A&Q about Lotus
Q:
You won't get a MIL for this one. I did it a while back after taking my intake apart out of curiousity (dreaming about a FF or TurboXS). There is one of those plastic screws at the top holding it to the airbox. The sound surprised me too. It's somewhere between the stock sound and a full intake mod. Now, if you're really proud of your cajones take your airbox, saw out the MAF sensor housing tube (keep the trumpet/fin thingy) then couple it to a length of PVC sewer pipe and K&N conical filter. Now you've got a real intake note for about $60.
A:
i would love to get my hands on someones aftermarket intake... i think i could copy it with some aluminum tubing and a short time at the welder for about 100$. actually would be less than that for materials. just need to figure out the MAFS position. group build anyone????
A:
Originally Posted by flyguyskt
i would love to get my hands on someones aftermarket intake... i think i could copy it with some aluminum tubing and a short time at the welder for about 100$. actually would be less than that for materials. just need to figure out the MAFS position. group build anyone????
You can do it for less than that, just modify an Ebay intake.
A:
I remember doing a similar "mod" on my friend's 94 Civic DX when we were in college. We took the bottom half of the airbox off and duct taped the air filter to the top of the airbox. It sounded sweet!
A:
If you cut the MAF sensor housing out if the stock airbox and use it for a homemade intake the MAF remains in the same potition and the fin remains in place. The only costs are $7 for a length of 3" ID pvc sewer pipe (1/8" walls--not schedule 40), some sort of coupler ($8 for mine from www.hightempsilicone.com), and whatever filter you choose. Mine's a K&N RX-3900-1 (like Nathan's TurboXS) which was $51 +shipping from www.goairfilters.com. Add some pretty paint and it's complete. Over 350 miles and no MIL.
A:
Was there any noticeable difference between simply de-snorkeling vs. modifying the MAF housing/intake?
A:
Originally Posted by xziteme
Was there any noticeable difference between simply de-snorkeling vs. modifying the MAF housing/intake?
Oh, yeah. Big difference. It went from pleasing bass burble to hellacious banshee. There's a great sucking/whooshing sound coming from behind my left shoulder and the cams...ohhh, those sweet cams--I still giggle like a teenager in love.
A:
Any body dyno'd a desnorkeled Lotus yet? On my Boxster, it was an instant freebie mod with no issues. On my '05 Roush, even removing the charcoal filter in the end of the inlet tube resulted in a need to reflash to keep it from running too lien. Any problems with water running inside in the rain, driving spirited?
A:
I did the same mod as Stan, but i got some flex tube from pep boys and put the v-stack at the end of the tube, so the v-stack is in the air inlet so its geting fresh air all the time.
A:
Here is the next logical step to this in a further attempt to gain a few HP on the butt dyno and get a slightly more aggressive growl on the cam. Seems that’s about all there is to gain with an aftermarket intake anyway, even if you plunk down $500 bucks for one (forget the fact that adding a plate to block off airflow from the side scoop through the engine compartment is arguably a big mistake and totally un-necessary)
If you take Stan’s idea a step or two further and do what so many of the P-car owners seem to be doing
(plus add mesh to keep all the crap out since we all know how the intake seems to act like a vacuum cleaner), here is what you get:
Sound: almost stock but a little deeper off the cam. On the cam: holy crap! Butt dyno: easy 10+ HP at least!!!
A:
So I "de-snorkled" today. Getting it out was pretty easy. Putting the air box back together was a royal pain in the a$$ since I could not reach the lower metal clamp that closes the airbox without removing the coolant reservoir.
I let the car idle for 15 minutes - just in case.
The sound isn't any louder, it's just different. You don't notice any sound change until about 5k RPM. The sound is more of a lower-end growl. I also have a stage II exhaust, so it's tough to decipher the sound difference because it's already incredibly loud.
When it's on the cams, it roars a little deeper now. Power feels pretty much the same.
I'm not too worried about water ingestion into the intake now with the snorkel gone since I've never driven in the rain and never will. The car is always hand washed.
I'm going to do the "tunnel test" tonight to see how different it sounds on the cam, but it's really hard to tell when you have a Stage II exhaust.
A:
One more question - for anyone who knows....
Will there be a horsepower drop as the engine heats up? Since the engine will now be sucking in more hot engine air than cooler outside air, is an HP drop possible??
Just askin'
A:
Originally Posted by LSUFAN
Any body dyno'd a desnorkeled Lotus yet?
We did. We put the snorkel back on.
A:
Randy, I read you lost 6hp with one intake ... any word on what the loss was with just a de-snorkling?
thnkx
-dom
edit
A:
Originally Posted by doma
Randy, I read you lost 6hp with one intake ... any word on what the loss was with just a de-snorkling?
thnkx
-dom
edit
I don't have that data, I do not think it was significant. The 6hp loss was not from the desnorkeling, it was an aftermarket (higher end) intake.
Oddly, we did find that not using the vacuum operated "air flap", we got better results, at least in our limited testing variables.
A:
Any sound clips by any chance? I might need to get an extra airbox top if possible to try marcw's creation.
A:
Originally Posted by Flash G
.....Since the engine will now be sucking in more hot engine air than cooler outside air, is an HP drop possible??
Just askin'
I think is a widely held misconception...at least as it relates to our cars. In fact, I have seen at least one brand of Elise/Exige aftermarket intake that comes with a plate designed to block off the engine compartment from the left side air scoop. I believe doing that is a big mistake for our cars. The side air scoop becomes a high air pressure area at speed i.e. air is forced in. This air is designed to exit out of the engine lid louvers. Remember, the whole bottom of the car is flat, and other than those 3 NACA ducts down there, the side scoops are the only airflow that the engine compartment gets. Do you really want to block off half of that airflow? Because of the direction of this airflow, I can’t see any way for hotter air to be ingested by intake for taking off the snorkel (other than a negligent difference in radiant heat perhaps), but I would nontheless be interested to get more info on Randy’s dyno results.
A:
Originally Posted by GREG'S ELISE
I did the same mod as Stan, but i got some flex tube from pep boys and put the v-stack at the end of the tube, so the v-stack is in the air inlet so its geting fresh air all the time.
With or without snorkel, the car breathes air from the side scoop behind the driver's door.
A:
Originally Posted by marcw
Here is the next logical step to this in a further attempt to gain a few HP on the butt dyno and get a slightly more aggressive growl on the cam. Seems that’s about all there is to gain with an aftermarket intake anyway, even if you plunk down $500 bucks for one (forget the fact that adding a plate to block off airflow from the side scoop through the engine compartment is arguably a big mistake and totally un-necessary)
If you take Stan’s idea a step or two further and do what so many of the P-car owners seem to be doing
(plus add mesh to keep all the crap out since we all know how the intake seems to act like a vacuum cleaner), here is what you get:
Sound: almost stock but a little deeper off the cam. On the cam: holy crap! Butt dyno: easy 10+ HP at least!!!
Personally I prefer the radiused air inlet concept. I left the air flap intact, this engages on cam as usual.
A:
okay so i was running a power wire for my stereo amp and discovered my snorkel is half off from the factory. it is kinda swiveled forward and out from the back of the air box< if looking at it from the top it is rotated clockwise.