Cold air intake question

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nrls2000

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Was bored so I added cold air intake. I left everything factory up to the MAF sensor. (used a Mazda protege kit, had it laying around)

The question is will I need to replace the factory intake pipe MAF to intake? Will it affect performance?

Forgive my ignorance...I understand the theory of Cold Air Intake, but this is the first I've experienced.
Was I supposed to notice a difference? I think I sorta maybe noticed a little difference. But I may be imagining it.











Does anybody see a problem with this setup?
 
well it would have to be a fairly deep puddle.

But if you did not alter anything from the MAF to the throttle, then you are not going to see much.
I wonder if anyone has found a larger MAF and tried to enlarge the throttle body opening similar to other EFI systems modifications.
 
I feared that it might be a little low. However it is not as exposed as the picture makes it appear. With the wheel well cover on only a small portion of the side is exposed. Straight back from front to rear there are only the three slots for exposure.
 
Doesn't need to be fully submerge to start sucking up water nor does it take much to do damage. This has been discussed before.
 
Other than the potential dangers cited here....How does it work? Can you hear it? Can you feel a difference?
 
After more driving around I think I can tell a difference. Seems to pull more evenly with wot. I cannot hear a difference in the car. However a friend told me he could hear a difference as I drove by with wot.

As far as exposure to moisture I am looking into a filter sock.

For those who have expressed concerns about water (I am asking for further opinion) should I be worried about precipitation? With the filter being approximately 14" off the ground I am not sure if water will splash up from the front of the vehicle. Some one with more experience might know. It appears that any splash from the tires will be deflected by the wheel well cover
 
Well I have not fitted one in my LS (yet), but I have one in my Mustang GT. It has the conical filter in about the same place on the opposite side of the car.

The only time I had an issue with water was when I got nailed with a wave of water that washed clean over the front of the car and sprayed out of the car's two little hood vents, nothing would have prevented the motor from sucking water then.
That works out to one unavoidable incident in seven years and over 100+ miles of all season driving.
As long as you dont provide an easy path for water to soak the filter and do not try to drive through floods the filter should be okay.
Or hear is another way to think about it, If I understand you correctly, the bottom of your filter is 14 inches above the ground, and turns to face forward, so the water has to be just about up to the top of the pipe opening another couple of inches (lets just say 3 to use a good round number). That means that the water would have to be 17 inches deep on level ground inorder for the motor to suck it in.
That is a lot of water, way more than wheel hub deep. Infact you probably would need to start worrying about interior leaks if it is that deep.
 
Remember that its a Lincoln and not a Hummer so don't be trying any silly moves with it. My personal preference would be to have the intake much higher up, but sometimes that's not always possible. Which kit did you you use BTW?
 
A friend of mine in Houston just lost his motor to some high water. His girl friend drove his 05 magnum fast enough to create a bow wave that reached high enough for water to be sucked into the intake and then shot a piston rod out the side. She claims it wasn't her driving that caused it. By some miracle he had flood insurance on his policy.
 
I've experimented with the whole CAI project but found that the stock set up is adequate any modifications at this route are risky in your case or just not worth the negligible performance gains. This is my opinion but I don't remember seeing any Dyno numbers to disprove this!
 
My cone filter is mounted much in the same way, albeit that my filter is about twice the size of that one. With the wheel well liner installed and shroud installed under the nose, it's very difficult to see the filter. I've been running mine this way for over a year or two with no problems. Even run it through some realy heavy rains with lots of water on the roads. The filter remains dry (sans filter oil). Believe it or not, it accumulates much less dirt than under the hood! I used to have the filter in the engine bay and had to clean it at least twice a year... the filter where it is under the engine bay at the nose of the car is clean!

But, I'd never take it through several inches of standing water.
 
JES_LS said:
I wonder if anyone has found a larger MAF and tried to enlarge the throttle body opening similar to other EFI systems modifications.
Click to expand...

Tried removing some excess area of the sample tube on the stock MAF... car ran like crap and threw a code. Probably not sampling enough air or at least not correctly.

I also tried an 80mm MAF off the SHO but the electronics are different and there's no way to swap the LS sensor over to the SHO 80mm housing.
 
teh_milz said:
i wouldnt have it way down there just for the fear of water getting to it...
Click to expand...

That does look a little low just the water spraying up from the tire on a rainy day might soak it. And if you hit a puddle it looks pretty dangerous. This is the set up I used..AutoZone bought a velocity stack with a steel tube leading right into the hole directly under the filter.

intake.jpg


DSCF0015-copy.jpg
 
JaredLS said:
I've experimented with the whole CAI project but found that the stock set up is adequate any modifications at this route are risky in your case or just not worth the negligible performance gains. This is my opinion but I don't remember seeing any Dyno numbers to disprove this!
Click to expand...
unless the dyno has a bunch of huge fans to simulate the available air flow at highway speeds, then the CAI is not really going to get fresh air and so the advantages are not realized on dyno.
It is much the same issues with turbocharged systems with intercoolers. They drop off quickly due to lack of airflow.
 
mholhut said:
Tried removing some excess area of the sample tube on the stock MAF... car ran like crap and threw a code. Probably not sampling enough air or at least not correctly.

I also tried an 80mm MAF off the SHO but the electronics are different and there's no way to swap the LS sensor over to the SHO 80mm housing.
Click to expand...

Well maybe if we can get the coil's going we can get some more parts from GMS and some other ford aftermarket companies.

I'm going to get back in touch with the guys at JDM here in NJ and see what they can do when I get some $$ gathered back up.
 
hrlincoln said:
A friend of mine in Houston just lost his motor to some high water. His girl friend drove his 05 magnum fast enough to create a bow wave that reached high enough for water to be sucked into the intake and then shot a piston rod out the side. She claims it wasn't her driving that caused it. By some miracle he had flood insurance on his policy.
Click to expand...

She must have hit a pretty deep puddle with some serious speed to drive that much water up into the engine bay and break the motor that violently. Most of the hydraulic damage I have seen has been broken pistons and bent rods, not to many through the block!
Also did his magnum have a cold air intake?
 
postalUT said:
Which kit did you you use BTW?
Click to expand...

Ractive Mazda Protege 99-02 (don't know which engine). The kit does not come with a MAF adapter. Really the only usable items in it is the aluminum piping and filter. The couplers were intended for different setup (obviously).

Took it to a car wash ran a block down the road with no problems. I got out checked the filter and it had water on it. If it can survive an underbody wash I think it will be alright.

I figured that the risk, albeit present, would be managable thanks for the backup from experience: mholhut, JES_LS
 
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