Got a little more work done recently that I forgot to post here... I put it up over on thedieselstop but I'll copy it here now:
I received my bpalmer intake today and got it installed... Here's how I did mine:
To start, I didn't like the hose-clamp idea for mounting the IAT sensor... It doesn't really put the sensing element in the air stream so I knew in advance that I needed to adjust the way it mounts. So I started by cutting off the nipple that was welded into the tube and then drilled the hole out bigger:
Then I had to make a hole shaped like this:
So I drilled it out and went at it with a file to create the right shape:
Test fitting the IAT sensor showed my concept works except the aluminum is a bit thinner than the factory plastic airbox so I needed to come up with a way to secure the sensor a bit better:
Here's the IAT sensor totally unmodified:
All I needed to do was drop another O-Ring over it (stack 2 o-rings...1 new bigger one and still use the stock one) before plugging it into the hole. I used a 13/16ID - 1-1/16OD o-ring for this and it works great.
I cut the intake tube as per the instructions, but I also took the time to trim off some of the "ribs" that were on the outside of the stock air intake tube. This will allow the hose clamp to work better.
I also trimmed the intake "Y" fitting a bit shorter on each side. This allows the new air filters to sit in line with the OEM air ductss a bit better. So to make a clean and square cut, I marked it with masking tape, then had at it with a zip disc and an angle grinder. Just had to clean up the edges with a file afterwards:
Trimmed:
The next area that I could see that needed a little improvement was the inside of the coupling that attaches the venturi to the "Y". There was a ridge inside that that was about 3/16" tall:
A sharp knife made quick work of that air-restricting little piece of rubber:
I painted the venturi black and installed the system:
Then I noticed the black plug on the front of the tube and thought it'd be a good spot to install the OEM filter restriction gauge... So I popped the gauge off the stock airbox and eyeballed it up...
I realized that I would have the same issue as I had with the IAT sensor... The new aluminum tube is thinner than the OEM airbox plastic. So I used a couple of o-rings and stacked them on it to make for a snug fit. I used a 13/16"ID and 1-1/16OD" o-ring as well as a 3/4" ID and 7/8" OD o-ring and stacked the 2 of them onto the filter gauge. I'm sure there's an o-ring out there that would allow you to do this with only 1 instead of stacking 2, but I didn't have it handy in my garage at the time of install
I'll be keeping my eyes open for one though:
It worked like a dream! Nice and snug fit and it's pretty secure on there.
All done... For now
I'm sure I'll be making more tweaks to the system as I go but so far I'm pretty happy. For the money, it's a good base to start building from. The kit doesn't have the fit and finish of a fancy AEM kit or K&N, but it's a fraction of the price and I really don't mind making these small adjustments to it.
I also did a hood-close test by taking a decent sized blob of kopr-kote and placing it on the high part of both filters. Then I closed the hood completely and opened it again to see if any of the kopr-kote transferred from the air filters to the hood. None did so that proves to me that the hood won't be squishing these filters down onto my radiator (which was always a slightly nagging concern I had before doing all this work).
I haven't test driven it yet as I finished up pretty late this evening (and I am waiting for my new EBP sensor to arrive). I'll post back with results once I get some wheel time in.
Also, I took some (rough) measurements of the filters:
D = 3.5"
F = 3.5"
L = 5"
FL = 0.75"
And not shown on that diagram is the widest measurement... the base of the cone which measured at 4.75"
Using those measurements, I looked online for comparable filters from some of the bigger name manufacturers...
I found the K&N RU-3550, the Airaid 701-430 and the Volant 5115 to all be close dimensionally.
I was using these measurements because I'd like to buy some of the pre-filter wraps or socks for them. I found the K&N YA-3502PK would probably do the trick as well as the Airaid 799-430 and the Volant 51912.
I'll go shopping this week and see what is in stock locally. But I am leaning towards trying to find an Amsoil filter... my friend can get me killer deals on Amsoil stuff so I will see what my options are once I stop in at his shop and test-fit a few filters. I'll sell the filters that came in the kit locally to partially fund the purchase of some better filters.
Oh, and I'll have to snag a few t-clamps form work next time I'm near our hose shop
