DIY high-flow intake for $43.00

[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!