1987 N/A streetport.

So I have read that apparently the stock air box is better than a "cold air intake" that just sits in your engine bay to the right of the radiator, and I honestly regretted buying it after I found that out...but would cutting a large hole in the chassis behind where the headlight sits (or that slit at the bottom corner of the bumper, i think its originally so air can be fed to the brakes) and running some large pvc piping from the front to the CAI be more effective than using the stock air box?

At this point I just want to put the CAI to use, without it being detrimental to performance.

Is this safe to do? I guess more importantly,is it worth doing?
If anyone has any suggestions on what else might work, that would be great!

Thanks.

 

i would just live with what you got and accept it.

about the only way to get cool air in there is by cutting the hood above the filter and creating a ducted box there. if someone were creative they could use a TII hood and use that scoop as the CAI duct.

with the flip up lights and the radiator mounted how it is, there isn't much way of improving what you already have. if there was, someone would have already profitted off it.

 

I agree with RE. We are talking about ~5hp here, you won't miss it.

 

The main point is to have dense air for performance, and the two primary factors that determine density are temperature and pressure. You have replaced the stock "cold air intake" with one that most likely has better pressure but worse temperature, so the overall density should be somewhat the same. Just put some type of divider in the engine bay to keep the inlet from sucking air directly from the back of the radiator. A sealed air box is not necessary, but it does help below about 30 mph. Don't bother with any kind of heat shielding unless a 1/2 hp gain is worth the extra cost, effort, and weight. The inlet feed should have 15-20 square inches to pull air from the front of the car, bottom of the engine bay, and/or from other sources. Try to avoid using small convoluted tubes to feed the engine because they will hurt the air pressure, possibly even more so than the stock air box. A proper feed pipe would need to be about 5" in diameter, which is not practical for a street car.

The previous owner of my 88 convertible installed a CAI (Calefacient Air Intake), and I just left it on there because I don't care. The car has over 200,000 miles on it, so I am pretty sure that the "CAI" doesn't hurt anything.

 

Great info! I learned a lot there; I did not realize that pressure was a key component to an intake. I guess ill just have to live with what I have.

 

One thing I have always thought about doing was cutting a hole in the hood in the shape of a square inside the stock rubber intake seals on the hood. More direct flow to the stock box. And if you're crafty with fibreglass, you could make a duct for the top of it. Would this be practical for say a dd with a big street port?

 

Until it rains... But really... All that work for no real gain.

 

True, that. No way to make it waterproof, really.

 

Does anyone still make that headlight cover with the vent built into it? Might be as effective at making no real power? All you'd have to do is paint it...

 

I recommend you is remove/relocate windshield washer reservoir and run brake ducting from the foglight cutout to the opening from where the fluid filler neck was. the cone filter I have in place of the stock air box gets a constant feed of cold air, heat soak doesn't really feel like an issue. After any period of city driving (roughly 20-60 km/h) the cone filter remains significantly colder than the rest of the intake tube