So i just put a K&N cone filter on my 88 gxl and there is that rubber hose on the back of the stock intake box, and goes into the AC it didnt seem to run different plugged or unplugged but it was sucking in air with the AC off so i was not sure what to do with it, so i just put a little breather filter on it till i get some feed back.
Im also thinking about pulling the AC belt for over the winter for possibly a little less engine drag, and electrical fan, anyone notice any tourque differences with em off, if at all?

 

Taking the AC pulley off is worth maybe 1/2 to 1 HP.

 

The smaller hose to the airbox goes to the air pump, not the AC.
A little filter on it is fine.

 

I would put the hose back to the airbox, or leave the filter, but plug the hole in the airbox or it will suck un filtered air into engine, DON'T remove the belt from the thing you thought was the A/C that is an airpump that puts fresh air into the exhaust lowering emissions, yes you can remove it, it doesn't do MUCH but it also doesn't hurt and won't rob any power from your engine...

leave the belt on the a/c too, its not going to cause a bit of drag if the a/c is off, the clutch in the a/c takes care of that, it will only drag if the a/c is on otherwise it spins free and its a PITA to take off put on..

and you have an 88, so an electric fan is going to ROB engine power, it will take more strain on the weak alternator to run a fan causing more power drops there than you can ever imagine a clutch fan to draw

besides an electric fan can never pull the amount of air through the rad that a clutch fan can, and you don't want to overheat your engine...

my advice to you is go read the archives section and just look at what other people have done, don't jump into a mod just cause one guy said it was awesome, lots of people do that an then regret it afterwards..

 

That's an extremely dubious claim.
Given that the clutch fan is engine RPM sensitive, an electric fan can easily pull more CFM in idle/low RPM situations.

Many folks- myself included- who have taken the time to properly install an electric fan have no regrets, or cooling issues, and wouldn't consider going back.

 

well IIRC the clutch fan really only does it's job at idle low RPM situations and is pretty much off when you are at driving speeds b/c it actually would create a bottleneck and not do anything anyway, so saying that it doesn't do well in these situations says that it doesn't do a thing at all...

and from the sounds of the OP he really wants cheap mods, an electric fan isn't going to be cheap once you upgrade your alternator and battery and buy the proper relays to turn it on off when needed...

 

How do you figure the fan is "off" at higher RPMs?

 

well its a clutch fan, works on temp, the hotter the engine the harder the clutch will grip

if you are driving the fan will slow due to the natural air flow created by the movement of the car

and I said pretty much off, not completely, it still provides air flow but it isn't going to continue to spin as fast as you rev the engine, the fan going that fast would cause failure and the blades would most likely break off, I'm no expert but I would assume that is what would happen, IIRC around 4K is where the fan stops accelerating with the engine but maintains its speed

 

Im not looking for cheap mods, as i said winter is right around the corner and thought about just pulling the A/C belt off. And i know how to properly set up a electric fan and i know i wont have any problems due to low amps.

 

ah found it the write up from aaroncake, its a good read check it out

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/efanmyth.htm