[96cherokeeclass]

Okay I originally posted this:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/poor-mans-cowl-intake-602408/

a few flaws were pointed out... and basically I just got around to working on it again.

This is the cowl grille, the side over the filter is caulked, twice. It has been hose tested, twice. no water seems to get on the filter, the old paper filter showed no sign of moisture.



Here is the new K&N i forgot the part number but it's on the previous thread. The white plastic dam thing where the vent intake is had to be cut, but it craddles the filter rather nicely.




wrapped the tube in exhaust wrap which claims to reduce radiant heat by 70%. hopefully this will earn me the coveted jeep forum "true cold air intake" award.

[ReconMill]

only thing id suggest are non plastic zip ties. They could melt. Looks good so far!

[woodie416]

does your hood shut properly? it looks like the tube would be in the way

[blamo]

great idea, I might look at this for mine. What did you use for the heat shield?

PS. most wire ties are made of Nylon, thus a very high melting temp.

[blamo]

Oops never mind, my MSD ignition sits there (on the firewall). I guess I will keep looking for a more water proof intake. Damn! I like your idea too.

[CherokeeErik]

nice work boomhower

[Q's jeep]

I probably use hose clamps instead of the zip ties to clean up the look. Otherwise nice job.

[Gerts]

When it rains does your filter get wet and suck in water?

[wil badger]

Originally Posted by Gerts

When it rains does your filter get wet and suck in water?

Try rereading his post. I know its easy to look at pictures and all but even doing that it is kinda of easy to see he has covered one side of the cowl cover......

[eliassami5]

now this is better, your old filter was so tiny that it wasnt even funny.

And yes we award you with a "true CAI" award

[XJKipp]

So....how does it perform?

[filluptrk]

Not sure how much benefit you get. All the air has to pass through the louvers then pass over the return tube to get to the filter that is in a fairly small space. And the box is not pressurized since it is also the defrost air intake so air is being diverted to the cabin air needed for your A/C etc.
I have my A/C switched so the compressor goes on only when I want letting me drive with outside air all the time without the A/C cycling, and say at average road speeds with the fan on 1 the air coming out of the dash vents is not very strong. I am not sure that the volume of air you'll get will really be enough for a real performance gain, since the heat/cooling system can easily take up most of the air in that small area you have the filter in. It is a very clever setup however. Phil

[96cherokeeclass]

The hood does shut fine however you couldn't fit a short curly between the tube and the hood support.

it performs great, more throttle response than before, that K&N lets in a lot more air than that paper 4 barrel thing. I dont know if its just because the temps have dropped 10* or so around here or the exhaust wrap but the engine is running a little cooler now.

filluptrk- 98.7% of the time I have the A/C in the 'OFF' position with windows down or doors off so this really is not a bid deal for me, but i did experiment with turning the vent on high while on the highway and it seemed to take away a little power . And I would think with the engine sucking air in, just supplying the filter with cool fresh air should be enough to get SOME gains. This is by no means a set up for max HP or anything, it's just better than stock and allows me to go into deeper water with out worry.

[96cherokeeclass]

Originally Posted by CherokeeErik

nice work boomhower

"Dang-o thanks main"

[ehall]

Might be possible to spray the plastic cowl with WD-40 to keep moisture from building up on it, which might keep it from icing over. Another option would be to keep some de-icing windshield washer fluid in the car and spritz it when needed.