Airbox mod
- Thread starter jla2804
- Start date
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
I'm trying to picture the baffles you speak of?
Swank Force One
Adventurer
He's talking about the resonator/heimholz thingies. Can't recall if the gen2 has them. Gen3 does.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
I doubt it made a numeric difference on your xterra except make it louder and placebo took hold. Not worth the time effort cost or potential to mess stuff up. Just leave it alone.
Swank Force One
Adventurer
Those boxes are for equal parts power and quietness
Length of intake has more bearing on power than the little chambers. Other trucks have proven gains from removing them or other various cheap/free intake modifications.
These motors will make huge power, but it seems not many people are willing to go through the work, and 2-3hp isn't going to be noticeable in a big heavy truck.
Length of intake has more bearing on power than the little chambers. Other trucks have proven gains from removing them or other various cheap/free intake modifications.
These motors will make huge power, but it seems not many people are willing to go through the work, and 2-3hp isn't going to be noticeable in a big heavy truck.
PajEvo
JDM Journeys
My Pajero Evo has these baffles as well. Rather than cutting anything, I blocked them with several layers of gorilla tape, just to see if there was any difference. Hard to tell power-wise, since this particular 6G74 MIVEC variant already makes huge power, but it definitely increases the intake noise. Being RHD, I'm sitting nearer to the intake, but the closest comparison I can make is it sounds something like the snorkel intake (if you were sitting on the RHS like I am) compared to the stock intake. Suction noise - this engine already roars when pushed, and so a little extra noise off idle is hardly noticeable. But I like it... 
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
My Pajero Evo has these baffles as well. Rather than cutting anything, I blocked them with several layers of gorilla tape, just to see if there was any difference. Hard to tell power-wise, since this particular 6G74 MIVEC variant already makes huge power, but it definitely increases the intake noise. Being RHD, I'm sitting nearer to the intake, but the closest comparison I can make is it sounds something like the snorkel intake (if you were sitting on the RHS like I am) compared to the stock intake. Suction noise - this engine already roars when pushed, and so a little extra noise off idle is hardly noticeable. But I like it...
Um what happens if that tape tears and sucks into the intake?
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
Ah, I thought the resonators were in the intake pipe. In that case never mind.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
I would also avoid the K&N. They let more dirt through than paper and it's easy to mess up the cleaning of them.
Just stick with a high quality or oem paper filter. Leave the engine stock and it will provide plenty of happy miles.
I know the mod bug is hard to suppress but you're better off leaving these trucks alone. I'm sure there are some rubber gaskets, bushing, or fluids that could use attention. Put your resource towards those.
coffeegoat
Adventurer
Let me drop this link here: Junkyard Horsepower
I did many of the same noodlings on "how can I get more power!" Eventually I came away with if I wanted a sports car, I should have bought a sports car. If I wanted a sporty SUV, I should have ponied up the cash and purchased a Cayenne or a Range Rover Sport (one of the new ones with a bazillion HP). An easy, cheap mod to make 25% more HP doesn't exist on these trucks, and if it did, it certainly wouldn't pass emissions (at least in my state) and it would cut the gas mileage in half, and probably ruin the engine in short order.
If you want better pickup, look into new gears (or flush your transmission), if you want better mileage, throw out the third row seats (or flush your differentials), if you want to drive corners faster get a better suspension (from ADD preferably).
For me the thing I want most of all is a better roof rack and a tow hitch - because whenever I drive to Home depot it makes me angry when I have to secure lumber to the roof. My wife wants a backup camera so she doesn't worry when she backs out of the driveway (lots of kids in the neighborhood), right now that's plenty. Sure I'd like a lift springs, and a new set of skid plates, and they're even on my short list. I'd even like another 100 hp if I could find them, but I'd be more happy with a couple vacation days and enough spare cash to take the kids up in the mountains.
For me the final straw that broke the camels back was watching my mileage with respect to my speed. I rarely drive more than 100 miles, so, the difference between 65 and 70MPH for 100 miles works out to ~6 minutes, I can't even load my kids in the truck in 6 minutes, the difference in mileage is 13 to 16 which nets me an extra gallon of gas, which means over the course of a long drive (say to go visit the inlaws - denver to minneapolis) I get to skip a gas stop. All this to me adds up to the adage "go slower to go faster."
I did many of the same noodlings on "how can I get more power!" Eventually I came away with if I wanted a sports car, I should have bought a sports car. If I wanted a sporty SUV, I should have ponied up the cash and purchased a Cayenne or a Range Rover Sport (one of the new ones with a bazillion HP). An easy, cheap mod to make 25% more HP doesn't exist on these trucks, and if it did, it certainly wouldn't pass emissions (at least in my state) and it would cut the gas mileage in half, and probably ruin the engine in short order.
If you want better pickup, look into new gears (or flush your transmission), if you want better mileage, throw out the third row seats (or flush your differentials), if you want to drive corners faster get a better suspension (from ADD preferably).
For me the thing I want most of all is a better roof rack and a tow hitch - because whenever I drive to Home depot it makes me angry when I have to secure lumber to the roof. My wife wants a backup camera so she doesn't worry when she backs out of the driveway (lots of kids in the neighborhood), right now that's plenty. Sure I'd like a lift springs, and a new set of skid plates, and they're even on my short list. I'd even like another 100 hp if I could find them, but I'd be more happy with a couple vacation days and enough spare cash to take the kids up in the mountains.
For me the final straw that broke the camels back was watching my mileage with respect to my speed. I rarely drive more than 100 miles, so, the difference between 65 and 70MPH for 100 miles works out to ~6 minutes, I can't even load my kids in the truck in 6 minutes, the difference in mileage is 13 to 16 which nets me an extra gallon of gas, which means over the course of a long drive (say to go visit the inlaws - denver to minneapolis) I get to skip a gas stop. All this to me adds up to the adage "go slower to go faster."
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The factory airbox is designed to minimize intake noise while ingesting sufficient cold air from the area inside the fender well as well as being able to separate water from the intake air in the case of water ingestion while fording deep water. Any modifications that you could do to it will reduce it's performance in some way. If you're looking for a more aggressive sound, install a performance muffler - you'll hear more exhaust noise, possibly gain a few horsepower, and might even save a few pounds of weight over the heavy factory muffler.