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Lefty
Well-Known Member
I don't have a K&N air filter. I've got an off brand. It came with my 3.0 Ranger when I bought it last year. The filter is mounted at the end of the snorkel in the coldest part of the engine bay. There is, however, no shroud around it, nothing to prevent it from inhaling hot air on summer days. Of course the Ranger was originally manufactured with a sealed cold air box. So, I decided to fabricate my own.
I watched a few YouTubes on the subject. A few of those guys went full-on OCD and actually installed insulation inside.
I found a great start by using a square 2 gallon plastic container which once contained Roof Melt Ice Crystals. It was the perfect size. I made a cardboard template that matched the slope of the hood and cut a round hole ro fit the base of the filter. I copied the template onto the side of the container and made the cuts. I cut a second hole in the bottom and fabricated a plastic chute which connected the box to the opening in the radiator wall. Finally, I used foam pipe insulation to seal off the top of the box when the hood is closed down. I only bothered to seal three sides. The whole project took about an hour.
It's still cold here in Minnesota, and way too early to know whether or not the box will have any effect on overall performance: acceleration and mileage. It has certainly not hurt. It muffles the sound a little bit. I kinda liked it better before.
My guess is that the difference will be marginal, but who knows? Maybe it will help on hotter days.
How about you? Have you tried something like this? Was it really worth the while? And if there is great controversy around all this, I could try a road test later this summer.
I watched a few YouTubes on the subject. A few of those guys went full-on OCD and actually installed insulation inside.
I found a great start by using a square 2 gallon plastic container which once contained Roof Melt Ice Crystals. It was the perfect size. I made a cardboard template that matched the slope of the hood and cut a round hole ro fit the base of the filter. I copied the template onto the side of the container and made the cuts. I cut a second hole in the bottom and fabricated a plastic chute which connected the box to the opening in the radiator wall. Finally, I used foam pipe insulation to seal off the top of the box when the hood is closed down. I only bothered to seal three sides. The whole project took about an hour.
It's still cold here in Minnesota, and way too early to know whether or not the box will have any effect on overall performance: acceleration and mileage. It has certainly not hurt. It muffles the sound a little bit. I kinda liked it better before.
My guess is that the difference will be marginal, but who knows? Maybe it will help on hotter days.
How about you? Have you tried something like this? Was it really worth the while? And if there is great controversy around all this, I could try a road test later this summer.
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