There's been a lot of talk about this so I decided to do it today. My brother gave me his used 92-96 Honda Prelude under hood intake for free so I had to try it.



Here is what I used:

92-96 Honda Prelude intake pipe with coupler (~$30 on ebay)

1 roll of Thermo-Tec heat insulating tape for piping (~$15 at Summit)

2 3" to 3" Home Depot PVC couplers with clamps included (~$12)

1 HKS SMF mini air filter ($60-$70)



I measured and cut the intake pipe into two pieces and kept the pipe's stock vacuum nipple intact to connect to the stock metal pipe that goes along side the TB. I wrapped both pieces after test fitting with the heat insulating tape. Next I jacked up the pass. side front wheel and turned the steering wheel all the way to the right and removed the fenderwell guard. Then I took out the windshield washer reservoir (2 10mm bolts down below and one above.. the fill spout just pulls right out when you remove the bolt). Then I cut a 3" hole basically right around the stock hole where the reservoir fill spout was. The HD 3" coupler fits perfect on the stock TB inlet duct and needs tightened down extra to snug on the 3" intake pipe (PVC is bigger and I believe the HD couplers are measured in O.D. rather than I.D.). The other coupler is used to connect the MAF sensor outlet to the upper intake pipe. I used the coupler that came with the intake kit to connect the cold air pipe to the inlet side of the MAF sensor. Secure the assembly (I had a bracket already connected to the MAF sensor from my previous intake set up) and then connect your filter to the cold air pipe in the fender well and your done. I plan on getting the couplers and reducers from Hose Techniques for better fit and looks in the future... also, you don't need an HKS SMF mini but it is easier with a shorter filter. I'm sure you could order whatever 3" K&N short cone you want or cut the cold air pipe shorter and stuff the cheap ass ebay filter on the end that came with the intake kit.



There is no need to cut into the brake cooling duct and I wouldn't want to. There is plenty of room for a filter above it and this way you avoid water getting on the filter. You don't need "ram air" anyway... your engine produces plenty of vacuum to suck in the air it needs. The point of this is to first get cool ambient air from outside of the engine bay and second to get the air to the engine easier with the smoother flow of the mandrel bent piping. I'd have to say this was the best bang for the buck mod I've done since it was so cheap... I definitely noticed a power and throttle response increase throughout the range and regardless of whether sitting in traffic, going down a back road at 80mph, or whatever since the air it is pulling in is generally always the same temp. I noticed the biggest increase in the midrange (from 4-6k). This car is not my daily driver... if you want to do it to your DD and retain your winshield washer, there is actually a place to cut a hole through above the grommet where the washer motor wires pass through but it would take a lot more cutting on the fender side.



Here are a few pics:

engine pic:

another

last one

Wow looks nice, nice engine bay also! I always wanted to do that back in the day...

Are you worried about water getting in there?

not really, I don't drive in the rain and even if I did, I doubt much water would get in. I sealed the fenderwell up pretty good and the brake cooling duct is completely separate.

I think this thread got buried and lost too quickly, some of you NA guys on a budget would do alot better with this DIY approach than spending a few hundred on some junk that won't even be getting cold air sitting in your engine bay.



hats off to FCmaniac, I think he did a great job on this.



Just gotta do something about filling that natural box in the quarter panel with some postive pressure https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/wink.png

thanks man https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png



maybe I will do something with that brake cooling duct for air.. not sure

looks good!



any ass dyno numbers?

dang, your engine bay is sexy! especially without that fan.



would this help a tii since the temperature is going to raise anyway due to turbocharging?

My engine bay is definitely bare bones, just the essentials! I have a cheap joe Mr. Gasket 16" e fan wired up with a 30 amp relay. It works just fine on my NA but I wouldn't recommend it for your turbo app.. you should look into a Black Magic or something like Pengaru's freakin wind tunnel set up. When I upgrade to an alum rad, I will definitely switch to one of those as well.



The ass dyno is telling me this is the best mod I've done since the header/presilencer combo... and I have every other NA bolt on I can think of including the ported manifolds and modded/ported TB, pineapple inserts, etc. I think for the price you can make this cold air intake, you would be a fool to buy a Bonez, K&N FIPK, etc. It is night and day over a simple underhood cone and MAF adapter. With the combo of intake work I've done on the stock non-ported motor, the whole power band has shifted to above 5500 and pulls hard (I mean hard for an NA and I've driven T2's) to 8K like it wants to just keep going.



Really, all you need is the $10.00 Ebay cone filter with MAF adapter and a cheap Honda pipe (this Prelude one works well and can be had for around $30)... so basically, only around $50 for the whole thing.



Someone should do a budget mod NA write up:

- cold air intake ~$50-60

- Dynomax dual or Corksport single cat back exhaust $289

- Bonez race pipe or RB header with high flow Catco Cat $200-250



That's all that's worth getting on an everyday NA...that and some cheap things you can do yourself. Since I'm trying to stay in my class and be competitive at Autox, I won't be doing a turbo swap for a long time.... maybe never.

no, i was referring to the CAI on a turbo, would the response be that good, or are the gains going to get lost in the boosting and intercooling process?

Your bay looks almost EXACTLY like mine!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! NO POWER STEERING!!! NO POWER STEERING!!! NO AC!!! NO AC!!! NO RADIO!!! well, maybe radio, eventually, if it's made of ultra-lightweight Ti and weighs an ounce.......nah......... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/wacko.png gotta luv the E-fan. Hey, you copied me!!! https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683785.gif

Everyone and their momma's have those mods https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/wink.png lol

couldnt figure out something to say on your own so you

dig up a 4 month old thread newbie?

back from the dead

Can i have another pic showing where you entered the wheel well?

you could zap your AFM thingy if it gets wet...those spong style elements don't work very good in wet weather... I had a Trust spong filter stuck out front on a turbo II ( no AFM) and they start to plug up very quickly when wet so I'll have to constantly be cleaning that HKS filter ... my .02



great idea though.

Thanks for the tip. I dont drive the car in the water that much and like I said, its sealed from water pretty good as it is.



I don't have any more pics right now. I did replace the rubber couplers with hose techniques silicone ones since last year except for the TB inlet.