About that funny shaped intake tube - there's a reason - Performance!

[swathdiver]

...also ive seen 2 stock intake setups fails.

Can you tell us what you saw and what vehicles these were?

 

[drakon543]

Can you tell us what you saw and what vehicles these were?

99 ****** wagon
my 97 Tahoe
like i said tho age and wear tho so i can't really say it pertains to this. flex tube if the ****** wagon got dry and split at the flex section. my tahoe oem top cap as we are all away clamps down onto the throttle body. when i got mine that clamp lip was cracked. also probably due to age and wear and and previous work that might have been done before i bought it. real cause there is a mystery but it was broken. 08 bmw turbo models are also supposedly prone to the coupler splitting or something. i believe the factory replacements are a bit thicker there. regardless it does happen but its not common enough to warrant replacing your whole intake. it can fail just like any other part of a vehicle it just gets fixed as it happens. other vehicles i dont recall models and such are mysteriously missing air box clamps. ive also seen the slip fit port for thr pcv hose get so loose it wont hold the pcv hose anymore. i only originally mentioned it so those reading this post never ignore checking the condition of the factory intake parts.

 

[Peacock]

there's a difference between the level of performance and area of performance between something the needs to be able to drive on the street and an engine that's literally ripping itself apart for the level of performance on NHRA events. they generally dont run much more than open headers because running around with open headers puttering around side streets would actually burn the engine out faster. they also dont care about sound or sucking in dust and such because the engine only needs to last that long. i like some extra sound out of my vehicles but im positive everyone on here likes thier vehicle to last be able to run around town with extra addons such as vacuum boosters just to help the engine run. because without proper filtration proper exhaust flow and pretty much everything nhra cars dont care a bit about your not going to get far. there is a line you cross when your looking at being able to drive around like a regular person and driving a pure racing vehicle. NHRA vehicles are on the opposite side of the line than those who are looking for more power but still want to drive them regularly. i don't think anyone wants to rebuild thier engine every week once you crossed that line.

You keep talking in circles around the point of the topic, which is the resonator box helping performance.
If the box helped performance then you would be seeing it used in the aftermarket performance world, which you don't.
The word performance can be interpreted many ways amongst different people, it's evident during this discussion that you and I have a difference of opinion on the word. It doesn't mean I dislike you, I just disagree with you as you disagree with me on what performance is.
I daily drive some decently fast nostalgia street cars that my family has no problem piling in and going somewhere, if a harmonics box made them a few tenths faster me and everyone else in the group I run with would be trying to adapt them in some way (well maybe, because they sure are ugly).
On this parting note I'm bowing out of this conversation, but I'll most likely be reminded of it as i remove that particular piece from my vehicle...lol

 

[drakon543]

You keep talking in circles around the point of the topic, which is the resonator box helping performance.
If the box helped performance then you would be seeing it used in the aftermarket performance world, which you don't.
The word performance can be interpreted many ways amongst different people, it's evident during this discussion that you and I have a difference of opinion on the word. It doesn't mean I dislike you, I just disagree with you as you disagree with me on what performance is.
I daily drive some decently fast nostalgia street cars that my family has no problem piling in and going somewhere, if a harmonics box made them a few tenths faster me and everyone else in the group I run with would be trying to adapt them in some way (well maybe, because they sure are ugly).
On this parting note I'm bowing out of this conversation, but I'll most likely be reminded of it as i remove that particular piece from my vehicle...lol

View attachment 242561

ah no no the point is base on the 90% of people who want thier engine quiet the intake is designed for them. but they also have to design the intake so its not robbing the engine to such a degree that its a complete hindrance. nhra is just wide open un filtered intake at wide open throttle or filtered at wide open throttle. the intake pulses as mentioned earlier in the thread and article have no basis for concern at 50% to full throttle. including the part i mentioned that the engine regularly gets rebuilt or torn down cleaned and freshened up so the concern of running a wide open unfiltered scoop or a fine mesh filter just to keep out larger debris is not a concern for those engines. as one of my earlier mentions in this post i also believe the article is mainly focusing on those that remove the resonator box just to get that sound back. the stock piping and filtering is designed to have that resonator box in place. ive mentioned most of these points in a couple posts. id also like to mention the typical cam profile in a full racing engine holds the valves open for much longer for maximum high rpm power so intake pulses are again much less of a concern.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

I agree back to back dyno tests to prove real world power. I always get rid of those because they take up so much space I hate working around them.

You don't have below zero temps like a lot of other states. When It's 10-30 degrees below zero the original equipment makes sense as far as drivability is concerned.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I lived in South Dakota for several years. Ran "Performance" aftermarket air intake setups on my 03 Civic, 84 Turbo diesel Mercedes, 198? Ranger trail rig, 2005 Silverado, and Infinity QX4. Never had an issue with any of them and saw down to -20* multiple times. I drove all of them in even the harshest conditions because my work did not close due to bad weather. Only issue I ever had was the cable actuated throttle body on the ranger froze solid after I drove through drift after drift of snow well over the top of the hood. It was at no fault to the air intake because it was the outside of the TB where the cable attached, simply beat the ice off with a knife and she was ready to rip again.

I do however run a water resistant Pre-filter on all my open air filters that I expect will see an abundance of moisture.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

I think the OP missed the fact that the stock system on our trucks just plain sucks. It’s ugly, huge and it underperforms. It’s been proven for the last 20 years that pretty much any CAI other than the stock one is better. Not as quiet, but better performance wise. I’ll tell you what- when you buy a supercharger ( like I did lol) one of the things they include is a CAI tube to connect to your stock air box and guess what? It doesn’t have a bunch of chambers for waves to “bounce off”. And most of us like to hear our engines at least a little. This reminds me of Harley Davidsons, especially their V-Rods. In stock form they almost sound like sewing machines and the first thing almost everybody does is either mod the stock exhaust or buy an aftermarket one.

The Harley's and other motorcycle manufactures have to meet federal decibel levels.

 

[mackmcmillan]

i think the big point is simply removing the resonator and not doing anything else by just capping off where the resonator went will give you back some of the sound some people like. that could however have negative effects as the entire stock system is designed to utilize the resonator and give you the best power at the same time. depending on the vehicle a cai can have a large benefit in power but greatly increase the sound. other vehicles a cai will just make a bunch of noise with no gain in power. in other vehicles it is a full trade off between maximum power and actually hurting your low rpm power. 4 cyl engines was also mentioned so lets toss a typical 4 cyl civic in for a ref. a 2000 civic d16 a cai will literally do nothing but add a bunch of noise. a 2008 civic r18 a full cai will add some top end performance but you will notice a drop in your power off the line. you also cant compare some ebay junk to what most of the note worthy aftermarket companies sell you. buying an intake system isn't for everyone and doing your research prior to buying one should always be done. a stock intake system isnt so restrictive that you cant gain some power and keep it on the vehicle. if your after the sound and look of a cai why not. if your after power but without the added sound dont do an intake. if your after the sound and power do your research prior to buying simple as that. any aftermarket option that can be looked at as an "upgrade" in some fashion should be researched before buying regardless. no reason this discussion needs to get heated.

Now don't you go threatening folks with good advice and common sense and decency! ;-) I always find myself typing out a version of your passage on various sites. It seems "sticks and stones" only applies to ACTUAL children. Hehe, I say as I know full well I get butt hurt in my old age! HAHAHA

 

[mackmcmillan]

I lived in South Dakota for several years. Ran "Performance" aftermarket air intake setups on my 03 Civic, 84 Turbo diesel Mercedes, 198? Ranger trail rig, 2005 Silverado, and Infinity QX4. Never had an issue with any of them and saw down to -20* multiple times. I drove all of them in even the harshest conditions because my work did not close due to bad weather. Only issue I ever had was the cable actuated throttle body on the ranger froze solid after I drove through drift after drift of snow well over the top of the hood. It was at no fault to the air intake because it was the outside of the TB where the cable attached, simply beat the ice off with a knife and she was ready to rip again.

I do however run a water resistant Pre-filter on all my open air filters that I expect will see an abundance of moisture.

Ellsworth or oil fields? ;-) I now there are more options, but I happen to be of the Ellsworth variety of temporary SD residents! Is it weird i miss the 4 ship take offs rattling my windows 10 miles from base? Hehe

 

[Dantheman1540]

Yeah that one that starts with E . You can vouch for the sub zero temps then lol