D
DAMN YANKEE
Guest
Why do it? Why take a perfectly good air box and swap it out? The facts are that with quality high flow filters and smooth tubes, the stock air box delivers all the air a set of stock throttle bodies require. Even when one is running a supercharged Roe system (lower pounds) high flow filter and smooth tubes make the stock air box a great match. The stock air box also has some other nice features, it fits like…well,stock, handles rain water and has a nice place to attach all the other stock breather lines that we require. Bust out the rain baffle? Well, the technique of removing the rain baffle adds little if any usable air flow and takes away…rain protection. So…why do it? I was hoping you would ask that…..
I had this big piece of plastic in front of my engine…Black Hole Effect….the dark force was with me.
Here is what you thought you would read, “presentation.” The stock air box is ugly as hell and really is no way to top off a lot of time spent improving and detailing your Viper engine. Some folks, not all, like popping the hood and looking at their motors as much as they like driving their rigs. For them, taking away a big ugly box of black plastic and replace it with a powder coated marvel with K&N high flow cone filters, matching color powder coated air tubes, a touch of chrome here and there lets them finish their engines all the way up to the front fascia. If that new air box also allows you to attach all your other hoses, Nos, ****, Idle air, IAT sensors (finally getting a real reading!) and still handles rain…well, start grabbing those wrenches! Net gain “great looks, better everything”, net loss “thinner wallet”.
The first time I saw Justin’s ( jmbperformance.com ) new air box, it was mounted on VCA member Kevin Knight’s incredible yellow Viper. You may all remember those initial shots of Kevin’s rig…clean, clean, clean! Add Kevin’s fuel gauge rig, the stainless mesh idle air hose, the powder coated cross bar and throttle linkage and well, its about perfect! His air box was developed by Justin along side Joe Donovan of PBJ (Performance by Joe). Justin’s been building and Joe’s been using these rigs for a long time and they are beautifully built and finished units. I owned their “puke” tank, I know the quality is unmatched.
JMB Performance
2818 Nicole Lane
Festus Mo 63028
http://jmbperformance.com/store/index.php?cPath=22
Here is what my rig looks like now…
I miss my plastic airbox about as much as I miss my stock exhaust system…
What you might not have thought you would hear, “performance”. And here, ladies and gentlemen is where a strong case for a new airbox could possible get a boost (pun intended). The story starts with some work that I was doing on the VEC3 IAT curves and my conversations with VCA member Steve Nelson. Steve has one of the most systematic, most structured approaches to tuning his Roe cars that I know of, one that makes dialog with him time well spent. Steve is also one of those generous guys that are always there to give you a helping hand. Some of you might remember that Steve and I were kicking around the best way to set up the IAT curve on the VEC, well in those discussions Steve stumbled on a simple fact, one of his Vipers has consistently turning in cooler, more stable IAT readings than the other. That Viper was also turning in better times. Heat soak would come on in that car, but later…and slower. Not to have any mysteries left unresolved, Steve set about finding out why and what he found was…..oh Lord, the cooler rig had a Vipair unit. That rig was picking up cooler air in front of the radiator, behind the fascia and pulling that along with the Naca duct air into the throttle bodies. Colder air, denser air, denser air the more gas we can mix in the same physical space and stay at the required Lambda, more gas, more horse power…. I know, I know, we both felt as those of you reading this right now feel, lets not start THAT up again. It caught my attention enough to stay abreast of what was out there in air boxes.
Now, Steve and I are street racers, though Steve is also a track racer and motorcrosser too. On the street, heat soak can be less of an issue because we can manage our environment unlike track racing where once your engine gets red hot, that’s it. Cold mornings, cool evenings and we are…well…lets say “performance logging.” Could one just use a Vipair unit and get the same results? Yea..right, like I’m going to answer that one, but, for me. that was a tipping point, I could commit myself to swapping out the stock airbox for the “presentation” if I also got the “performance.”
The new JMB “Cold Air Performance System”, was the catalyst for me. Essentially all the benefits of a super high flow airbox picking air off the NACA duct along with cold air streaming behind the front fascia. The new design has a longer front entry that captures and moves the air to the air filters before the radiator, not after. No, it does not in any way effect air flowing to your radiator. Yes, we are scooping up cooler air. Perhaps equally important is that by relocating the IAT sensor to dead center in the NACA hole, the air temps should be lower and therefore the PCM/VEC should not sense the same hot air curve.
We have even more powder coated, custom bent aluminum replacing or hiding even more ugly stock parts scooping up cooler air and delivering it to the Roe blower. Add to that more options than are allowed in most states that voted blue (green?) in the last election! 3” “S” style tubes, integrated idle air hook-ups, IAT sensor location, rain holes, works with larger throttle bodies, nitrous capable, water injection, custom colors, custom graphics, etc. etc! All that and….a thinner wallet too!
In this write up I will also be adding a fuel pressure gauge, powder coated throttle linkage and cross support bar, along with an idle air tube upgrade…all from the Kevin Knight school of interior design! He is going to be powder coating, so get everything you ever wanted done, done now so the colors match.
Lets get going….
Removing the stock air box. No photos here…its straight forward enough. Undo the clamps on either end of the air tube and take the air tubes off. Then remove the three (3) large plastic screws that hold the stock airbox in place. Undo the few remaining hoses that are attached to the stock air box. Lift the stock airbox right out of the hole. Store the airbox where it cannot be seen by your tax assessor or the EPA.
When your done, you will have an ominous hole that looks like this…Tape over the throttle bodies to keep crap out of them..
Now you have a decision to make, Justin sells two types of air box assemblies. One is about the size of the standard air box and does not incorporate the cool air pick-up, it is the one pictured on the left in the photo above. The other, is much longer and picks up cool air before the radiator. To my mind, one of the big reasons for doing this and spending the bucks is that cool air!
In order to release that cool air, we need to remove one more stock panel. It is located right behind the front fascia. We remove four (4) screws and lift it right out.
Big difference…
We are ready to assemble the new air box unit.
Start by carefully setting in the main air box assembly. With the supplied, new hardware, screw in the three (3) front screws…screw on the two knurled center knobs (washers under) and screw in the rear large black head plastic screw. You may need to bend the aluminum rear bracket on the Viper, not the air box to get a perfect fit. Use a soft rubber mallet and it will bend with very little force.
Things should fit perfectly. Remember a Viper is essentially hand made, you may need to settle things down and get the alignment perfectly. . If you did send in your Roe throttle cross brace and the throttle linkage. You will need to readjust to insure both full throttle opening and throttle synchronization. I’m not going to cover the details on that here, contact me if you need help with sync and full throttle adjustments.
Now lets assemble the air tube / filter assembly. Justin supplies K&N filters and the best quality clamps.
Mount the completed units onto the throttle bodies (air idle tube is mounted on the driver’s side) and tighten everything up snug. Don’t over tighten; solid snug is good as your cranking up on rubber.
Cut the idle tube back and reclamp that now as well.
Lastly, screw in the stock IAT sensor from the rear into the center hole on the air box. You can further tighten in down by using the supplied brass nut, or just allow the friction fit.
Take the time to recheck every attachment, screw and clamp. Nice!!
Video link of it running.,…Yep, the video if from the CELL PHONE as well!
http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/DAMNYANKEE2006/?action=view¤t=MVI_1391.flv
I had this big piece of plastic in front of my engine…Black Hole Effect….the dark force was with me.
Here is what you thought you would read, “presentation.” The stock air box is ugly as hell and really is no way to top off a lot of time spent improving and detailing your Viper engine. Some folks, not all, like popping the hood and looking at their motors as much as they like driving their rigs. For them, taking away a big ugly box of black plastic and replace it with a powder coated marvel with K&N high flow cone filters, matching color powder coated air tubes, a touch of chrome here and there lets them finish their engines all the way up to the front fascia. If that new air box also allows you to attach all your other hoses, Nos, ****, Idle air, IAT sensors (finally getting a real reading!) and still handles rain…well, start grabbing those wrenches! Net gain “great looks, better everything”, net loss “thinner wallet”.
The first time I saw Justin’s ( jmbperformance.com ) new air box, it was mounted on VCA member Kevin Knight’s incredible yellow Viper. You may all remember those initial shots of Kevin’s rig…clean, clean, clean! Add Kevin’s fuel gauge rig, the stainless mesh idle air hose, the powder coated cross bar and throttle linkage and well, its about perfect! His air box was developed by Justin along side Joe Donovan of PBJ (Performance by Joe). Justin’s been building and Joe’s been using these rigs for a long time and they are beautifully built and finished units. I owned their “puke” tank, I know the quality is unmatched.
JMB Performance
2818 Nicole Lane
Festus Mo 63028
http://jmbperformance.com/store/index.php?cPath=22
Here is what my rig looks like now…
I miss my plastic airbox about as much as I miss my stock exhaust system…
What you might not have thought you would hear, “performance”. And here, ladies and gentlemen is where a strong case for a new airbox could possible get a boost (pun intended). The story starts with some work that I was doing on the VEC3 IAT curves and my conversations with VCA member Steve Nelson. Steve has one of the most systematic, most structured approaches to tuning his Roe cars that I know of, one that makes dialog with him time well spent. Steve is also one of those generous guys that are always there to give you a helping hand. Some of you might remember that Steve and I were kicking around the best way to set up the IAT curve on the VEC, well in those discussions Steve stumbled on a simple fact, one of his Vipers has consistently turning in cooler, more stable IAT readings than the other. That Viper was also turning in better times. Heat soak would come on in that car, but later…and slower. Not to have any mysteries left unresolved, Steve set about finding out why and what he found was…..oh Lord, the cooler rig had a Vipair unit. That rig was picking up cooler air in front of the radiator, behind the fascia and pulling that along with the Naca duct air into the throttle bodies. Colder air, denser air, denser air the more gas we can mix in the same physical space and stay at the required Lambda, more gas, more horse power…. I know, I know, we both felt as those of you reading this right now feel, lets not start THAT up again. It caught my attention enough to stay abreast of what was out there in air boxes.
Now, Steve and I are street racers, though Steve is also a track racer and motorcrosser too. On the street, heat soak can be less of an issue because we can manage our environment unlike track racing where once your engine gets red hot, that’s it. Cold mornings, cool evenings and we are…well…lets say “performance logging.” Could one just use a Vipair unit and get the same results? Yea..right, like I’m going to answer that one, but, for me. that was a tipping point, I could commit myself to swapping out the stock airbox for the “presentation” if I also got the “performance.”
The new JMB “Cold Air Performance System”, was the catalyst for me. Essentially all the benefits of a super high flow airbox picking air off the NACA duct along with cold air streaming behind the front fascia. The new design has a longer front entry that captures and moves the air to the air filters before the radiator, not after. No, it does not in any way effect air flowing to your radiator. Yes, we are scooping up cooler air. Perhaps equally important is that by relocating the IAT sensor to dead center in the NACA hole, the air temps should be lower and therefore the PCM/VEC should not sense the same hot air curve.
We have even more powder coated, custom bent aluminum replacing or hiding even more ugly stock parts scooping up cooler air and delivering it to the Roe blower. Add to that more options than are allowed in most states that voted blue (green?) in the last election! 3” “S” style tubes, integrated idle air hook-ups, IAT sensor location, rain holes, works with larger throttle bodies, nitrous capable, water injection, custom colors, custom graphics, etc. etc! All that and….a thinner wallet too!
In this write up I will also be adding a fuel pressure gauge, powder coated throttle linkage and cross support bar, along with an idle air tube upgrade…all from the Kevin Knight school of interior design! He is going to be powder coating, so get everything you ever wanted done, done now so the colors match.
Lets get going….
Removing the stock air box. No photos here…its straight forward enough. Undo the clamps on either end of the air tube and take the air tubes off. Then remove the three (3) large plastic screws that hold the stock airbox in place. Undo the few remaining hoses that are attached to the stock air box. Lift the stock airbox right out of the hole. Store the airbox where it cannot be seen by your tax assessor or the EPA.
When your done, you will have an ominous hole that looks like this…Tape over the throttle bodies to keep crap out of them..
Now you have a decision to make, Justin sells two types of air box assemblies. One is about the size of the standard air box and does not incorporate the cool air pick-up, it is the one pictured on the left in the photo above. The other, is much longer and picks up cool air before the radiator. To my mind, one of the big reasons for doing this and spending the bucks is that cool air!
In order to release that cool air, we need to remove one more stock panel. It is located right behind the front fascia. We remove four (4) screws and lift it right out.
Big difference…
We are ready to assemble the new air box unit.
Start by carefully setting in the main air box assembly. With the supplied, new hardware, screw in the three (3) front screws…screw on the two knurled center knobs (washers under) and screw in the rear large black head plastic screw. You may need to bend the aluminum rear bracket on the Viper, not the air box to get a perfect fit. Use a soft rubber mallet and it will bend with very little force.
Things should fit perfectly. Remember a Viper is essentially hand made, you may need to settle things down and get the alignment perfectly. . If you did send in your Roe throttle cross brace and the throttle linkage. You will need to readjust to insure both full throttle opening and throttle synchronization. I’m not going to cover the details on that here, contact me if you need help with sync and full throttle adjustments.
Now lets assemble the air tube / filter assembly. Justin supplies K&N filters and the best quality clamps.
Mount the completed units onto the throttle bodies (air idle tube is mounted on the driver’s side) and tighten everything up snug. Don’t over tighten; solid snug is good as your cranking up on rubber.
Cut the idle tube back and reclamp that now as well.
Lastly, screw in the stock IAT sensor from the rear into the center hole on the air box. You can further tighten in down by using the supplied brass nut, or just allow the friction fit.
Take the time to recheck every attachment, screw and clamp. Nice!!
Video link of it running.,…Yep, the video if from the CELL PHONE as well!
http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/DAMNYANKEE2006/?action=view¤t=MVI_1391.flv
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