The Under $90 Air Intake!
#101
10-25-2011, 09:08 PM
I simply will not sit back and read anymore of this ****.... personal attacks on forum members, and forum sponsors is not gonna happen...
see ya....
This was a useful thread and offered an alternative to buying an airdoc or a K&N.... but to attack and call Jeff a "Goofball".....
**** that...
see ya....
This was a useful thread and offered an alternative to buying an airdoc or a K&N.... but to attack and call Jeff a "Goofball".....
**** that...
I just think he got irritated when nobody was excited about what he did, he did not get showered with praise, and then copped an attitude? You can only take the horse to water, the rest is up to them.
Thank you MuddyD.
#103
10-25-2011, 11:05 PM
if the moron comment is offensive,u might look at cleaning up this as well,it seems not to bother very many,much worse than,,,moron,,,
"Talking with DrTom is like talking to a crack addict about an intervention.....frustrating to say the least LMAO.
"
we can tolerate morons,not,"crack addict"very degrading,for someone who doesnt drink,smoke or gamble
'
"Talking with DrTom is like talking to a crack addict about an intervention.....frustrating to say the least LMAO.
"we can tolerate morons,not,"crack addict"very degrading,for someone who doesnt drink,smoke or gamble
'
#106
10-26-2011, 11:06 AM
i've actually been in contact with Spectre, they laugh at the idea that some moron posted on here that their parts were made out the country cheaply. they also love the CAI i did, and they support the efforts. Nice to see someone does.
i dont know why i get so worked up over disrespect and people who dont know anything trying to post garbage. sorry i guess.
have a good one.
#109
11-01-2011, 08:15 PM
What site do you go to for finding these Spectra parts? Nice DIY and would like to do it before it gets to cold in Illinois.
#110
11-01-2011, 08:18 PM
Spectra parts
Thats right Under $90 Bucks!!!
We would be telling you a fib if we told you this was our idea. We found a thread on another forum from a "do it yourselfer" that turned out to be a great project. While the list below is not compiled of the most expensive products, this being the point. It is a very affordable way to greatly modify your air intake safely, effectively, and for a third of what most intake manufacturers offer.
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Parts List
$6.95 x1 Spectre 8711 Vacuum/ Sensor adapter Kit
$7.95 x1 Spectre 8771 3” Coupler kit
$11.95 x1 Spectre 9761 4”-3” Reducer Coupler
$32.95 x1 Spectre 8132 Air Filter
$9.95 x1 Spectre 8718 6” Straight Pipe
$11.95 x1 Spectre 8728 22 Degree Elbow
$1.49 x1 8” ½” I.D. Hose
$ .29 x2 Small Self tapping Screws
$ 1.29 x1 3/8” Foam Pipe Insulation
Total Cost: $84.77
First things first. After popping the hood, pull the three latches that hold down your factory air box cover and set aside. You will need this later as it is a bad idea to leave the box open. While it looks good, the box lid is necessary to maintain the proper flow of cool air verses heated air. This is why we are not big fans of the K&N type design units. While they have metal to shroud the filter, it does not do the best job of keep hot air out of the way.
Pull the filter buy simply lifting out smooth end first.
Next disconnect the air sensor.
There are 3 bolts holding in the factory air box. The front and rear can be loosened all the way out without worry of loosing them as they have a small retainer washer attached. the side nut can simply be loosen up, no need to remove it. Once the box is out, you have a better view of what you have to work with.
From your parts list, take and cut a section of the 3/8th's insulation and wrap it inside the snorkel hole at the fender. This will help insulate the intake from any warm air from the engine compartment. We picked up the insulation from Lowe's for less than two dollars. It is originally designed for cold weather use around copper plumbing pipe. But it works great for this project as it is polyurethane and is very durable.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits. Remember, Air raid is the same, so is the factory GM upgrade kit, & K&N and Pro Dry deal with heat issues. Volant is the only company to build a box that has more breathing ability, but dont' foget that cost? The Snorkel can be pulled from the factory air box using a flat head screwdriver and discarded.
Take the 3" coupler from your parts list and remove the ring clamps. There is also an inside reducer you will not need. The inlet for the air box is actually a bit oval and not perfectly round, so you will have to work with the coupler a little to seat it inside the opening. Make sure the coupler is no farther than about 1/4 of an inch inside the hole. By pushing it in to far you will end up with too short a tube to seat properly against the port and insulation on the fender wall. Next use the 2 short self tapping screws to fix the coupler to the air box.
Once you have mounted the coupler, you can reinstall the box. Remember to check you fitments as you want to keep hot air out and cool air coming in! This will open your actual intake from the reduced 1.75 inches to a full 3" inlet!
We like the Spectre Filter for a couple of different reasons, First would be the price, a good twenty bucks less than K&N and it has the same filter elements as does the alternative. The K&N filter however does NOT have an air filter inlet at the end of the filter itself. It's flat. As the air enters the box, it would have to work its way around the K&N to reach the intake, with the Spectre it flows straight through. K&N and similar companies may have a Million mile warranty compared to the Spectre 100,000 mile guarantee. But do you really plan on driving your hummer a million miles? Probably not! And in this case, the pro's may outway the cons. The good news is you can choose any filter you like, or swap. The factory box stays the same. The K&N style is great for city and highway use but most offroad guys will stick with paper as it filters out a bit more.
The next photo shows the air box and filter installed. You will also notice the 4" to 3" coupler by the airflow sensor. You may need to take a razor blade and notch the small portion of the reducer toward the top of the outflow where the coupler meets the factory output. But its not a must. Don't tighten down the coupler just yet as it will take a bit of wiggle to seat the intake.
Loosely connect the 6" straight tube with the 22 degree bend. The straight tube will feed into the throttle body side. About half way up the 6" section, use the drill kit from your parts list to add the hole and breather port. Keeping things loose between the tubes will allow you to adjust the port to line up with the intake properly.
Setting the intake tube aside for now, unscrew the ring strap from the factor resignator sitting on top of the engine. You will reuse the factory throttle intake linkage hose unless you choose to replace it. Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the resignator to the engine and lift the box out. Remember to pull the breather hose from the rear of the I5 valve cover as you will need to replace it with the longer version from your list.
Below is the engine and throttle body less the resignator box.
Install your new intake and remember to connect you breather hose. Make your adjustments concerning layout and then proceed to tighten everything down properly.
Once everything is tighted down and cleened up you can test start your truck to make sure all is good to go. The second photo is with the reinstalled factory breather cover.
Its that easy! The H3 was never designed for the drag strip, and many will argue the need for an air intake. While we don't believe an air intake will add a great amount of muscle, there is a noticeable difference on the highway. Specifically when it comes to mileage. Combine the air intake manifold with a performance exhaust such as Magnaflow or Borla, add a reprogrammed PCU or a jet chip and your truck will have improvements such as throttle response, passing, towing, MPG, looks and even sound stronger and better than factory! We hope that helps a bit, maybe save you some bucks, and wasn't to bad a read.
BrickWurX Mfg.
Don't forget to upgrade your battery terminals. Especially if your running a winch or fog lights! Battery terminals are the starting veins to powered electronics as an air intake manifold is to your vehicles ability to breath.
We would be telling you a fib if we told you this was our idea. We found a thread on another forum from a "do it yourselfer" that turned out to be a great project. While the list below is not compiled of the most expensive products, this being the point. It is a very affordable way to greatly modify your air intake safely, effectively, and for a third of what most intake manufacturers offer.
With that said, this will require about an hour of work to perform. So if you want a straight bolt on unit, buy the Air Doc, one of our personal favorites for a solid product at a great price. If you already have the Doc, try the air sidewall intake mod to your box suggested below, Under ten bucks total, and will make a big difference in your manifold getting its required needs for cool air.
Parts List
$6.95 x1 Spectre 8711 Vacuum/ Sensor adapter Kit
$7.95 x1 Spectre 8771 3” Coupler kit
$11.95 x1 Spectre 9761 4”-3” Reducer Coupler
$32.95 x1 Spectre 8132 Air Filter
$9.95 x1 Spectre 8718 6” Straight Pipe
$11.95 x1 Spectre 8728 22 Degree Elbow
$1.49 x1 8” ½” I.D. Hose
$ .29 x2 Small Self tapping Screws
$ 1.29 x1 3/8” Foam Pipe Insulation
Total Cost: $84.77
First things first. After popping the hood, pull the three latches that hold down your factory air box cover and set aside. You will need this later as it is a bad idea to leave the box open. While it looks good, the box lid is necessary to maintain the proper flow of cool air verses heated air. This is why we are not big fans of the K&N type design units. While they have metal to shroud the filter, it does not do the best job of keep hot air out of the way.
Pull the filter buy simply lifting out smooth end first.
Next disconnect the air sensor.
There are 3 bolts holding in the factory air box. The front and rear can be loosened all the way out without worry of loosing them as they have a small retainer washer attached. the side nut can simply be loosen up, no need to remove it. Once the box is out, you have a better view of what you have to work with.
From your parts list, take and cut a section of the 3/8th's insulation and wrap it inside the snorkel hole at the fender. This will help insulate the intake from any warm air from the engine compartment. We picked up the insulation from Lowe's for less than two dollars. It is originally designed for cold weather use around copper plumbing pipe. But it works great for this project as it is polyurethane and is very durable.
Next is probable the most helpful mod to your intake. Below is a photo of the factory snorkel. It is restricted from a three inch output to under an inch and three quarters coming into the box. The Air Doc does not address this issue, but Air Doc customers can use the mod for added benefits. Remember, Air raid is the same, so is the factory GM upgrade kit, & K&N and Pro Dry deal with heat issues. Volant is the only company to build a box that has more breathing ability, but dont' foget that cost? The Snorkel can be pulled from the factory air box using a flat head screwdriver and discarded.
Take the 3" coupler from your parts list and remove the ring clamps. There is also an inside reducer you will not need. The inlet for the air box is actually a bit oval and not perfectly round, so you will have to work with the coupler a little to seat it inside the opening. Make sure the coupler is no farther than about 1/4 of an inch inside the hole. By pushing it in to far you will end up with too short a tube to seat properly against the port and insulation on the fender wall. Next use the 2 short self tapping screws to fix the coupler to the air box.
Once you have mounted the coupler, you can reinstall the box. Remember to check you fitments as you want to keep hot air out and cool air coming in! This will open your actual intake from the reduced 1.75 inches to a full 3" inlet!
We like the Spectre Filter for a couple of different reasons, First would be the price, a good twenty bucks less than K&N and it has the same filter elements as does the alternative. The K&N filter however does NOT have an air filter inlet at the end of the filter itself. It's flat. As the air enters the box, it would have to work its way around the K&N to reach the intake, with the Spectre it flows straight through. K&N and similar companies may have a Million mile warranty compared to the Spectre 100,000 mile guarantee. But do you really plan on driving your hummer a million miles? Probably not! And in this case, the pro's may outway the cons. The good news is you can choose any filter you like, or swap. The factory box stays the same. The K&N style is great for city and highway use but most offroad guys will stick with paper as it filters out a bit more.
The next photo shows the air box and filter installed. You will also notice the 4" to 3" coupler by the airflow sensor. You may need to take a razor blade and notch the small portion of the reducer toward the top of the outflow where the coupler meets the factory output. But its not a must. Don't tighten down the coupler just yet as it will take a bit of wiggle to seat the intake.
Loosely connect the 6" straight tube with the 22 degree bend. The straight tube will feed into the throttle body side. About half way up the 6" section, use the drill kit from your parts list to add the hole and breather port. Keeping things loose between the tubes will allow you to adjust the port to line up with the intake properly.
Setting the intake tube aside for now, unscrew the ring strap from the factor resignator sitting on top of the engine. You will reuse the factory throttle intake linkage hose unless you choose to replace it. Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the resignator to the engine and lift the box out. Remember to pull the breather hose from the rear of the I5 valve cover as you will need to replace it with the longer version from your list.
Below is the engine and throttle body less the resignator box.
Install your new intake and remember to connect you breather hose. Make your adjustments concerning layout and then proceed to tighten everything down properly.
Once everything is tighted down and cleened up you can test start your truck to make sure all is good to go. The second photo is with the reinstalled factory breather cover.
Its that easy! The H3 was never designed for the drag strip, and many will argue the need for an air intake. While we don't believe an air intake will add a great amount of muscle, there is a noticeable difference on the highway. Specifically when it comes to mileage. Combine the air intake manifold with a performance exhaust such as Magnaflow or Borla, add a reprogrammed PCU or a jet chip and your truck will have improvements such as throttle response, passing, towing, MPG, looks and even sound stronger and better than factory! We hope that helps a bit, maybe save you some bucks, and wasn't to bad a read.
BrickWurX Mfg.
Don't forget to upgrade your battery terminals. Especially if your running a winch or fog lights! Battery terminals are the starting veins to powered electronics as an air intake manifold is to your vehicles ability to breath.