panel and the stock air box.
I fabricated it around a foam core and then glassed over the inside of the foam to form a "throat" to smooth the air flow and insulate the incoming air from the hot engine air. There even seems to be a "ram" effect ... the temp inside the box measured above the filter drops 20° or more when the car is in motion vs idling.

Modifying the stock air box produced a notable difference, not neck-whipping, but notable. I purchased K&N panel filter ... even get that guttural growl sound from the intake like one would get with a cone filter when you punch the accelerator (not as quite as loud, but it's definitely there). For me this was a less expensive and acceptable alternative to the cone filter approach.
I also decommissioned the pre-heater manifold on top of the throat of the aluminum collector box on top of the intake plenums.

I added a K&N panel filter too, painted everything black and when the box is assembled and the radiator hose and headlight cable are placed into position, the connector is virtually invisible. It should make it through the smog visual inspection with no problem. I totally agree about the performance difference, the growl and disabling the pre-heater is a great idea!

[Turbofiat124]

Where did u get the filter and adaptor? I would like to install too.

Spectre used to or still makes adapters that will bolt to the AFM. I got mine from AutoZone. I got the filter from Advance Auto but I think they sell this one as well. Mine just barely fits. It takes allot of work to squeeze it in between the turbo and the engine compartment.

[Turbofiat124]

Where did u get the filter and adaptor? I would like to install too.

Spectre used to or still makes adapters that will bolt to the AFM which use a 3" ID filter. I got mine from AutoZone. I got the filter from Advance Auto but I think they sell this one as well. Mine just barely fits. It takes allot of work to squeeze it in between the turbo and the engine compartment.

[Turbofiat124]

Where did u get the filter and adaptor? I would like to install too.

Spectre used to or still makes adapters that will bolt to the AFM which use a 3" ID filter. I got mine from AutoZone. I got the filter from Advance Auto but I think they sell this one as well. Mine just barely fits. It takes allot of work to squeeze it in between the turbo and the engine compartment.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd14 ... iltT32.jpg

[dantye]

Just to close out this thread, I gave up on the heat shielding and settled for putting the filter right in a cold air stream:


... then modified the bracket so it would not damage the AFM electrical connector:


I also cut another 2.5" hole in the inner fender, shown here covered with a wire filter screen from a computer:


On to other problems ...

[dantye]

(Corrected above and re-posted here to continue thread)

Decided to use a novel approach that camps the heat shield on with the K&N filter clamp. Required some fab on a $7 brushed stainless office canister from Wal-Mart. (Not sure how it would work with other conversions.)

FINALLY WORKING: Cut about 1/3 of the stainless bucket away, and cut curve in bottom to fit the filter diameter, leaving 3 stainless tabs to hold it on with the Air Filter clamp. Then crimp the straight sharp edges for both strength and safety. This setup is really helping to increase cold air intake.


This shield keeps out most dirt and water thrown out by V-belt, pulleys, and fan. But it allows larger particles in the air stream from the round air openings shown above to drop out the bottom of the shield: