haha, hey guys, so i did a bit of gutting and chopping to my series 2 airbox, sadly the day after the high school drags...so here we go...






Step 1: Remove the PCM/Airbox cover with the 2 wing nut bolts.



Step 2: Remove your airbox using a flat head for the elbow, then a 1/4 inch socket for the tiny bolts.



Step 3: Remove your PCM Insulation.




Step 4: Awe at all the new possibilities for incoming cold air!




Step 5: Take the 2 pieces of the airbox apart with a flat or phillips head, then use a drill with a very very large bit to drill out the spot plastic welds holding the plastic plate with the air ducting onto the back airbox piece. After you have drilled them out, take a piece of metal with a glove on and heat it with a blowtorch. Use the hot metal to melt the jagged plasted edges inside the box to smooth, rounded edges. A sodering iron works just as well.





Step 6: After your back airbox piece looks like the first picture, get a cut off tool or something similar and cut out the front opening and driver side plastic panels. MAKE SURE NOT TO CUT OUT THE FILTER RESTRAINTS! Only cut back untill about an inch and a half from the back. Leave the bottom, top, and passenger side for maximum hot air avoidance. Take the finished products and bolt them back together with a K&N filter (if you can currently afford it :? ).



Step 7: Place airbox back into the engine bay, bolt and screw it all back together, then go out and enjoy your new found cold air passages...yay!


-Brian

How much difference did it kake sound wise and how much "butt dyno" difference??

FYI for those who want to do it instead of a CAI

well, i can notice quite a bit of a difference already in just city driving with my stock paper filter...the thing for me that i noticed most was that my engine temp'* decreased a bit and my max boost pressure increased a little...both very good things...i havent dyno'd it, infact i dont even know if theres a place to dyno my car around here...haha...most likely there is though...

but i have alot of confidense with a K&N filter this would be a killer, basically free, alternative to spending alot of cash on cold air intakes. Just by judging on air flow, id say it also would could your pcm a bit, due to the air flowing over it alot more now...

-Brian

oh, and sound wise its basically the same...the rubber elbow along with the MAF screen kill most of the sound...not to mention the supercharger itself deleting engine noise...

I like this alot though because it gives your car a bit more kick while keeping that factory look.

good write up man. would be MOST effective with the headlamp off of the car though for racing. a true cai or fwi may be something for you to consider in the future. you can hear the sound difference an fwi makes if you check out my vids in the video section

Hey guys, i just got back from a long drive back on the highway and couldnt wait till morning!

haha...ok so heres the deal, after i got the chance to test everything out without having to worry about traffic or cops, i am more than satisfied with this mod...heres the reasoning...

my engine temp never rose above 190* and ive got a 180* thermostat, but i fear my radiators going on me because normally it will go up sometimes to around 225*, but with the mod it kept the cool air flowing...

the ambient air temp was reading at 49* as i was driving up the on-ramp for the freeway, and i decided to drop it into second and slam it...man did it jump...lol...i watched my rev'* move up, and normally my boost wont go higher than 7.5, 8 tops...well with this mod it pushed the boost guage to its peak below the 10, so id say it was pushing a good 11 pounds of boost...and this is with just a paper filter and a supercharger thats wellll overdue for a bearing replacement and full teardown...it ran beautifully...

as for sound, when im just driving around, the car sounds normal, but as soon as i step on it and the supercharger starts spooling the boost up to aroun 3 pounds i can hear it screaming...its not a whine tho, its seriously like a scream...

so damn, for anyone who doesnt want to blow alot of money on a fwi or cai, do this and you will love it...best money youve ever not spent...

haha...

Brian

Only 96 had your type of PCM cover. Most have the style of PCM cover that only takes care of the PCM. GM found that the style you have blocked access to easliy change the air filter.

Nice job on the gutting. You may need to be concerned about engine bay air (slow roll or traffic) that will build up and get into the box easily.

Dang. I might have to open mine up a little more.....

IAT temps have very little if any effect on ECT temps. It was cold last night. Your airbox likely had no effect.

If you have the stock pulley on the SC, there'* no way you're pushing over 8 psi of boost. If your airbox made a difference, it'* because your filter was totally clogged before.

You did a good thing here, and opened the engine up to breathe a bit more. I'm just letting you know that you can't get 'more' boost without spinning the SC faster in the first place, and that a setup like yours (or even mine) will have no effect on engine temps.

Beneficial? You bet. Probably about 5hp.

my boost guage must be retarded then or something...ill get you some pictures when i can find a backseat driver to holster my camera...but im not even joking...stock pulley, stock engine, minus the thermostat and the airbox gutting...the guage went deep into the yellow and actually passed the yellow untill it was stopped...give me a day or 2 to get pics...hehehehehe ...

-Brian