Pro/Con of Air intake Kit

[marximus]

i dont know much about air intakes so please educate me! my buddy just got one of those air intake kits off ebay and installed it into his rodeo. he tells me it increases his horsepower because it lets more air into the egine at a faster rateand... blah blah blah. i dont think he knows what he is talking about as much as i think he is just reciting what he was told. so clear this up for me. i want to know what the benifits of the air intake are, and what the drawback are(there must be some otherwise everyone would do this) ?

if i decide this is worth adding to my VX, where should i purchase one, or is there a specificone that fits the VX the best?

thanks
-mark

[jayfotos]

Yes, it makes a difference.....well at least on my engine with SC.

Below is my dyno chart before and after I put in my intake. I added 50hp and 50 lps of torque off the line and 11hp overall to the ground.

[SlowPro48]

Originally posted by jayfotos
Below is my dyno chart before and after I put in my intake. I added 50hp and 50 lps of torque off the line and 11hp overall to the ground.

Let me get this straight - you're saying the intake alone added 50hp at 2750 rpm? That's one hell of an intake you got there...

With such a steep curve on the low end it looks more like a before/after chart for a blower install than just an intake.

[jayfotos]

Nope, it's after I put in the intake. The first run is the SC with the stock airbox....Yea, I know....it blew away the guys that ran the dyno.

[marximus]

i dont have a SC(unfortunately), so would it be worth installing a new air intake? also is there another option in terms of getting denser air into the engine?

Thanks

[MachineVX]

I have a morgan tec intake, and I'm very happy with it. I get much better throttle response with the cone filter. I consistently run 0 to 60 in the mid 7's, with the intake and exhaust mods.

[On Your Left]

Jayfotos/Machine,

I put a K&N on the the stock box and noticed a small improvement in mpg, but nothing to rave about. The performance gains of an after market intake sounds great for a 'small' investment, but what about mileage improvements?

JT

[Joe_Black]

I've had good results in economy and a noticeable "pep" increase with the K&N filter in our three Isuzu 3.5 vehicles (two VX). With the PV2 and Morgan-tec on the Dragon there was a big change per the butt-dyno. Just remember that for an intake mod to work well you need to couple it with an exhaust mod. What you're really doing is helping the engine breathe easier. You're not going to get radical gains, but noticeable ones worth the relatively small investment. After that it's induction and porting.

[jimbo]

With a low-restriction air filter and the 6VE1 engine (with its potential problems) is there any concern about the life of the motor?

I've read that most of the contaminants that get in your engine come through the air intake. Are low-restriction filters as good or better than stock at filtering particles?

Just wondering what people's thoughts were on this.

[Joe_Black]

6VE1 potential problems? There aren't any other than poor maintenance or just bad luck. There are literally hundreds of thousands of 6VE1 engines out there in a variety of vehicles. Ours weren't specially built, they came from the same pool that other Isuzu models drew upon. Unfortunately a few in our small community had the misfortune of getting a bad mill and that's led to a tremendous misconception within the VX family that there's a problem with the 6VE1, which simply isn't true. Any Isuzu owner will tell you they're good for at least 250K miles with minimum expense and basic maintenance.

Actually it's rather poignant that at this juncture in Isuzu's history when they're about to rid themselves of the anchor that GM has been, that the only recall in their US history was attributed to the Ascender which they don't even build.

As for the low restriction air filters, they're low restriction because of larger surface area rather than reduced filtration.

[jimbo]

A Google search will reveal many dozens (perhaps hundreds) of horror stories about late model troopers, rodeos etc. with blown engines at 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 miles. There's probably some issue here, however ....

I'm gonna believe you Joe, for the same reason I believe in God. Because I really, really, really NEED to believe. (LOL)

P.S Joe- My Mom lives in Brandon, your neck of the woods is my favorite part of the country and my second home.

[t2p]

jimbo .........
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just keep an eye on your oil consumption ....
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and replace those shock absorbers .......... !!!
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also .......
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jimbo - my guess is that most, if not all - of the 'less restrictive' air filter elements will allow more 'particles' to pass through .......
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although many/most/all? do have a larger surface area (due to design my guess - type of pleat, whatever) , I believe the element material itself is less restrictive ........
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it probably would not stop me from installing a K&N though ..........

[jimbo]

and replace those shock absorbers .......... !!!

Ha Ha Ha ... read my other post huh?

I'll probably get a K&N eventually as well.

[Joe_Black]

LOL Jimbo! Be sure to look us up next time you're down, we'll get a mini-meet together. Florida has a fantastic bunch of VXers.

As for maintenance, just be sure to use a good quality synthetic oil such as Mobil-1 or Amsoil and change regularly with a good filter. A very good habit to get into with the 6VE1 is to change the PCV every other oil change. I usally pick up several PCV's at a time since they're only about $4 each, that way I have them on hand when oil change time comes. This simple routine will keep your mill happy and healthy for miles to come.

[t2p]

yepper .....
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Jimbo ...... kangaroo = shot shock absorber .... or plural ..........
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