Cold Air Intake

So a while ago i was shoppin around for a cold air intake from a few shops for my 88 200sx. I was told that NO company sells a bolt in air intake, and im a newb so i took the lazy way out and pick up a K&N filter lol. It's aight, but i really want a nicer intake.
A buddy told me that all i need is a filter and some pipe that would fit the throdle body and just shape it from a machine shop.
Could someone tell me the step by step info to remove and possibly install a custom intake. Do i have to drill a big ass hole for the cone? Any help would be usefull.
Thanx

Well if you want to keep the stock intake pipe all you need to do is get a standard 3" cone filter and one of bart's MAF adapters and you can bolt it right up, he has them for both CA20E's and CA18ET's. If you have the V6 just get a MAF adapter (also called a cone filter adapter) for a Mazda RX-7 or MX-3, that's what I use. Making a custom intake tube is pretty easy, lots of people just use PVC pipe, the one that's a bit of a challenge is a V6 with air conditioning, you have to work around the compressor. I kept the stock intake pipe that curves underneath the compressor, just used an RX-7 adapter to mount the cone onto the end of the MAF.

http://www.v6-s12.com/images/Engine_Bay_1_2_04.jpg
http://www.v6-s12.com/images/Engine_Bay_7_5_03_sideview_website.jpg

If your car is like mine the Freakin MAF is huge, and I doubt by the looks that it will be easy to put a cone on. This however will not stop me from trying, and I have also asked Mimms because I believe he modified his to work. As soon as I have deatils I will post them. Also the best way to do the mod is to move the battery to the left hand side of the car, or preferbly the trunk (Optima style battery required). This way you can completely get rid of the intake tubing, and run the cone on the right side of the car. And then at the races you can ditch the right hand light housing, and get actual ram air. You can also do what we did to Matt's car, and put a scoop in the head light assembly (Dan gets the thanks for this impromptu decision), and then make fixed head lights. The modifications are endless if you have the time to put into the car, and a lot of creativity, and fabricating skills. 8) I'll keep everybody posted as best I can. 8)

ive got a sweet intake for the 4 cylinder. check out my cardomain site. for pics. email me for info.

Yah I like that setup. Out of curiosity did you modify the stock MAF, or is that off a different car?? :dontknow: 8)

what mimms did was cut his intake tubing shorter so the MAF was mounted further back and there was a lot more room to put in the cone filter...

why can't our TPS be the same size as the S13 ones..geeze..those are tiny in comparison

another option is to make a headlight intake

MAF? What exactly is that?

Mass AirFlow meter

it monitors the amount of air going to the intake manifold and sends that info to the ECU which then figures out "hmm..how much gas should I tell the injectors to add so that I can make a good air/fuel mixture.... and then the ECU tells the injectors how much to spray. that's how I learned what it does neways...

and if you don't have a MAF attached the ECU will go "WTF MATE" and your car will run like crap, stuttering and puttering along if at all....

anybody know if there's an aftermarket intake pipe for another car that would fit nicely in our bay? closest thing i've found was my friend's s13 intake, but it was a little too big and didn't quite bend at the right spot...

Guys, i hate to be the one to say this, but unfortunately our S12's are fitted with the most restrictive MAF eva!! There's no point replacing the intake pipe from the MAF --> TB (i have tried this) because as long as the MAF is there, the restriction is still in place. The best intake mod i have discovered on the CA20E is a Pod filter and a decent heat shield and some piping supplying cool air from under the guard. Unless someone has a MAF that replaces our stock one and improves airflow, then we are stuck. There is a mod that does deliver faster throttle response, and thats moving the MAF closer to the TB, but going to close reduces low end torque, there's a formula (dont have it here) to work out the tuned length of an intake pipe, and the ideal length is given. But for a 105HP engine, we dont have to worry bout it too much. One day we will have found a high-flow MAF for the CA20E!!

Catch

OK, im a newb, so i don't really get it completly...
What u guys are tell me is i can't install my air intake cause the ecu will override the excess air and the system will just not work?? They why do ppl even bother with installing intakes on their CA20E?
Another question, are our cars compatable with one of those quick and easy ecu upgrades? Or do we have to sauder in a new chip?
Any help will be usefull to me.

OK, im a newb, so i don't really get it completly...
What u guys are tell me is i can't install my air intake cause the ecu will override the excess air and the system will just not work?? They why do ppl

um..what?

what we said you can't remove the MAF, not you cant put on a cone filter.

then it was stated that the ca20e MAF is really restrictive

there is no formula for "intake length". Different intakes will have different effects. You can go short ram or long ram, and there's a reason for either.

Yes, the ca20e MAF is restrictive, but I think a much bigger restriction is the piece that goes over the rad support. It squashes down to what, 1/4 inch thick? You try breathing through a pinched straw.

The longer the intake piping is, the more velocity the air will have when it hits the motor.

Short ram loses all that velocity, but won't hiccup at high RPMS.

Don't call me stupid, but...
where is this maf located???
Cause the way i see it, in order for me to install a air filter cone, i can either route the battery somewhere else and do it like that, or remove the entire air assembally on the other side of the engine.
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_16_full.jpg
like that...
so, am i able to gutt the intake and just pop on a cone, or do i need a special adapter. Can someone tell me in simple terms

Ok, looking in this pic, you can see the cone filter ... that silver and black unit between the cone and the black intake piping is the MAF.

It is attached to your air box, the metal enclosure that houses your filter.

you need the MAF, the car won't work properly without it.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_17_full.jpg

in order to move the maf like that, i had to extend the wires.
there is a screw on the maf that you have to adjust to make up for the shorter amount of tubing.

the batter fit snuggly where the old air box was, just extend the wires for that too.

Thanks for the help,
I'm gonna start to gut the plumbing for the air intake...
but where to i get a MAF adapter, and is that sliver thing under my stock intake filter a MAF? I wish i had a pic of it, but the air goes through the stock filter, down into this silver "box" (i don't really know the tech. terms lol). IT the precedes into the engine it self. Am i right, or am i just pulling this from no where???

bart makes a MAF adaptor..but honestly I don't see why you can't go out and buy any old MAF adaptor and just drill the holes yourself.

bart makes the perfect adapter for our engines, but i just got one off of ebay and drilled holes in it myself. i will get pics up when i get settled in my new place. im moving this week.

I read in a Sport Compact Car article called "The Red-headed step child" that they made a second pipe which entyered into the intake after the MAF sensor to trick the MAF into thinking the normal amount of air was entering the engine. Just an Idea, and haven't checked to see if it'd work, but it seems like it'd work at least on paper.

wouldnt the engine get too much air then?

no such thing as "too much air"

hell..more air = better mileage and more power.

think about it this way...whats the purpose of a turbo, and supercharger? to get compressed air into the engine.

Nitrous too. Nitrous helps with the amount of "o2" in your car

no such thing as "too much air"

hell..more air = better mileage and more power.

think about it this way...whats the purpose of a turbo, and supercharger? to get compressed air into the engine.

Nitrous too. Nitrous helps with the amount of "o2" in your car

actually there is such thing as too much air, it's called running lean. Im not saying too much air for the engine to handle, but if it's comming in after the maf the ECU wont do a proper air fuel mix.

you can compensate by setting your car to run richer though

probably true. It'd still be better to bring in the air before the maf i think.

here are some pics that i took today. hope that this will help some.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/213290/3

Ok, I just finished my setup, and so far it is trouble free. I still need to load the pictures, but here is what I did. 1. Make a template of the intake. I did this using the cover off an old CD case. from that you drill I believe on 1/4 inch hole close to one of the corners of the case. It doesn't matter which corner. Then using the hole you just madetake one of the bolts and affix the cd case roughly over the MAF intake so thatthe CD case completely covers the intake. Then with a Permanent marker stencil the shape of the intake onto the CD case. This stencil will later be used to trace it onto either plastic, of Aluminum. I chose Plastic because I use it everyday at school, and it won't oxidize. then I cut out the parts where the holes should be. Then I took 2in ID plumbing PVC pipe, and cut a piece that was about 1 inch long. Then I placed the pipe over the hole so that I could still bolt up the newintake to the MAF. Then I used 2 ton Epoxy (from a hobby shop) to affix the pipe to the flat stock. the aircleaner was then put onto pipe, and the whole unit was then bolted to the MAF. I torqued it to 20 FT/pounds, and it works awesome. Allso I put high temp gasket sealer between the new adapter, and the MAF. This makes a better seal. I will have pics up in a few days, and That should explain it a bit better. 8) It is late so I may have forgotten a step, I will read it over tomorrow, and adjust it accordingly. It is not as difficult as it seems...you just need to be patient. 8)

did you keep the filter on the same side or did you make a shorty intake and relocate the battery like mine? cant wait to see pics

I made a shorty on the passenger side. With the battery in the trunk there is a lot mor room. 8)

Another Idea I had after I hit the sack was that my bible (SCC) had shown an air/fuel ratio thingamagig, and that seems like it could regulate the amount of air/fuel that people may be worried about. An easier solution may be Alex's suggestion

Yeah, why add a pipe after your MAF?

That's called an air leak.

And yes, air the ECU doesn't see, will lean you out.

No you can't just "richen it up" either. Because it will be a leak, you would need to add fuel according the engine vacuum.

I can't imagine why someone would do that mod ...

And an air/fuel ratio ... uh, maybe an AF gauge, or something like an SAFC.

The gauge reads your ratio, and something like an SAFC allows you to regulate your fuel.

But just adding fuel and air to a motor won't make you faster. Unless you're stuffing it with something like a turbo or a shot of nitrous.

An NA motor is limited by how much air it can suck in.

there is a screw on the top of the maf that regulates the air flow. i had to adjust it after i made my shorty because the car would not idle right. got pics?

The other month I bought an adapter for the MAF at the local auto zone, It didnt say it was for our cars, but it bolts up perfectly, I havent installed it yet, as I'm way too busy, but it was only like 6 bucks or somthing.

was browsing and stumbled upon this (http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?UseCase=C001&UserAction=performMoreDetail&Parameters=TRUE%7C%7EAir+Flilters%2C+Cleaners+%26+Breathers%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ESpectre+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Air+Intake+Kit+Chrome%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7E245770%7C%7E1173%7C%7E8208%7C%7ENONE%7C%7E%2439.99%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7E1.9%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EB%7C%7ESPE%7C%7Etrue) ... anybody know if this is some kind of universal thing and if it would work for our cars?

it may with a little bit of bending, or some other tubing

So, i need to pick up a MAF adapter...and i kinda want to get it in town asap. Can somone tell me the MAF adapters from cars that would fit ours - if there is a such thing. Or does anyone know any shops in Alberta, Canada that would have one. Thanks

this one would work fine. very inexpensive too

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7908437853&category=33710

wow, thats kool...
thats what a maf looks like?
just a adaptor to fit the pipe into...good stuff, but don't u need a ecu connection too?

wow, thats kool...
thats what a maf looks like?
just a adaptor to fit the pipe into...good stuff, but don't u need a ecu connection too?

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_17_full.jpg

see that silver and black thing behind the cone filter? that's what the MAF is

here are pics of the maf with the adapter. one major step in doing this style intake it extending the wires to the maf. the wires plug into the black box on the maf. in these pics i added some foam wrap around the adapter to that it would seal to the filter. i also siliconed the adapter to the maf to that it would not leak air. it also smoothed out the transition.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_65_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_66_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/213000-213999/213290_67_full.jpg

Ok this will have to be scalled down, but here is the template I made for the CA20E models.

The horizontal length is 11cm, so it can be scalled down that way...

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v293/teamfrost/MAF_template2.jpg

it would be easier and more durible to just go ahead and get one from ebay or bart.

You're right it probably would be easier, but I like custom fabricating parts, and Mine is durable...if it hasn't fallen apart yet...I doubt it will...plus synthetic won't oxidize...8)

hey i just found this and was wondering, will this work http://www.advancetuning.com/20sis1s1s1s1.html

yes..but you may have to do some cutting, drilling an repositioning of some stuff like the MAF and the piping before the MAF and the MAF adaptor itself.

will an s13 MAF adaptor fit as a decent direct fit?

I think it has to be redrilled, but yes it should fit. 8)

will this work on my 84 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7911433302&category=33659

you'll probably need to do some redrilling on the MAF adaptor and you WILL need to reposition the MAF and reroute the intake tubing a bit to make it fit...but I don't see why not.

that filter might be too big.