Looking at the setup of the factory air intake, my first impression was that it was pretty good (of course not as good as a $300 CAI). There's some sort of ducting that allows the filter box to get some cool air in front of the car, with an opening at the top part of the grill.

BUT... after taking a closer look, that top portion of the grill has no holes!!! That means you don't get direct streams of air into that opening. There's probably some gap between the hood and the body, but i thought i can do slightly better... i was thinking of drilling some holes there so that it will get some direct cold air, esp when the car is in motion.

But then drilling into a new car always make me feel uneasy

I'm just trying to do some cheap mods for the moment while saving up for the Racing Beat cat back system.

 

Sounds great, TheMan! Yeah, that would definitely be safer. But I'm sure holes in the grill would allow more air (after all, that's the main purpose of having grills, besides looks).

Was curious, where did you read about this "Japanese mod"?

 

Here is what i did to get better air flow until i can get a CAI. I removed all of the bulky plastic that is in place to carry airflow to the airbox. The only thing remaining should be the actual airbox with the open hole to let air in. I then took a piece of flexible ducting from an automotive store, hooked it to the opening, then affixed the other end of the tubing down underneath the car to suck in cold air. Honestly, I don't feel any difference, but at least I know its getting better airflow, cool airflow. I guess if I drop a K&N in, I will feel a little something. I wouldnt recommend running through any pools of water with this adaptation....but I dont think that the water will be able to travel up that high to the airbox. Just for your info, the size tubing I used was 2 7/8 Give it a shot. Good Luck.....Oh by the way, I have attached a generic diagram of how I configured the mod.
<IMG SRC= http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/pr...izm/AirMod.jpg >

 

Thanks Melanizm, I've thought of that too. This would provide a less direct path of air (instead of routing 90 degrees through the front ducting) However, I'm not sure if lowering that flexible piping all the way underneath the car is a good idea, because it may suck in water like a straw. But besides the bottom of the car, where else can i tap cool air? Maybe the same place where the cone filter of CAI intake fits? I don't see any holes in there, so probably won't have much direct air flow there also.

And may i ask where did you get that 2 7/8 piping? some sort of piping for washing machines?

Sounds like a fun simple project

 

Here's a simple solution if you have the parts to do it.

I used a simple single-bend honda intake and mounted my air flow sensor and filter on the end. The filter sits about where the factory airbox does. That worked better then the factory intake. Then, when my friend wrecked his truck, he gave me the intake off of it....the same kind of single-bend deal. I stuck the bent end down under the car and used a large hose clamp to attach it to the A/C condenser (I think that's what it is) and fired it up towards the filter. I drove it to the beach and it was a fairly cool evening on the trip home. I drove 90+ mph on I-40 for an hour b/w there and my exit and when I got out to inspect it, the filter was ice cold which means it works. Racing beat said that most of the CAI's out there don't work well with the Protege's cuz they don't allow the proper amount of warm air into the intake (protege's like to have a little warm air to perform better). It really made a huge difference in my car (99 ES automatic) Now I have an 02 P5 5 speed and it still works well, I just don't know how much better since I had the car a day before I put it on. Hope this helps.

 

Another great idea! Thanks people! I love these simple DIY stuff and see how creative people can get. Just something to get our cars a bit different than the P5 parked next to you.

Actually, i've done similar stuff with my previous Honda civic. I had a normal intake with a cone filter. Then I found a big plastic tupper-ware, cut a hole in it and enclosed the cone filter in it. it's like an air box, but now with a cone filter inside it. Then at the other side of the tupper-ware, I made another opening and attached a flexible 3" hose to it and lead that hose towards the bottom of the car (near the grill area) where it got cool direct streams of air. This made sure that i'm not sucking hot engine compartment air, and yet i get the high flow with the cone filter.

 

Actually I was driving like a madman in a really heavy thunderstorm not too long ago, driving through large puddles unintentionally, forgetting that I had this new mod on. Good thing is that after all that splashing and what not, it did not suck any water into my engine. Besides, I think if a little moisture was to get into the tubing, then the filter will be sure to soak it up. It's all up to you. I brought the tubing from Pep Boys. Its tubing that lead to the air box (actually more dic shaped) that contains the carbuerator on older cars.

 

Ok, I thought about what you guys said and I went ahead and did a mod similar to Melanizm.

I removed the bulky plastic that is on top of the radiator, leaving the factory airbox. I went to Walmart and found some nice flexible hose. It was meant for sewers for RV, but hey, it's much better quality than those intake hoses sold in Autozone/Pepboys.

The best thing is that it's 1/3 the price of those intake hoses, and it can be stretched to 10' long! The diameter was perfect and it fits the airbox really well. And I bought some big hose clamps from Pepboys and clamped the hose on.

The most difficult part was to decide where to position the hose opening to get the coolest air AND has to allow the hose to fit through. I finally decided that the best location is at the bottom because hot air rises. I saw an air opening at the bottom of the car, which i guess that it's used to cool the transmission. I positioned the hose right on top of that opening. It's now below the radiator fan, so even when the fan turns on, the hot air won't get sucked in.

I also added a K&N drop-in and now the throttle response is a bit smoother. Power-wise, it's not much difference (probably it's more powerful mentally )

It's going to rain pretty heavy today and I'm going observe how water splashes into that opening. I'll probably experiment with other loactions for the hose. The other location i've thought of was that hole where those aftermarket CAI filters go into, but there's going to be a big u turn for the hose. Besides, that coolant reservoir is in the way...