Thanks for the input! I was not going to drop 200 bucks on a K and N unit with open filter.. Im going to figure out a way to PVC an air ram.. Not sure where to cut in yet.. Got a 4" flow pipe at the base of what I made. Its also far from the heat.. Its working great.. lol as stupid as it looks the filter is shielded from heat, dirt and moisture unilke K an N... All I have to do is route direct air into it from the outside.. PVC being modular with many adpaters this should be easy. My first thought is a 4 inch hole in the hood and a boot so I can open and close the hood with the PVC without removing tubes. I would then DRILL holes into the lowest point on the system PVC elbow so water will drain off and screen the outer unit sticking out of the hood.. OR do an elbow 90 degree elbow and angle the outer end so it catches air.. BUT keeps rain from going in.. Sort of like a vent for toilts on an older house.. I might use welded 4" Stainless Steal.. Maybe both sides of teh truck the passenger side being astetic.

Wait till you see this.. I think it will be the ONLY system that will truly be cold air.. Even those K and N systems are bogus and stuck under the hood sucking heat.. You need a snorkel type setup

What do you think?

 

Ebay and its made with a think brass butterfly.. It kicks ***! Without a doubt by one.. I posted the link on here somepalce

 

Its a 4 inch pipe.. more air, Its also modular.. and a cone filter.. meaning I can move it around and add PVC parts to cut a vent right through the hood for forced outside air..

I wanted a cone filter and larger opening and the filter AWAY from the fan and radiator..

This is the start of a TRUE outside air intake like a snorkel wich looks stupid on these trucks.. Im going to run stainless vent horns on the hood..lol

 

These things cause MORE heat then good.. K and N is even plastick.. That chrome will heat up in summer and your truck will not like it.. Plastic is teh way to go.. and thick plastic

 

the part i'm super curious about is how well the filter fits in the "housing"... is it a super tight fit? if i were to use this setup to encase a filter to build the snorkel for my old lady's XJ, would it be water tight?

 

Filter is is Just under 6" at its base where it connects to the intake. It is then 3" at the top of the cone and about 6" long or less.. The air comes in and goes right donw the cone. It fits right in with room to spare at the top also so air can be sucked down the cone and around the front. That catch basin is plenty big.. I simply let it sit slightly loose inside the Drain unit. You don't want it tight in there. This whole thing has not one single screw or any glue holding it together! I simply secured the elbow at teh base with a peice of 12 guage romex through two body holes where the airbox sits.

People at home depot thought I was nuts.. The guy in Plumbing was dumfounded.. haha.. Its a perfect fit.. I was shocked myself.. If you get some more pipe and fittings you can get nuts like me and cut a hole in the hood to ram air into the filter COLD air directly..

Is it water tight? I can tell you this.. It would take a lot of energy to cause water to travel all teh way up to the cone filter. People drop these filters in there with NO cover lol.. Stupid.. Even K and N has only like 1 kind thats enclosed and their filters sit way lower then the throttle body. My setup, the filter is up neear the wheel well. I have less of a chance of getting water in there then anything else I have seen.. Thijnk about how simple this is to understand. (PS I need a spellchecker since I type for crap)

 

To anyone reading this. Let me clarify that I got 10hp gain with a COMBINATION of 63mm throttle body, Ford XR3Z injectors, Brand new Exhuast and the high flow intake I made here.. I expect even more once I ram the cold air down with more PVC tied directly to a intake vent I will cut into the hood.. Im thinking of making it Chrome and multi vents with the openings designed to ram air down and deflect water away using geometry lol.. Keep in mind its not really ramming.. It will hit the filter A LOT fast and a LOT colder.. I do not ride in trails.. Im looking for MPG's and nothing I do has got me better then 15mpg until now.. I am touching the gas slightly and hitting 65mph.. The throttle body was a great investment

 

well, i DO want the filter to fit snugly in the "catch basin" since thats what i would be using for an airbox...air would come in just as yours does, only i would be drawing from either the cowl or above the windshield...

 

it does fit snug.. maybe an 1/8th of an inch around it. You could seal it easily

 

torque. torque gets you going, horsepower keeps you going. I have my doubts but without a dyno to read the horse gains and calculate the torque we'll never know.

 

Get one of those big air filter cans off a diesel rig and bolt it to the hood-cold air and no water getting in.there i solved it lol

 

So do you think a larger throttle body, larger free flowing exhuast, high air flow and better injectors = no gain in Horsepower?

I don't follow you.. Does this mean all these claims of HP gains is not true? Im not berating you but Im asking in all seriousness..

You have "doubts"? Do you mean doubts about any gains at all or what I said 10hp?

If no gains at all then why is anyone doing this to their trucks?

 

Well I guess its time to hit you with the knowledge hammer.
1 Cold Air intakes are 'real' they do work and give real world gains.
2 all these ghetto pvc intakes will look 100x better if you use abs instead of pvc.
3 Real performance cars do come with CAI 99.9% of them dont because they are loud.

no one denies the increase in sound. CAI, or any type of open element system will be very audible, which car companies dont like. the average car owner would wonder why their car makes noises, and why its so 'loud' car companies market a quiet ride. If you get rid of everything that quiets the intake it will add flow. the biggest problems with these on the 4.0, is you reuse the stock elbow. those ridges on the stock pipe alter the air flow, simply adding a silicone elbow with a hard pipe will flow.
next point is filter selection, like it or not the name brand filters have been proven time and again over ebay ones.
then you have surface area, which is far greater on a cone, over the stock flat filter. the stock system also has many unnecessary bends, the straighter the better.

so in theory the most powerful system would be a hood scoop with a straight pipe into the TB. now as far as functionality thats where we have to compromise, so trying to get the coldest air possible is key. first the vast majority of xjs will NOT be in water over the headlights. so most open element filters are ok. now back to the OP

by covering the filter he may limit flow, but by extending the pipe after, he may decreased temp, so it probably evens out. the best thing for the OP would be to leave it open and extend it as far into the corner as possible. slightly better than that would be to relocate the battery, and run a straight 3" pipe to the passenger side headlight corner. both sides will benefit greatly from heat shields. I dont think water is gonna be an issue for someone who "can really 'haul' on the interstate now"
As far as the OP's claims to power, I do not doubt what so ever he gained 10hp. the problem is where did he gain it? Most of you on this site have to realize that power to the wheels have to worry about drivetrain loss which is normally percentage based. so when you are losing A LOT of power due to your lift and 35 inch tires so something like a moved filter wont hit the but dyno so hard. so like it or not the OP is putting down more power than most of you, simply due to your drivetrain loss.


Im sure Im missing a bunch but thats a start.

 

Hi! been a while since I checked the site.. Im getting 2mpg better gas mileage now and a sharp increase in power along with it.. This setup seems to work great.. I wish i could say what did it but for sure the combo of throttle body and high air flow did a LOT to get this truck running like new with 180K.. I had the same exact truck brand new from the dealer in 2000 ( it was an 01 sport) and this truck has as much if not more power then that one and it old..

Anyway, Im happy with this setup... can't beat the price! You could spend 200 on one of those idiotic K and N setups leaving filter hanging in the breeze or enclose it like this for a 1/4 of the price.. It really works, best thing is throttle body wow..