Cowl induction for cold, ram air for the Si?

[BrineSI]

Originally Posted by mattsbobo

Holy run on sentence Batman!

Well I went to NC State, not for English though, Business Marketing, Film and Engineering

[ocspray]

Originally Posted by BrineSI

Well my concerns are a. I don't have the tools to cut the metal shelf and b. it seems like that shelf works as a trough to have rain water filter down to the sides rather than pouring into the engine bay so whatever space is cut, it would have to pretty much be sealed to the sides of the cowl induction tubing which means that cutting the metal shelf almost has to be the last step so you know exactly how much to cut...

This is only a guess, but the steel tray may also act to tie together the strut towers, stiffening the front body. I have no idea if this is true, but the tray is rigid enough to improve body stiffness, and it seems overly strong to simply support the exterior plastic tray. Something to consider before cutting it up too much.

[NitrousG35]

The metal shelf is not load bearing. You only need to remove a 1" by 6 and 1/2" piece. This is for clearance of the CRV cover. The same holds true for the Gruppe M. Just a small amount of metal/plastic needs to be removed and the cut would never be seen if a new wiper cowl trim piece was used.

I haven't smoothed things out yet as I am working on the duct connection next. I will also need to cut out the wiper cowl as well. The scoop will cover this area completely.

[Sirbelch]

Originally Posted by ocspray

This is only a guess, but the steel tray may also act to tie together the strut towers, stiffening the front body. I have no idea if this is true, but the tray is rigid enough to improve body stiffness, and it seems overly strong to simply support the exterior plastic tray. Something to consider before cutting it up too much.

The shelf attaches to the towers with 10mm and 8mm bolts. If it was a load bearing piece, the bolts would be a lot thicker as would the shelf itself. The reason it is stiff, is the creases in it. If it wasn't for those, you could bend the shelf by hand.


Bill, pics with CRV Box? How did you cut the shelf.

[Si Speed 317]

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by Sirbelch

The shelf attaches to the towers with 10mm and 8mm bolts. If it was a load bearing piece, the bolts would be a lot thicker as would the shelf itself. The reason it is stiff, is the creases in it. If it wasn't for those, you could bend the shelf by hand.


Bill, pics with CRV Box? How did you cut the shelf.

Paul, box is not in yet as my car is going to get worked on soon. What I can do is show pics of the base installed and with the cover resting on top before the cut to the cowl was made.

I used a Dremel cutting tool. It still was tough going cutting that metal. The good thing is that if I were to buy a replacement wiper cowl, everything would be covered up and nobody would be any the wiser.

These are pics I have shown previously, but you get the idea:







The car is in my garage, so I might just install the CRV airbox just to let you and everyone else have a chance to see what it will look like when installed. I have decided to use a Samco coupler rather than the Spectre Industries because the Samco is longer and is made out of silicone while the Spectre Industries is made out of a vinyl, which makes installing the MAF housing a dickens to install.

[mattsbobo]

Screw the notch for the CRV box, I want to see how you'll be cutting through to do the cowl scoop.

Will you be doing an actual scoop Bill, or are you just going to have that Spectre brake duct under the cowl area?

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by mattsbobo

Screw the notch for the CRV box, I want to see how you'll be cutting through to do the cowl scoop.

Will you be doing an actual scoop Bill, or are you just going to have that Spectre brake duct under the cowl area?

Matt, I have a number of options and have bought several different pieces to try out. I will try using the BSR scoop with some modifications. If that doesn't work, I have the Spectre Industries couplers and flex tubing that I can use.

[Sirbelch]

So my question is, why did you cut the cowl cover if you didn't have too?

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by Sirbelch

So my question is, why did you cut the cowl cover if you didn't have too?

I had to cut the metal shelf and the plastic because the cover will never fit without cutting it. I just took out my Si airbox and retried the CRV base. I had to modify it a little more.

The big problem is that even with the cowl trimmed, the cover still is not fitting as part of the cover is hitting the metal shelf. I have two options: cut more metal shelf area or cut down part of the CRV cover and try and fabricate something using plastic sheets. This is the first time I have actually tried to install the cover with the cowl trimmed. I'll keep you posted.

[phenominalee]

I've got a question. I'm new to cowl induction, but what about when it rains? IF the idea in my head is what it's gonna look like it'll be funneling water into the filter box. Won't there be almost a vaccum in the box? Even if you punch holes in the bottom of the box, will it drain fast enough?

I'm sure there's a fix or an explanation as to why this doesn't happen.

Please enighten me as to past solutions and what your ideas are to keep this from happening to your car. (What happens when you wash your car & put the hose on it)?

T.

[NitrousG35]

I am at a crossroads here. I decided to try and finish things up, so I installed the CRV airbox completely for the first time. Previously, I had just laid it on top of the base. About a month ago, I notched the metal/plastic shelf and thought that there would be sufficient clearance.

Boy, was I ever wrong. I was faced with either cutting a lot more of the metal shelf or cut the cover. I had an extra cover that I could play around with, so I decided to do cut the cover rather than cut anymore of the shelf.

I cut a little of the cover, then kept cutting more until it cleared the metal shelf completely. When I was done, there was a gaping hole.

The airbox cover can be filled in with a flat piece of plastic that I bought. It is out of sight as it is so far under the metal shelf, so cosmetically, it is not a problem. Plus, it could be overlaid with faux cf sheet. Covering up the hole is pretty easy to fix.

My heart sank however, when I saw how closely the top, front of the cover is to the wiper cowl area. In order to make the cowl induction work as I had orginially planned, I will need a rectangular or ovular 90 degree piece that is about 2 1/2 inches long from the wiper cowl to the elbow bend and 2 1/2 inches from the bend to the top of the cover. The elbowed piece should also be about 4 inches in length as well. If I had some mad fabricating skills, I could make something out of fiberglass, but with a lack of a workshop, it would be really tough to do.

The reason I want an angled piece is because I want to run the duct from the base of the wiper cowl and connect to the top of the airbox cover. This would help deal with any water problems as a slot could be put in the connector.

I suppose I could just go straight down like Mike_Si_29 did. I was trying to avoid any water issues as going straight down prevents me from stopping water from entering the intake. This certainly is one possibility however, and I may still go this way. If I do as Mike did, then the hole I needed to cut for more clearance, could be used as a duct connection.





Another option would be to order a 90 degree angle silicone coupler and connect it to the wiper cowl and to the CRV cover. Samco makes a 4" 90 degree coupler that might work.

To be honest, the CRV airbox looks like it is not going to work. I put the stock Si airbox back in and noticed how easiliy it would be to use a 90 degree silicone coupler to make the connection. I may just have to use the Si airbox instead, which breaks my heart.

If anyone knows of any 90 degree angled plastic that is either rectangular or ovular, let me know. It would need to fit the specifications I mentioned, or be able to be trimmed down to size. Otherwise, I am stymied and can't proceed with the CRV airbox.

Post your thoughts. I am kind of disheartened. I know that there are many bright minds out there with good ideas. I still feel this can work as we have all seen the Gruppe M. I was just hoping for a cheaper alternative that had a factory look to it.

[mattsbobo]

Bill, I don't understand why you want to put the duct so far up on the Si airbox. Wouldn't it be better to put it further back?

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by mattsbobo

Bill, I don't understand why you want to put the duct so far up on the Si airbox. Wouldn't it be better to put it further back?

Matt, if I run an angled piece, that is where the connection would be. If I ran a duct straight down like Mike_Si_29 did, then I could put the connection further back, but if I do it like I have planned, it will need to be farther forward.

The more I look at it, the more I like what Mike_Si_29 did. I could fabricate a piece to prevent water from going into the duct using sheet plastic in the cowl area. This would also allow me to use the CRV airbox as originally intended.

Here are pics of the stock Si airbox in place for reference:

[Si Speed 317]

Wait, where is the link to the dude who made that airbox out of X intake?

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by Si Speed 317

Wait, where is the link to the dude who made that airbox out of X intake?

Do you mean Mike_Si_29 Dan? He did his own cowl induction and I think I will use some of his ideas to finish off mine.

[Si Speed 317]

Yea, link me!!

[NitrousG35]

My cowl induction version...

[Si Speed 317]

^ Yea I searched for his username and found it lol looks legit