Hey guys, I wanted to show off my spring break project. I previously had a regular gutted air box with a K&N panel filter but I wanted to drastically improve the air flow quality by getting the air moving in the right direction before entering the TB. What is relatively unique about this setup is that it uses the front half of the stock air box for the filter/hose mount and heat shield, and doesn't require relocation of the PCM.

The parts consist of 3.5" Intense tubing, 7" K&N cone, IAT extender, 12"x12"x3/16" plexiglass and a 3.5" O.D. PVC collar to securely attach the hose and filter to each other and provide a mount for the IAT sensor. Overall about $80 - but if you already had access to PVC and could extend the IAT yourself it would be closer to $60.

The whole goal was to do this on a relatively small budget - I didn't feel like dropping $150 and I wanted to do some "creative" engineering in the process.
After everything was installed I didn't notice significantly improved acceleration over the gutted box but the SOUND was AMAZING!! Very throaty and much cleaner sounding.

Here'* some pictures:
Below is the plexiglass sheet used for a heat shield (protective film still on). I shaped it to match the back half of the stock box to provide a good seal. The 12"x12" size was JUST too narrow but the screw hole on the top right still has enough to grasp on to. The notch on the lower left is to clear the bottom half of the PCM tray.

This is the PVC collar used as a connection and IAT mount. I tapered the edge on each end to reduce any turbulence that a blunt edge would have caused.


Hose attached and IAT mounted. Liquid tape used to provide air-tight seal.

Here'* the whole assembly prior to installation

Finally Installed. I'm happy with the smooth curve into the TB. I made sure the hose was tight and secure on the TB. I also added a piece of plexi between the PCM and air box for an extra block to engine bay air.

This may not be the best intake in the world, but for the money I'm very pleased with it. The 7" K&N has slightly more surface area than the panel (89.65 sq in. vs 86 sq in. for the panel), and I doubt the L36 could outflow it anyway. The box seems to be pretty well sealed in general and with the IAT right behind the filter in the box I should be getting accurate readings. I might put some weatherstripping between the box and plexiglass but the only gap is at the top center of the box and it'* no greater than 1/16" at most.
I might even attempt some sort of ducting to provide more fresh air to the filter like willwren has done.
In the future I'm thinking about a high flow cat and maybe some rockers and a new PCM.
Let me know what you guys think!

very nice, I was considering a similar idea, but never really thought about how to execute it. You did a good job of that,

I like it.

that is pretty sweet using the stock box

Very unique and looks better that most heat shields

Thats pretty sweet man. It could almost pass for stock.
It looks like it will work real well too.

That was part of the idea too - Look relatively stock and still be easy to go back to stock if the need arises.

Very nice. That'* quite ingenious.

Thank you! I've always known I am going to use the stock box as a heat shield. It is actually a perfect heat shield. Just never knew how i'd do it . Now I know.

If you want to do it yourself, you need to order 2 feet of 3.5" intense tubing and the K&N part number is RU-3130. The filter is $28 on ajusa.com. The hardest part is getting the tube around the TB. You have to cut one or two of the wires in the tube which is a PITA! just make sure you get a tight seal.

Looks good I wonder if someone could use the stock back and actually build a wall in it and put a cone filter in it. Run some intense tubing into it and it would look completely stock.