So at first when i thought of this idea I was excited to try a DIY intake but couldnt seem to find a real good way to do it without a Frankenstein coupler nightmare. I currently have the K&N typhoon pop chargers which, as you can see below has the maf tub and then the filters attached to a heat shield. I was thinking i could use the exsiting tube as my starting point and run something past the firewall but i didnt know what....
so a few weeks ago I was walking through a local performance superstore here in Sacramento (Tognotties) and saw some exhaust flex pipe ($21.95 for 6 feet). it was 2.5 internal diameter and fairly smooth even when bent.
So that got me thinking...I can use my existing MAF tube, couple on the flex tube, and run the pipe Stillen style since it was flexible. My buddy Dave (FYD) was laughing at me because he thought that it was another "dryer hose" mock up idea that I had but I thought that this could really work!
so here's what we needed:
- K&N Typhoon or any other MAF tube that is compatible
- 6 Feet of 2.5" exhaust Flex Pipe
- 2.75 - 2.75 silicone couplers
- K&N cone filter or similar (smaller tube filter works too)
- High Heat Spray paint
- **Optional heat reflective Tape
First take your bumper off and remove all necessary airboxes etc you need to cut out your firewall hole just the same as you would with the stillen G3 install. We marked our spot based on the diameter of the flex tube:
We used a dremmel to widen the hole and test fitted our piping to make sure that it would make it through.
After making our test fit we cut the pipe down to 2' 6" on the right and 2' 8" on the left (measure again to make sure)
once we made our cuts we put the filters on the ends and clamped them down. This tubing is very durable and wont crush easily. We pressed the filters with the pipe connected to where we wanted and installed the upper bracket. The filters that came with the Typhoon set up fit perfectly and were actually held in by the upper bracket quite nicely.
We took everything apart and moved onto the next step.
***FIRST OFF*** you must cover your AC lines to prevent them from being damaged by the tubing rubbing against them.
I used some fuel line hose and zip tied them on the lines to prevent this:
Next since the flex tube is not galvanized it can rust. the way that you can prevent that is by spraying it with a high heat Rustoleum spray paint.
The way you cover the interior of the flex pipe is by "fogging" the inside. You hold the can of paint about 6 inches from the opening and spray directly into it. I did 2 coats to make sure everything was covered.
After the paint dried i wrapped the pipe that was exposed to the engine compartment with a heat reflective fiberglass tape i got on Amazon for $15. it stuck well and had no issues with covering 1/3rd of the pipe.
After the wrapping was done I put everything back together the same as the original mock up with the 2.75 - 2.75 coupler and tightened it all down.
Final product:
All in all the whole DIY cost me around $50 and there is a noticeable difference in performance. Before doing this my average temps were around 20-25 above ambient temperatures based on freeway driving.
With this new piping the average freeway temps are between 5-6 Degrees above ambient temperature. to me this is well worth the additional $50. For some, they may argue, "well why not just spend the extra $100-$200 and get a G3?" For me, a nice well done DIY that saves me that $100-$200 and does the exact same job as the higher priced competitors is more of a feeling of satisfaction.