hood louver

Decoy · Jan 25, 2014

not sure where to post this, since its an air intake question and a body question....but i have a B2 so here's where i land.

A friend of mine and i were talking the other day and we wondered why you can't stick a round/cone air filter on your stock intake hose and slap a louver on the hood right above it. if it makes you feel better, you can even stuff one of those water repellant bags over the filter for wet weather.
it seems like a simple way to get fresh air into the filter without much fuss/expensive "cold air intake" kit.

is there a glaring reason someone shouldn't do that and i just haven't thought of it? if not, why isn't it done very often? (or is it and i've just been living under a rock?)

RonD · Jan 25, 2014

Just to get this out of the way first.
There is no power or MPG gained by any cold air intake, made or sold, this has been dyno-ed to death, stock air system is fine on pretty much every car and truck sold in North America, that has been tested, these usually pull the air from a hole in the rad support, so as cold as the air gets in your area that day.
They can sound better, on some vehicles, and nothing wrong with that, just like different mufflers and cats sound better than stock.

Many 4x4ers do add on snorkel kits for deep water crossings, hole in the hood for air tube would be like that.
Google: 4x4 snorkel images

Now right up through the hood puts it in a lower pressure air stream when driving down the highway, so you would want a scoop most likely and that would block a bit of your vision.
And you wouldn't mount it to the hood, it would be mounted inside the engine compartment and you would cut a hole in the hood for it to stick out.

Hood louvers are usually installed for better air flow in the engine compartment, keep things cooler.

Decoy · Jan 26, 2014

Cool. That's what I was wondering about. I'm not really after a "cold air" intake as much as I'm after a more air intake.

You see, It looks like I'll need to replace my muffler and pipes due to old age and rust so I was thinking while I was at it, I'd open the in an out up a bit more so the little engine could breath better.

So if the temp of the air really doesn't matter, then I would think the hood lover wouldn't be usful, but the bigger air filter wouldn't hurt. Am I correct?

I fix computers for a living. Not trucks. Thanks for understanding.

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RonD · Jan 26, 2014

I think most stock air filters are 50%-75% larger than they need to be, this allows them to absorb dust without effecting engine performance.
Larger just means you don't need to change it as often, it wouldn't help or hurt performance to increase the size.

Exhaust is a funny thing as far as performance, if you read ads/reviews for after market exhaust sellers it can change an Isuzu 4 banger into a Dodge V10, lol.

Practical valve is that they make an exhaust system sound better than most factory systems.
Headers are a different matter they can help or hurt performance.
Factory exhaust systems are tuned for mid-range power.
Adding headers doesn't increase power it changes where the most power comes in the RPM range.
So you are just moving the power band lower or higher in the RPM range not gaining any power.
Tube size and length can give you low-end power or top-end power, this is the help or hurt part, because you need to decide where you want the power.
Most go with low-end because in street driving you "feel it" when accelerating, low RPMs, in NASCAR they go with top-end because they want the power range at high RPMs.

"Back pressure" often pops up when talking about exhaust systems, facts of the matter is that it is a simple concept but misunderstood.
Best thing for an engine is to push as much exhaust out of the cylinder as possible so more fuel/air mix can come in.
So just use a bigger tube right?
Well.....no
You also want to create velocity in the exhaust system, this will pull more exhaust out.
So you want a small enough tube to create velocity but large enough to prevent restriction.
Tuned exhaust

Decoy · Jan 26, 2014

Man! Lots of great info! (Is this on a sticky somewhere and I missed it?) I never thought about tuning the exhaust but it makes lots of since. That's explains why so many exhaust mods include a turn-down or other way to shorten the pipe. It's to allow velocity with a larger pipe. Right?

I see a lot of recommendations for the 2.9 to go for a 2.75" pipe. (To make use of low end performance?) so if I go for the larger pipe and "dump" the exhaust just before the rear axle, it should tune about right. ....right?

And back to the original subject, since I need to replace the exhaust and if I open up the exhaust a bit more for a throatier tone, then it's recommended that the intake also match? Or is that also a marketing rumor?
Which, by the way, I never thought I'd gain a noticeable power increase but i wouldn't mind getting a lower tone from the 2.9.

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Pif · Jan 26, 2014

Some great info here

I was never sold on col air intakes, but would a B2 benefit from hood vents? I've heard they have a tendency to run a little hot...

Also, greetings fellow whiteboard/paintball enthusiast!

Decoy · Jan 26, 2014

Greetings Pif! *raises his ref mallet as a toast*

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RonD · Jan 26, 2014

The Ford TFI ignition systems had pretty much of a 100% failure rate, usually do to heat.

So wouldn't hurt to have engine compartment run cooler, but relocating the TFI system would be time better spent I think.

hood louver

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