Open Box Intake

[MrTris]

Lot of discussion on intakes, I get it.

I see alot of you guys say, "Oh, if it's sucking air from the engine bay, it's a HOT air intake!"

OK, that's fair, I been doing this long enough to understand where you're coming from, BUT, I'm seeing just about every brand has an open box at the top, or, barring that, a plexi window for the cone filter.

If this approach is so wrong, why are so many brands doing it?

Yeah, you've got your weatherstripping on top, undoubtedly relying on hood seal when closed, but, surely there's some gap.

Is there reason for this attitude, or, is it letting Good be the enemy of Perfect?

 

[Trey Hardy]

Lot of discussion on intakes, I get it.

I see alot of you guys say, "Oh, if it's sucking air from the engine bay, it's a HOT air intake!"

OK, that's fair, I been doing this long enough to understand where you're coming from, BUT, I'm seeing just about every brand has an open box at the top, or, barring that, a plexi window for the cone filter.

If this approach is so wrong, why are so many brands doing it?

Yeah, you've got your weatherstripping on top, undoubtedly relying on hood seal when closed, but, surely there's some gap.

Is there reason for this attitude, or, is it letting Good be the enemy of Perfect?

From my experience I’ve seen better gains off an air raid tube with the stock air box and a k&n filter.
I ran spectre intakes in the past but never noticed a big difference out of them.
I now have a closed box k&n setup and I can’t remember the one on my truck but it’s also a closed box using the stock airbox hole in the fender and has the plexiglass top.
In my opinion the close air box filters are way better then the open style like spectre and many other brands

 

[tooleyondeck]

because they're selling aesthetics and the "woosh" sound...

 

[MrTris]

From my experience I’ve seen better gains off an air raid tube with the stock air box and a k&n filter.
I ran spectre intakes in the past but never noticed a big difference out of them.
I now have a closed box k&n setup and I can’t remember the one on my truck but it’s also a closed box using the stock airbox hole in the fender and has the plexiglass top.
In my opinion the close air box filters are way better then the open style like spectre and many other brands

So, just a new tube to remove the plenum?

because they're selling aesthetics and the "woosh" sound...

Well, yes, obviously, but, aside from the cost savings (less material), there's gotta be a reason KN, S&B, etc, leave the cone exposed rather than covering it.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Because some people feel like they're getting more for their buck just by changing what they see underhood.
While the sound is appealing, it's not enough to convince me to switch to an aftermarket filter that's not as efficient at filtration.
Since very few aftermarket filters filter fine particles better than GM OE paper filters, I'd wrap any aftermarket filter in a 'pre-sock' like Dakar Rally racers do.
The broke@$$ version would be to wrap the filter in pantyhose so it lasts longer between service intervals.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Lot of discussion on intakes, I get it.

I see alot of you guys say, "Oh, if it's sucking air from the engine bay, it's a HOT air intake!"

OK, that's fair, I been doing this long enough to understand where you're coming from, BUT, I'm seeing just about every brand has an open box at the top, or, barring that, a plexi window for the cone filter.

If this approach is so wrong, why are so many brands doing it?

Yeah, you've got your weatherstripping on top, undoubtedly relying on hood seal when closed, but, surely there's some gap.

Is there reason for this attitude, or, is it letting Good be the enemy of Perfect?

Purely for looks and and sound. You might as well flush your money down the toilet. Do it right (cold air coming from the fender well), or don't do it at all.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Purely for looks and and sound. You might as well flush your money down the toilet.

If it's for looks, then why aren't hoods transparent?
If it's for sounds, best bet is to change the pipe between the air filter box & the throttle body.
GM's intake pipes add Helmholtz resonators to make the engine sound like it's not doing anything,
which leaves room for impressing people who like more noises.

Do it right (cold air coming from the fender well), or don't do it at all.

To which I added previously about superior fine particle filtration;
K&N became notorious for inferior fine particle filtration in the late 90s / early 2000s when compared to OE paper filters.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Because some people feel like they're getting more for their buck just by changing what they see underhood.
While the sound is appealing, it's not enough to convince me to switch to an aftermarket filter that's not as efficient at filtration.
Since very few aftermarket filters filter fine particles better than GM OE paper filters, I'd wrap any aftermarket filter in a 'pre-sock' like Dakar Rally racers do.
The broke@$$ version would be to wrap the filter in pantyhose so it lasts longer between service intervals.

I haven't seen the panty hose trick in a long time.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... I'd wrap any aftermarket filter in a 'pre-sock' like Dakar Rally racers do.
The broke@$$ version would be to wrap the filter in pantyhose so it lasts longer between service intervals.

... haven't seen the panty hose trick in a long time.

Learned about the pantyhose trick in my late teens.
Got plenty of strange looks from people wondering why I was buying L'eggs.

 

[SpareParts]

I like UNI Filters way better than K&N but sadly not available for Cracker.

 

[homesick]

I haven't seen the panty hose trick in a long time.

I use fishnets. They're much less restrictive.

joe

 

[Tonyrodz]

I use fishnets. They're much less restrictive.

joe

Sexy.