My Custom "True Cold Air Intake"**Pics**

[Chuck Norris]

Looks great Custom87, but I can't say I really understand why you went to all the work. What are the benifits vs. the factory setup? You mention mid-rpm gains, please explain this to me. I'm not much of a car techie! I'd like to know if my Towncar would benifit from some similar investments!

[1987cp]

That's the neat thing, frequently it's not even that much trouble. My biggest gripe about the stock box-body air cleaners is that they're right in the middle of freaking everything attached to a bracket that bolts to the driver's side exhaust manifold, and have to be unbolted before you can even change your spark plugs. With a speed-density car, just sticking a conical air cleaner right on the throttle body or on the end of the factory air cleaner elbow is a great way to decrease headaches while picking up a little more airflow. (I've got pictures of my car with both of these configurations, though they're not scanned.) It sounds really cool, too.

I did things even more simply for my quasi-cold-air experiment by continuing to reuse the factory elbow at the TB and running some 3" exhaust tubing to my cheap conical filter behind the driver's-side headlights with a chintzy sheetmetal bracket I whittled up in about 5 minutes from some scrap with just a drill and tin snips and 3 or 4 screws. Cost: about $13 for the tubing and another $20 for the air cleaner, and no phantzy parts necessary.

[LTDMan83]

At least as of a few years ago, AutoZone had a universal washer reservoir that I used while I was experimenting with a long 3" intake tube on the Merc. Cost about $25, wasn't hugely elegant but it worked pretty well until I decided to get a new stock unit.

I just might check that out,I need one small enough to be able to hide,inside the bottom inside of the fender,behind the bumper.

[LTDMan83]

Looks great Custom87, but I can't say I really understand why you went to all the work. What are the benifits vs. the factory setup? You mention mid-rpm gains, please explain this to me. I'm not much of a car techie! I'd like to know if my Towncar would benifit from some similar investments!

Sorry,I did'nt mean to put that thumbs down sign at the top of the post,lol.


Wasn't much work,once I had all the materials/tools together,I spent probably an hour all together making this CAI.Most of that time was spent cutting the pipe in half with a Hacksaw,and fabbing the box.I used nothing more than a pair of sheetmetal sheers,a piece of 2x4,a pair of pliers,and my own 2 hands to fab the box.

I mentioned the benefits vs the factory setup,in the other cold air intake build thread if you read that one.

The engine does pull sightly harder now in the mid to upper rpm range,than it did with the stock airbox.But I really made this upgrade,as well as the other upgrades I've made thus far to my car in anticipation of the future 220hp/300tq engine which will be going into teh LTD sometime in the next year,as my new DD engine.

I could no doubt fab up one for your 4.6 towny,but I don't know much about that 4.6 MAF sensor and how it will react to extreme changes in airflow.It could actually end up making it run worse,without having it tuned to recognize the change.I'm not sure as I don't know much about the 4.6 or it's engine management systems.

[LTDMan83]

I like it!!

But I might try a variation:
How about using your pipe setup but, instead of using a fabbed 1/2 box and cone filter, use the stock air filter and stock filter box?

I like this way because the filter is more protected from debris below.
I would also seal off the oval side hole in the stock box and drill a lot of little hoes in the bottom of it to allow air flow while still protecing it from junk on the road.

What do you think?
91gmblack

There are many ways to make a "True CAI",the main thing is having your filter at the front of the intake tube(as far away from the manifolds as you can get it),while still being shielded from sucking in hot engine bay air from inside,and Miscellaneous Debris (Water,Dirt,Roadkill,etc..) from outside.Once it's boxed in,with whatever filter/box style you choose to do,it will be forced to draw air from the easiest available source,which will be eather a hole that you cut under it in the plastic inner fenderwell,or from the hole in the core support behind the headlights.

I would say give it a try,and let us know how it works out,I for one would be interested to see something fabb'ed up with the stock box.

Maybe a hole could be cut in the inner fenderwell,and the stock airbox recessed into that hole up to the point where the top and bottom halves meet,so that the bottom of the filterbox (with a hole cut in the bottom of it,and the stock side hole) sits directly in the airstream,and sucks up air directly.You could then put a fine mesh screen over the hole(s) to keep out most water and debris.

[83countrysquire]

I love it but what about water getting into it while driving in rain?

[cld783]

I love it but what about water getting into it while driving in rain?

I wouldn't worry about it unless you plan on driving through a creek.

[LTDMan83]

I love it but what about water getting into it while driving in rain?

Thanks! I'm surprised to see this thread resurface almost 2 years later, lol.

Yea, I ran it for a long time while DD'ing my old LTD, I never noticed any water getting sucked into the engine, even during heavy rain storms. I made a shield for the top of the filter which keeps out the hot engine bay air out and keeps water from dripping down onto the filter from above as well.

The CAI that I made before this one, actually was a Mandrel Bent piece that I bent up from 3in exhaust pipe, and that extended down into the front of the inner fender well, just in front of the DS tire. It did suck up quite abit of water during heavy rain storms. Which is why I ended up making this more Daily Driver friendly version.

I have a modified version of this CAI installed on my Merc right now, modified to accommodate the Mass Air Meter. Works great, definitely a huge improvement over the stock air box on an HO motor. I did try both back to back, and it pulls noticeably harder with the CAI.

[Leo]

i wonder if this cia could work well with my cfi.