DIY high-flow intake for $43.00

[yaris-me]

He just cut holes in the bottom half of the air filter box. Then used a low restriction air filter.

[Spades]

yeah. on mine i took the tube off the intake box and sealed the hole it left facing the engine bay, then opened the box facing the front of the car and the fenderwell and ducted air to it with metal sheeting. then i made a aluminum box to stick over top of it to ensure it was getting cold air and nothing from the engine bay.

overkill? yes...but I was too lazy to build a mount in the appropriate sized tubing to build my own intake...and the other intakes available at the time had the MAF in the wrong location or in the wrong size of tube. screw CEL's and loosing HP.

[wakins]

why i can't watch pictures.

[Little Blue]

Just to let any one know DO NOT WASTE ANY MONEY ON A K&N FILTER!! I took the air box out and hooked up the shop vac to it. My stock filter has 648 miles on it. I turned on the vac and switched the filters back and forth. The k&n pulls the rpms no diffrently than the factory air filter. The rpms stay the same between each filter telling me my factory filter breaths just as good! Taking the carcoal filter out of the lid made the biggest difference. Plus no oil in the factory filter to screw up the mafs. Just my 2cents.

[Spades]

well, actually, K&N filters fo flow better than factory air filters. its been proven, just because you dont notice a differance doesnt mean it isnt there...we are talking about increadibly small gains, like 1 or 2 HP...i doubt your "vacuum cleaner dyno" would notice it.

and as far as oil screwing up MAF sensors, thats from people that dont know how to properly service a K&N. if you dont add enough oil, the dirt goes through the K&N, too much and it coats the MAF sensor.

the problem is idiots wait 30K+ miles to oil or service their K&N, then they clean it the wrong way, forcing water or air through the wrong side of the filter, making holes in it, then they cover it with oil till its dripping.

sorry, but reusable air filters are just like nitrous...in the right hands you have performance gains, in the wrong hands with idiots you break stuff.

[PetersRedYaris]

Little blue- You have an RPM guage on your shop vac, sweet...

[Spades]

as far as the ear test goes, before i dropped the K&N air filter in, after i modified the air box, i ran the stock air filter. it was slightly louder than it was before I changed the box, but sounded pretty stock. after dropping the K&N in, the tone changed. now it sounds like a intake...you know the sound...the bark you get from fuel injected cars with a throttle body with little or no restriction on the air intake side.

if you dont know that sound, pop the air filter out of your car and stab the throttle.

anyway, its not just butt and ear dynos, there are flow comparason charts out there. as long as it is well kept and properly maintained, a K&N lasts longer and filters better than a paper element, which means better gas milage and better performance. it might not a be a big increase, but it is a increase none the less.

if you dont know how to service a K&N properly, I recommend paper filters.

[Shroomster]

P.R.Y and Spades...way to gang up on a 2-post member

[Spades]

sorry, not trying to gang up...i didnt call the poster any names, nor did I flame anyone. all I did was point out the truth, if you think my posts were that malicious please re-read them.

there are alot of myths when it comes to car tuning, and I have always tried to shed some light onto the old wives tales and the concerns or false information in regards to vehicle performance.

people may not always like what I have to say, and I may be an abrasive person, but I ussually try not to insult anyone directly. no offense, but, it doesnt matter to me if someone has posted 1,000,000 times or its their first post...if they post something I know is not true, I will explain my reasons for why their statement does not seem to be correct.

if I was being a jackass about it and calling a new poster names or being a jerk I could understand someone being upset, but....

[Shroomster]

Originally Posted by Spades

sorry, not trying to gang up...i didnt call the poster any names, nor did I flame anyone. all I did was point out the truth, if you think my posts were that malicious please re-read them.

I wasn't calling you out in that sense. just try and 'tone down' your text.

the 'truth' doesn't need to be brought about harshly.

[AlexNet0]

^I didnt notice at all

[bst82551]

Alright, so I just tried this. First things you need to know:

* I drive an '08 Yaris Sedan with no other mods (unless you consider amsoil and wix oil filters a mod).
* I have just over 70k miles on my Yaris, over half of which are highway miles (I drive back and forth from Georgia to Texas about four times a year).
* I typically get about 30-33 mpg in the city and 38-42 on the highway.
* I drive VERY aggressively about 80% of the time (mostly while driving in the city).

After unscrewing the bottom portion of my intake, I pulled the tube off of the intake and drilled three 1" holes into the remaining piece of the bottom portion of the intake. I drove it like this for one day with a disposable STP air filter with about 8k miles on (it didn't quite look dirty enough to replace yet). I noticed a difference in the sound and what MAY have been a small boost in HP (maybe 1-2 HP), but that may have just been the "placebo effect" from the slightly deeper, louder sound of the engine.

I threw the K&N air filter on the next day and found that the Yaris became less noisy and didn't feel like it had that same boost in HP. Please keep in mind that any difference in power from this mod went, for the most part, unnoticed when the mod was completed in its entirety.

Perhaps using disposable filters will net better results for some. Either way, I'll stick with my K&N. If nothing else, I'll be saving money on buying new air filters every couple of months.

-Brian

By the way: Yes, I know this is an old thread.

[PhillyG]

Originally Posted by bst82551

Alright, so I just tried this. First things you need to know:

After unscrewing the bottom portion of my intake, I pulled the tube off of the intake and drilled three 1" holes into the remaining piece of the bottom portion of the intake. I drove it like this for one day with a disposable STP air filter with about 8k miles on (it didn't quite look dirty enough to replace yet). I noticed a difference in the sound and what MAY have been a small boost in HP (maybe 1-2 HP), but that may have just been the "placebo effect" from the slightly deeper, louder sound of the engine.

I threw the K&N air filter on the next day and found that the Yaris became less noisy and didn't feel like it had that same boost in HP. Please keep in mind that any difference in power from this mod went, for the most part, unnoticed when the mod was completed in its entirety.

Perhaps using disposable filters will net better results for some. Either way, I'll stick with my K&N. If nothing else, I'll be saving money on buying new air filters every couple of months.

-Brian

By the way: Yes, I know this is an old thread.

question: in your own opinion, do you think its worth the free mod? or should i just wait and get the full intake? mine is still under warranty so i think i am either gonna just drop a k&n in the regular box or the full intake. i dont want to do anything that is not reversible for now.. although i AM gonna add cruise control

[bst82551]

It's worth it simply because it's free, but don't expect the kind of return you would get on a typhoon or other high-end intake. I'm happy with this setup, but I'm not looking for big power gains. Just some weekend projects, increased fuel efficiency, and maybe some extra power. I'd recommend you go for the full intake change instead of this "hack" if you're looking for power gains.

If you are worried about warranty issues, you can try throwing in the K&N filter on its own and seeing what that does (but it probably won't do much). Also.. if you wanted to, you could simply remove the tube from the bottom portion of the intake but not drill any holes. You can always snap the tube back on when it's time to visit the dealership.

-Brian

[PhillyG]

thanks bst.. i like the idea of just taking the tube off and putting a kn air filter in.. i think ill try that!

[Ravenlokk]

I was bored, and cheap and did a custom intake today!

I wanted to avoid/minimize any permanent modifications incase i want to return the car to stock for resale or other reasons... However i did have to cut out a section of the stock foglight cover (i'll post pics of it later- but its hardly noticeable unless u kneel down and look at it from ground level).



Parts required:
~4-5' of 3"dia Flexible metal pipe ($5)
~10' of heat shield tape ($10)
4" >> 3" pipe collector ($10)
chicken wire ($10 for a huge roll) or any metal meshing to stop rocks from flying into intake snorkel
3" screw type clamp ($2)

dremel tool to cut open the fog light cover

Basicly i replaced the stock snorkel with a 3" diameter pipe that funnels air in from the front fog light. I wrapped the pipe with heat shield tape to keep as much engine heat off of it as possible. And i used the collector to make sure none of the intake charge went around the pipe from the fog light enclosure.

The job requires removing the front bumper cover, as well as the airbox to fit stuff properly etc.

Pipe after shaping / wrapping


Test fitting stuff


Test fitting stuff


Before i put the bumper cover back on, with wire mesh installed.


It was too dark to take pics of it all back together, but ill get pics up tomorrow.

[walt101786]

for some reason i cannot see ur pictures man...sorry lol

[bad]

does doing this void warranties?