pressurized intake box

caveman · Post by **caveman** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:04 pm

Now that i bought and installed a Giles super performance pump for my 1.9 na i can tell that the intake and exhaust are restrictive. The exhaust i will worry about after [ i'll get a double outlet gasser manifold and larger pipes] but i hope i can fab up an intake easily enough. Since there seems to be an opinion that there is quite a lot of pressure at the bottom af the "d" pillers, i was thinking of using an air filter box like out of a Golf [or whatever will fit in there] , seal off the section behind the tail light and then run a hose from the air filter to an intake like for a gasser or 1y diesel [which doesn't actually fit in a Vanagon apparently] . I'm afraid the hardest part will be to weld up some kind of manifold to match my D shaped inlets . Any opinions/ suggestions?

rsxsr · Post by **rsxsr** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:37 pm

You may be overthinking this some. With a sealed "ram air" intake, I don't think you would see much of an improvement other than the affect of getting cooler air into the engine. Why do you suspect the intake is too small? Perhaps you could fit up a turbo intake manifold to your "ram air" system. I would suggest connecting a vacumn gauge to your intake manifold. If the intake is restricting your flow, it should show up as vacumn. If you can romp on it and don't see any vacumn, your intake tract is adequate for your needs currently. I would think the intake valve size and port size would be more restrictive than your stock intake manifold. If you are still inclined to build a mega intake. You can use a gasket as a template for your intake manifold flange. I would work with steel rather than aluminum. By a box of mandrel bends from a company like schoefeld and a 4 into one collector. Think of it as building a custom exhaust header, except it will be utilized as an intake. Have fun.

caveman · Post by **caveman** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:46 am

Good idea about testing it with a vacuum gauge. The other reason i was wanting to do this was to quiet it down. More than one person has mentioned that a lot of noise produced by induction, which i know can be true if my dual weber 2.2 l beetle is anything to go by. All the oem hoses ,snorkel etc is properly connected.Of course apples and oranges , but both vehicles produce a lot of racket for having the motor where you would think you wouldn't be able to hear that much.

rsxsr · Post by **rsxsr** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:53 am

When I first completed my TDI conversion, I was utilizing a K&N cone filter stuck on the end of my MAF behind the R/R tailight. I was just happy to be on the road again. Over at the TDI conversion group, others were talking about intake noise. To be honest, I could not hear what they were talking about. I did purchase and install a Donaldson Air Filter, a quality part, not because the K&N was bad, but I was concerned about having an oiled filter in front of my MAF sensor. They don't like any contaminents. I have driven with the new filter, I am not sure if I can tell a difference in noise levels or not. The Vanagon Diesel did have an intake snorkel and cannister that fit between the air filter housing and up the cooling pillar. I have not yet figured how to plumb that back up. I also eliminated my EGR system and found my intake full of an oily carbon mess. I cleaned it all out, and to be honest again, did not notice and improvement in performance. Regards.

caveman · Post by **caveman** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:04 am

As far as noise reduction is concerned it's all in increments, not big differences. But i'd still like to keep at it. I do know that when i reconnected the big foam covered hose from the box back to the intake snorkel that runs vertically up to the rear vent the noise level went down, esp at full throttle .

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:10 am

I haven't dealt with the 1Y intake, but why do you say it won't fit? IIRC, from what I've read on the Brickworks it's fairly common for folks to use them in vanagon installs.

caveman · Post by **caveman** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:18 am

It butts up against the l/s of the body . Some have managed to squeeze it in, some others have had to cut and "massage" the body to fit. Personally i'd rather narrow and weld the intake by the 1/2 " or whatever it takes ,rather than cut my almost pristene body