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3.5 HO K&N Cold Air Intake

15K views 89 replies 19 participants last post by  Intrepticon 
#1 ·
I know there are probably a lot of threads about cold air intakes, but I was wondering what you guys thought of their worth. I have a 2002 Intrepid SXT 3.5 HO with 58,000 miles and a Mangaflow exhaust. Honestly, I always thought that cold air intakes were pointless on a gas motor, but I rode in my friends Cobalt that just had a K&N intake put on it, and it sounded much deeper and was quicker (the rest of the car is stock). So is it worth it? I assume that this is the correct one:

http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?prod=57-1522

Thank you.
 
#8 ·
Just my opinion , buts thats way too much money unless your into lifting the hood
to show off your shinny intake. The Bling factor is about all your gaining. Any of these companies that claim HP increases are doing a quick snapshot on the dyno at 6500
rpms, something you'd never feel driven on the street.

If you want to make it sound throatier from under the hood , cut a 1/2" off the bottom of
the air box with a std. hand wood saw and run a premium paper air filter " not a fram ".
 
#7 ·
I got a lightly used k&n for free. Otherwise I wouldn't dish out the money to buy it. I'd probably just go to autozone and buy a few Spectra pieces, a barbed fitting from the hardware, and a decent oiled filter and put it together myself. And a piece of sheet metal to make a "box". If I was really feeling cheap, PVC works pretty well too.

Honestly, they are more upkeep and have potential to allow more dust past. A paper filter restricts some because it has to to filter out smaller particals. I'm not sure if they still do, but fram used to make a washable dry filter that claimed to flow better and still filter like a paper one. Maybe they made/make one for our cars?
 
#18 ·
PVC is a bad idea. It's been discussed at length before, but heating PVC to under hood temperatures releases some really nasty gasses.

The paper filters do catch more particles, but there has been extensive testing with K&N and similar brands and I've never seen any engine failures attributed to their use.

K+N is a respectable company , but cold air intakes for the street are a total
waste of money. Marketing at it's worst " for the consumer ".
I think you're spreading bad information in this thread. Even if you disregarded any power gains it still isn't a waste of money. If you're keeping the car for a while then the mileage difference plus not having to replace air filters will eventually add up.

I don't accept the premise that for street use they are a waste, but lets apply that premise to other modifications that people like us do. Are you trying to say that any performance modifications for street cars are a waste, or are they only a waste if they increase your top end? Either way, I think you are missing the point.

People like us that are into performance modifications for daily drivers want a fun car to drive. Do you have a problem with that?

In any case, I think you're dead wrong that gains in the top end aren't useful for a street car. It depends on where you drive. If you have to pass or merge at certain speeds it's incredibly useful. If I'm trying to pass on the way to work I'll go all the way through the top of second gear to do so. There are a couple of highway entrance ramps around here where merging is insane, and you have to go from a near stop to 65mph traffic before someone hits you. Those moments may not come every day, but some extra pep sure as hell has some value when you're in those spots.

I will say that I think a CAI or exhaust is a nice start and a fun mod, but you get a whole lot more out of them if you'll be doing more to the engine down the road. Creating better flow only helps so much on an otherwise stock engine.
 
#11 ·
I never bothered for the longest time getting a cold air intake kit, simply because I couldn't justify spending $200+ for a brand name kit. I was just going to buy an eBay kit and jury-rig it to fit. Something off an LX or other Dodge vehicle with the right bends and lengths to cut and modify to fit.

While on a recent yard run, I decided to pop the hood on a first generation Eagle Talon that I always walked by. Sure enough it has a nice enclosure with a brand new K&N filter. Yoink!

Modded a small bracket for the passenger side, and the driver side tab fit right on to the factory mount for the original air box. Removed the retarded complex air-intake sensor assembly and closed all the screw holes and sensor openings with some chrome bolts and plates. Looks sick! Now I just need to ditch the stupid crinkle-pipe.

Really Impressed with it, the engine sounds throaty like I mean really throaty, throttle response is really sharp, no clue about fuel mileage, haven't driven enough yet. I think it was well worth the effort.
 
#15 ·
I re-did my intake essentially using the stock filter box (which by the way if you actually look at it. it scoops cool air from inside the Passenger fender.) The deeper sound you can get by removing the two resonators. I used 3 inch ABS piping and a rubber sewage coupler. cost about $50 all together.. then just got a square K &N to fit in the factory box.

Cheaper and does essentially the same as a $200 custom brand name.
 

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#16 ·
I need to do a small amount of modifying yet, but I am running an AFE dry flow filter in the factory box with the tube from my 2.7 K&N kit.

Just need some mild cutting to fit and mild shaving / sealing and get it all hooked up. Hoping she's set for spring time.
 
#19 ·
I have to agree with Captain morgan here... Just from my personal experience, I live on a dirt road out in the country. on average I do an oil change every 5000 km, at that point I check my Two filters, (air box & crankcase vent).

Now here's the math... filters cost about $20 box & $17 for crankcase. K & N $80 for box and $25 for crankcase, recharge kit $20. After the fourth "recharge" the filters paid for themselves. So as a street car they are useful cost wise.

As for the CAI piping, ncfrc your right. The cost for these are pretty high. K&N lists CAI piping for $250 approx. For 3 feet of molded plastic that's pretty steep considering I did the same for $50 worth of ABS piping. Dirdy you want to use ABS not PVC. In my earlier years of owning cars I made piping out of PVC and killed many sensors in the engine. Finaly a mechanic told me to switch to ABS and my sensors stopped failing. Not to mention nasty vapours going into the intake manifold.
 
#20 ·
I have to agree with Captain morgan here... Just from my personal experience, I live on a dirt road out in the country. on average I do an oil change every 5000 km, at that point I check my Two filters, (air box & crankcase vent)...
When I installed a K&N in 2001, the instruction sheet that came with it said not to use it where it would be exposed to "agricultural dust". Anyone who's worked on a farm knows what that means. At the time, I worked in a mining area with gravel roads, so the last mile and a half or so of my commute was pretty much the equivalent of agricultural dust.

After reading the study showing the difference between filtering effectiveness of paper filters and K&N, and remembering what the instruction sheet with the K&N had said, I went back to paper.

Just saying that the heavier the amount of dust in the air, the more reason you have not to use the oiled filter, and, unless you clean it very often, the dust in the filter will absorb all the oil so you end up with a very coarse filter with no benefit from the oil grabbing the particles, and you will either be cleaning it *very* often (a PITA compared to swapping a new paper filter) to keep it from clogging, or you will will be letting a lot of dirt into your engine (just like the study showed).

I agree that it will not be a catastrophic failure of the engine or maybe not even significantly shortened engine life. Just saying weigh everything in your decision depending on your particular situation.
 
#21 ·
sorry should have been a little more clear ... most of the roads are paved, just mine isn't... as for Agricultural Dust.. that's something different... I suspect they are referring to Grain dust (harvesting) We have a Kabota tractor that takes the same air filter as our Ford 350 so we could get a K & N for it....

as for the gravel road dust is dust...
 
#23 ·
sorry should have been a little more clear ... most of the roads are paved, just mine isn't... as for Agricultural Dust.. that's something different... I suspect they are referring to Grain dust (harvesting) We have a Kabota tractor that takes the same air filter as our Ford 350 so we could get a K & N for it...
If no dust, then maybe, but if a lot of dust, definitely not a K&N.
 
#24 ·
Never had a problem with my K&N filters in moderate dusty conditions. Guess it depends on the size of the "dust"!
 
#29 ·
Sorry it has been a while, I am not sure if I am ready to spend the money on the whole intake since I am going to college next year. My goal is deeper sound. Am I correct in assuming that if I replace "1" it will also get rid of "2" (resonator) and I will have more growl?

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#31 · (Edited)
Sorry it has been a while, I am not sure if I am ready to spend the money on the whole intake since I am going to college next year. My goal is deeper sound. Am I correct in assuming that if I replace "1" it will also get rid of "2" (resonator) and I will have more growl?

View attachment 11617
Yeppers. for something temp do what I did 3 inch abs pipe and a Rubber coupler from the local hardware store $50. custom made it.

been using it for approx. 1-2 years now. now I'm going for Vibrant aluminum piping and Silicone couplings custom making it $150.

I know mines a 2.7 so your piping will be a little different but you get the gist of it
 

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#32 ·
I have an idea, would like to know thoughts on it. I think I have a way to use the first resonator as a filter box. Should be able to cut the top off of it, cut the plastic tube out and fab a filter to fit the odd shape of the box. It would draw air from behind the engine and under the strut brace, which should be clean and not to hot. Also some superbee hood scoops could make cooler air also , or any hood opening. Tire Footwear Synthetic rubber Automotive tire Shoe
 
#33 ·
On Saturday I took the resonator off the intake, and found a rubber end clamp from ACE Hardware. Car seems to idle deeper and I think the throttle response is quicker.

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I would still like a bit more growl. I noticed the bottom of the air box has a rubber piece directly into the fender.

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Would I get more air and thus a deeper sound if the rubber was gone, or is the rubber necessary for preventing dirt getting to the filter? Or, does the intake scoop air right out of the fender and I should just leave the rubber in? Thanks guys.
 
#36 ·
Well the resonator at the very beginning needs to go. I have a picture with the top cut off of one and you will see what it does to noise and flow. You can also get a rubber elbow to get around the back of your engine right out of the throttle body. I think 3" is the right size. you can see in the picture how there is a cone inside that first box that is smaller towards your intake. Tire Footwear Synthetic rubber Automotive tire Shoe
 
#37 ·
I have even considered cutting the top off of one , cutting that cone out and resealing the top with silicone or gasket makers or even some good looking silver or black industrial duct tape. I wanted to convert that piece into a filter box itself, but I just can't figure out how to get it to work and not block flow from not being big enough. What do you guys think about drilling several small holes in the lid and wrapping it with a filter material or foam?
 
#41 ·
Hey I was just putting out ideas, I think I will try it though. I will carefully cut the lid off with a cut off tool, cut the cone out, and reseal it with some RTV, or other gasket maker. I don't really see how it could fail or how it could be to much work. I like to just change parts if I can, but sometimes just doing a little skilled work is OK. The way you guys are talking about sounds great also and may be easier, but my way is free besides a little work. Also I will have the vent hose connection on the box still, no messing around with that will be needed.
 
#45 ·
Idea's are great & so is free lol. Heck I've been tossing around a couple to open up the bottom of the stock box and adding a pipe (second inlet). As for the vent hose I eliminated mine altogether. Bought a small K & N and put it on the passenger side valve cover. The driver side vent is needed for the pcv valve.
 
#42 ·
The failure point we're considering is that your gasket/RTV could fail, causing an air leak or ingestion of contaminates... There isn't going to be much surface to attach to when you are done cutting, so it is very difficult to get RTV to create an effective seal. Drilling holes and covering with foam just gives you another set of intrusion points, and wrapping with foam or insulation just invites critters and other gunk to attach...

I would try to work on gutting the air box from the openings in the ends. The intake tube on the 1st gen cars comes apart and can be gutted from the openings quite nicely.

I understand free and custom. I can respect making it look original, but being custom on the inside.

You might consider cutting the bottom of the air box in question to gut it... then bolt on a flange to re-attach the panel you removed. This would give you access to gut the box, and give you a large enough sealing surface. Getting RTV to attach to the ABS may be a challenge, you may be better off using ABS cement and some scrap ABS material to re-join the cut out panel.
 
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