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Made my own Cold/Ram Air Intake


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Not sure why no one has done this yet.

 

I have a 2001 Pathfinder with the 3.5L V6.

 

I put a drop in K&N air filter into the air box and cut off part of the side of the air box that faces the back of the head light.

 

Free ram air. Air that gets around the headlight or between the hood and the top of the headlight will now go directly into the airbox.

 

No dyno results but there is a definate difference in performance. Especially over 50 mph.

 

I'll report back any changes in fuel economy. I normally don't go over 2000 rpm when accelerating and you can feel a bit better acceleration with the new mod.

 

Next will be a custom catback exhaust and maybe some headers if I can convince my buddy to fab up some.

Edited by Gripenfelter
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You accelerate sub 2000 RPM? Man I'd hate to be behind you at a traffic light. But then again, my VG is weak as hell compared to the VQs.

 

Anyway, let us know how you built this. Show some pics. Very interested.

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Ok, so I am thinking "what can I do to help this rig breath better and maybe improve the MPG"? Well, I hear all about the K&N filter system and have some buddies that think that is the only way to go. But, good grief, it costs $300 for a lousy air filter and a chunk of pipe. No problem grasshopper. You're at Pep Boys. I picked out an adapter for the cool air filters and buy what looks to be a decent air filter. The cone style like K&N. It has got to be better than the 1"x2" little hole my OEM filter is sucking air through. What the heck, I buy the stuff and exchange my clunky OEM system for the new sleek, wazoo we guarantee all kinds of junk system.

 

you can see a photo under "what more can I do to my R-50" on page 3 of the forum lists.

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You accelerate sub 2000 RPM? Man I'd hate to be behind you at a traffic light. But then again, my VG is weak as hell compared to the VQs.

 

Anyway, let us know how you built this. Show some pics. Very interested.

I use the Camaro for racing. The Pathfinder is for cruising. When I acccelerate at 2000 rpm thats usually about the speed that the traffic around me is accelerating at. I'll post a pic later today of the airbox.

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I use the Camaro for racing. The Pathfinder is for cruising. When I acccelerate at 2000 rpm thats usually about the speed that the traffic around me is accelerating at. I'll post a pic later today of the airbox.

Well, even if you allow the truck to shift at 3000RPM its still fairly decent. Its not break-your-neck speed. I feel 3000 is just right. 3500... well, that's a little more than needed to get off the line. sly

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Well, even if you allow the truck to shift at 3000RPM its still fairly decent. Its not break-your-neck speed. I feel 3000 is just right. 3500... well, that's a little more than needed to get off the line. sly

Maybe I have shorter gears or maybe everyone here drives like a *****. If I accelerate at 3000 rpm I leave everyone else behind.

 

On to my 2nd tank of gas now. Needle is at 7/8 mark and I've gone 69 kms. Normally when its at the 7/8 mark I've only gone 49 kms.

 

On my last tank of gas I got an extra 20 kms out of it. For a total of 245 kms till 1/4 left. This tank is looking more promising.

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Well, even if you allow the truck to shift at 3000RPM its still fairly decent. Its not break-your-neck speed. I feel 3000 is just right. 3500... well, that's a little more than needed to get off the line. sly

He also has a VQ...there's a huge difference between 3K on a VG and that on a VQ.

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Well the vg is actually stronger, but the vq has more power. 

I wouldn't say that. The VQ comes in many different forms, and is pretty stout as well. I have heard of plenty of guys on maxima.org that have s/c'd and even turbo'd the vq30 with no internal mods. Guys have run them up to 8400 and even over 10000 revs with no problems. I've extended my rev limiter to 7200, and take it there frequently; there is a lot of extra power up there on stock internals. The VQ35HR's in the new 350Z and G35's can take the power too.

 

I'd say they are equally stout to the venerable VG30.

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with the front of your airbox open like that arent you worried at all about all that extra crap thats going to get in there?

I don't drive through mud or water. The filter will get dirtier faster but if you clean and oil it on regular intervals there shouldn't be a problem.

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I'd be afraid of rain or mist from other vehicles getting in there, but perhaps the K&N can repel that too.

 

Awhile ago I did a similar mod by taking off the huge baffle thing behind the wheel well and just put a mesh screen and a splash shield over the hole to the air box. That also gave a little bit of a performance enhancement at higher RPMs.

 

Here's the thing I'm worried about - I've gone through two MAF's since I did this. I'm now back to the paper filters to find out if perhaps I was over-oiling the K&N despite following their directions; it could also be from moisture getting through to the sensor. We'll see...

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