The Under $90 Air Intake!
#1
03-02-2009, 06:12 PM
The Under $90 Air Intake!
Thats right Under $90 Bucks!!!
We would be telling you a fib if we told you this was our idea. We found a thread on another forum from a "do it yourselfer" that turned out to be a great project. While the list below is not compiled of the most expensive products, this being the point. It is a very affordable way to greatly modify your air intake safely, effectively, and for a third of what most intake manufacturers offer.
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Parts List
$6.95 x1 Spectre 8711 Vacuum/ Sensor adapter Kit
$7.95 x1 Spectre 8771 3” Coupler kit
$11.95 x1 Spectre 9761 4”-3” Reducer Coupler
$32.95 x1 Spectre 8132 Air Filter
$9.95 x1 Spectre 8718 6” Straight Pipe
$11.95 x1 Spectre 8728 22 Degree Elbow
$1.49 x1 8” ½” I.D. Hose
$ .29 x2 Small Self tapping Screws
$ 1.29 x1 3/8” Foam Pipe Insulation
Total Cost: $84.77
First things first. After popping the hood, pull the three latches that hold down your factory air box cover and set aside. You will need this later as it is a bad idea to leave the box open. While it looks good, the box lid is necessary to maintain the proper flow of cool air verses heated air. This is why we are not big fans of the K&N type design units. While they have metal to shroud the filter, it does not do the best job of keep hot air out of the way.
Pull the filter buy simply lifting out smooth end first.
Next disconnect the air sensor.
There are 3 bolts holding in the factory air box. The front and rear can be loosened all the way out without worry of loosing them as they have a small retainer washer attached. the side nut can simply be loosen up, no need to remove it. Once the box is out, you have a better view of what you have to work with.
From your parts list, take and cut a section of the 3/8th's insulation and wrap it inside the snorkel hole at the fender. This will help insulate the intake from any warm air from the engine compartment. We picked up the insulation from Lowe's for less than two dollars. It is originally designed for cold weather use around copper plumbing pipe. But it works great for this project as it is polyurethane and is very durable.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits. Remember, Air raid is the same, so is the factory GM upgrade kit, & K&N and Pro Dry deal with heat issues. Volant is the only company to build a box that has more breathing ability, but dont' foget that cost? The Snorkel can be pulled from the factory air box using a flat head screwdriver and discarded.
Take the 3" coupler from your parts list and remove the ring clamps. There is also an inside reducer you will not need. The inlet for the air box is actually a bit oval and not perfectly round, so you will have to work with the coupler a little to seat it inside the opening. Make sure the coupler is no farther than about 1/4 of an inch inside the hole. By pushing it in to far you will end up with too short a tube to seat properly against the port and insulation on the fender wall. Next use the 2 short self tapping screws to fix the coupler to the air box.
Once you have mounted the coupler, you can reinstall the box. Remember to check you fitments as you want to keep hot air out and cool air coming in! This will open your actual intake from the reduced 1.75 inches to a full 3" inlet!
We like the Spectre Filter for a couple of different reasons, First would be the price, a good twenty bucks less than K&N and it has the same filter elements as does the alternative. The K&N filter however does NOT have an air filter inlet at the end of the filter itself. It's flat. As the air enters the box, it would have to work its way around the K&N to reach the intake, with the Spectre it flows straight through. K&N and similar companies may have a Million mile warranty compared to the Spectre 100,000 mile guarantee. But do you really plan on driving your hummer a million miles? Probably not! And in this case, the pro's may outway the cons. The good news is you can choose any filter you like, or swap. The factory box stays the same. The K&N style is great for city and highway use but most offroad guys will stick with paper as it filters out a bit more.
The next photo shows the air box and filter installed. You will also notice the 4" to 3" coupler by the airflow sensor. You may need to take a razor blade and notch the small portion of the reducer toward the top of the outflow where the coupler meets the factory output. But its not a must. Don't tighten down the coupler just yet as it will take a bit of wiggle to seat the intake.
Loosely connect the 6" straight tube with the 22 degree bend. The straight tube will feed into the throttle body side. About half way up the 6" section, use the drill kit from your parts list to add the hole and breather port. Keeping things loose between the tubes will allow you to adjust the port to line up with the intake properly.
Setting the intake tube aside for now, unscrew the ring strap from the factor resignator sitting on top of the engine. You will reuse the factory throttle intake linkage hose unless you choose to replace it. Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the resignator to the engine and lift the box out. Remember to pull the breather hose from the rear of the I5 valve cover as you will need to replace it with the longer version from your list.
Below is the engine and throttle body less the resignator box.
Install your new intake and remember to connect you breather hose. Make your adjustments concerning layout and then proceed to tighten everything down properly.
Once everything is tighted down and cleened up you can test start your truck to make sure all is good to go. The second photo is with the reinstalled factory breather cover.
Its that easy! The H3 was never designed for the drag strip, and many will argue the need for an air intake. While we don't believe an air intake will add a great amount of muscle, there is a noticeable difference on the highway. Specifically when it comes to mileage. Combine the air intake manifold with a performance exhaust such as Magnaflow or Borla, add a reprogrammed PCU or a jet chip and your truck will have improvements such as throttle response, passing, towing, MPG, looks and even sound stronger and better than factory! We hope that helps a bit, maybe save you some bucks, and wasn't to bad a read.
BrickWurX Mfg.
Don't forget to upgrade your battery terminals. Especially if your running a winch or fog lights! Battery terminals are the starting veins to powered electronics as an air intake manifold is to your vehicles ability to breath.
We would be telling you a fib if we told you this was our idea. We found a thread on another forum from a "do it yourselfer" that turned out to be a great project. While the list below is not compiled of the most expensive products, this being the point. It is a very affordable way to greatly modify your air intake safely, effectively, and for a third of what most intake manufacturers offer.
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Parts List
$6.95 x1 Spectre 8711 Vacuum/ Sensor adapter Kit
$7.95 x1 Spectre 8771 3” Coupler kit
$11.95 x1 Spectre 9761 4”-3” Reducer Coupler
$32.95 x1 Spectre 8132 Air Filter
$9.95 x1 Spectre 8718 6” Straight Pipe
$11.95 x1 Spectre 8728 22 Degree Elbow
$1.49 x1 8” ½” I.D. Hose
$ .29 x2 Small Self tapping Screws
$ 1.29 x1 3/8” Foam Pipe Insulation
Total Cost: $84.77
First things first. After popping the hood, pull the three latches that hold down your factory air box cover and set aside. You will need this later as it is a bad idea to leave the box open. While it looks good, the box lid is necessary to maintain the proper flow of cool air verses heated air. This is why we are not big fans of the K&N type design units. While they have metal to shroud the filter, it does not do the best job of keep hot air out of the way.
Pull the filter buy simply lifting out smooth end first.
Next disconnect the air sensor.
There are 3 bolts holding in the factory air box. The front and rear can be loosened all the way out without worry of loosing them as they have a small retainer washer attached. the side nut can simply be loosen up, no need to remove it. Once the box is out, you have a better view of what you have to work with.
From your parts list, take and cut a section of the 3/8th's insulation and wrap it inside the snorkel hole at the fender. This will help insulate the intake from any warm air from the engine compartment. We picked up the insulation from Lowe's for less than two dollars. It is originally designed for cold weather use around copper plumbing pipe. But it works great for this project as it is polyurethane and is very durable.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits. Remember, Air raid is the same, so is the factory GM upgrade kit, & K&N and Pro Dry deal with heat issues. Volant is the only company to build a box that has more breathing ability, but dont' foget that cost? The Snorkel can be pulled from the factory air box using a flat head screwdriver and discarded.
Take the 3" coupler from your parts list and remove the ring clamps. There is also an inside reducer you will not need. The inlet for the air box is actually a bit oval and not perfectly round, so you will have to work with the coupler a little to seat it inside the opening. Make sure the coupler is no farther than about 1/4 of an inch inside the hole. By pushing it in to far you will end up with too short a tube to seat properly against the port and insulation on the fender wall. Next use the 2 short self tapping screws to fix the coupler to the air box.
Once you have mounted the coupler, you can reinstall the box. Remember to check you fitments as you want to keep hot air out and cool air coming in! This will open your actual intake from the reduced 1.75 inches to a full 3" inlet!
We like the Spectre Filter for a couple of different reasons, First would be the price, a good twenty bucks less than K&N and it has the same filter elements as does the alternative. The K&N filter however does NOT have an air filter inlet at the end of the filter itself. It's flat. As the air enters the box, it would have to work its way around the K&N to reach the intake, with the Spectre it flows straight through. K&N and similar companies may have a Million mile warranty compared to the Spectre 100,000 mile guarantee. But do you really plan on driving your hummer a million miles? Probably not! And in this case, the pro's may outway the cons. The good news is you can choose any filter you like, or swap. The factory box stays the same. The K&N style is great for city and highway use but most offroad guys will stick with paper as it filters out a bit more.
The next photo shows the air box and filter installed. You will also notice the 4" to 3" coupler by the airflow sensor. You may need to take a razor blade and notch the small portion of the reducer toward the top of the outflow where the coupler meets the factory output. But its not a must. Don't tighten down the coupler just yet as it will take a bit of wiggle to seat the intake.
Loosely connect the 6" straight tube with the 22 degree bend. The straight tube will feed into the throttle body side. About half way up the 6" section, use the drill kit from your parts list to add the hole and breather port. Keeping things loose between the tubes will allow you to adjust the port to line up with the intake properly.
Setting the intake tube aside for now, unscrew the ring strap from the factor resignator sitting on top of the engine. You will reuse the factory throttle intake linkage hose unless you choose to replace it. Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the resignator to the engine and lift the box out. Remember to pull the breather hose from the rear of the I5 valve cover as you will need to replace it with the longer version from your list.
Below is the engine and throttle body less the resignator box.
Install your new intake and remember to connect you breather hose. Make your adjustments concerning layout and then proceed to tighten everything down properly.
Once everything is tighted down and cleened up you can test start your truck to make sure all is good to go. The second photo is with the reinstalled factory breather cover.
Its that easy! The H3 was never designed for the drag strip, and many will argue the need for an air intake. While we don't believe an air intake will add a great amount of muscle, there is a noticeable difference on the highway. Specifically when it comes to mileage. Combine the air intake manifold with a performance exhaust such as Magnaflow or Borla, add a reprogrammed PCU or a jet chip and your truck will have improvements such as throttle response, passing, towing, MPG, looks and even sound stronger and better than factory! We hope that helps a bit, maybe save you some bucks, and wasn't to bad a read.
BrickWurX Mfg.
Don't forget to upgrade your battery terminals. Especially if your running a winch or fog lights! Battery terminals are the starting veins to powered electronics as an air intake manifold is to your vehicles ability to breath.
Last edited by BrickWurX Mfg.; 03-02-2009 at 08:11 PM.
#2
03-02-2009, 08:44 PM
Thats right Under $90 Bucks!!!
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits.
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits.
Just wanted to point out, we DO and always have addressed what we refer to as the pie hole issue. Included in our H367. Our funnel shaped inlet snorkel (R) replaces the stock inlet and its lousy foam seal (L). Seals to the inner fender because its OD is ever so slightly larger than the inner fender hole ID.
True Flow customers can use your idea though.
Thank you for the kind compliments.
The battery cable upgrade is good stuff too.
#3
03-02-2009, 08:48 PM
Good write-up and looks good. Price is nice.
Couple questions on these:
does using metal (esp. on the 5 cyl. with it going over the engine exhaust side (?) cause any additional 'heat soak' issues?
Does the opening on the front (on oem, kind of below the passenger headlight) lead up into the air intake? I don't have mine yet, so I couldn't confirm...
I like that bumper, btw...if the above is true, then what did you do to get the add'l airflow into that fender area (or if not, where does the air come from?) Just wondering so I can get some prelim ideas when I finally have it.
Couple questions on these:
does using metal (esp. on the 5 cyl. with it going over the engine exhaust side (?) cause any additional 'heat soak' issues?
Does the opening on the front (on oem, kind of below the passenger headlight) lead up into the air intake? I don't have mine yet, so I couldn't confirm...
I like that bumper, btw...if the above is true, then what did you do to get the add'l airflow into that fender area (or if not, where does the air come from?) Just wondering so I can get some prelim ideas when I finally have it.
#4
03-02-2009, 09:57 PM
Doc, thanks for getting back with us on the snorkel issue, our mistake. You have a great product, rock solid. Like you, we tend to play more than buy. Sometime it gets us in more trouble than good!
Prn, There is no direct "air ram" for the H3 that we know of. The fender well is a plastic insert that mounts under the plastic area of the fender. Air comes from more than one portion of that channel. Front, rear, and sides. It would be tough to direct air from the front as it's a tight fit near the radiator, cutting would require caution. Doc may know more about this one than we. The side marker light is roughly 3". Just not round. But it is directly accessible through the breather hole.
It may be possible to fabricate a raised mini scoop that still maintains the marker light, but sitting out just enough to allow air to compress at higher speeds. This would condense the air O2 ratio providing more ease for combustion. Not sure how that would look or how well it would function. But that is definitely worth checking out as a drop in product! The marker light is a shorter route to the cleaner than the side air intakes. Which I believe are for looks not function.
Of coarse, someone could always end up making a shaker style hood vent that cuts and fits into and under the factory hood cover. But that is serious overkill unless you are sporting the Alpha model.
Prn, There is no direct "air ram" for the H3 that we know of. The fender well is a plastic insert that mounts under the plastic area of the fender. Air comes from more than one portion of that channel. Front, rear, and sides. It would be tough to direct air from the front as it's a tight fit near the radiator, cutting would require caution. Doc may know more about this one than we. The side marker light is roughly 3". Just not round. But it is directly accessible through the breather hole.
It may be possible to fabricate a raised mini scoop that still maintains the marker light, but sitting out just enough to allow air to compress at higher speeds. This would condense the air O2 ratio providing more ease for combustion. Not sure how that would look or how well it would function. But that is definitely worth checking out as a drop in product! The marker light is a shorter route to the cleaner than the side air intakes. Which I believe are for looks not function.
Of coarse, someone could always end up making a shaker style hood vent that cuts and fits into and under the factory hood cover. But that is serious overkill unless you are sporting the Alpha model.
Last edited by BrickWurX Mfg.; 03-02-2009 at 10:02 PM.
#6
03-02-2009, 10:08 PM
Sorry, no numbers. Most of the claims are BS when its comes to horsepower gains and torque anyhow. Its the combination of mods that makes a true overall difference verses just one fix. Doc is the closest I've seen to real numbers matching actual results. Volant next runner up. Both systems use a closed box system, this maintains some form of factory air draw and water protection.
#10
03-03-2009, 06:11 AM
A larger pipe will always provide more air flow. This do it yourself install is cost and ease specific. Meaning the regular Joe can do it, cheeper than anything else, and provide excellent results. When it comes to the best possible intake, stepping up to the Air doc or volant would be the obvious choice. Its only a price and preference issue. Overall cost is under a hundred bucks for an improved air flow system with this version. If you wanted a welded steel, larger, smoother bore system, stick with the Air Dock. Want the above mentioned, but want a aftermarket style box verses the a factory box that cost twice as much as the Doc, By Volant. Want a K&N based on reputation and history, go that route. We make nothing off this thread or any of the products listed for the mod. Only listed for knowledge sake and for fellas that like to do stuff themselves.
Your costs keep it real!
Factory Air filter no mod, $12.00
Intake sidewall mod only $10.00 add a cotton, steel, or foam filter+ $30
Above air mod $85.00
Air Doc intake $149.00 + filter
True Flow Intake $209.00
K&N Plastic intake $249.00
Volant Intake $300.00
The above saves about $70- $200 based on your filter or system choice.The best of all worlds without the flash of chrome is the Air Doc. But again, thats our opinion. I'm sure K&N, True Flow, & Volant may tell us we are full of crap!
Your costs keep it real!
Factory Air filter no mod, $12.00
Intake sidewall mod only $10.00 add a cotton, steel, or foam filter+ $30
Above air mod $85.00
Air Doc intake $149.00 + filter
True Flow Intake $209.00
K&N Plastic intake $249.00
Volant Intake $300.00
The above saves about $70- $200 based on your filter or system choice.The best of all worlds without the flash of chrome is the Air Doc. But again, thats our opinion. I'm sure K&N, True Flow, & Volant may tell us we are full of crap!