On my 1994 XJ40 car I am used to the inlet of the airbox
pointing in such a way that the front end of the horn fits
through a rubber sock and hole that extends into the inner
fender well. However on the 1997 X300 XJ6 car I am currently
working on the front of the air intake horn does not seem to
work that way. The hole into the inner fender well is still
there with the rubber sock in it but the curve of the air
inlet horn does not work in such a way that it can be fitted
through this hole. Instead it just points to the back of the
headlights on that side.

See the attached photo



1997 X300 airbox inlet horn

Is this normal for the X300 cars or is there a problem with
my airbox?

 

normal

 

Yep, the XJR airbox snorkel is oriented differently than the NA XJ6 airbox.

Not sure why it is different, but perhaps the intake runner angle couldn't accommodate the original setup.

That being said, some have trimmed the "trumpet flair" off the XJR snorkel and added some hose to extend the intake beyond the engine compartment. Does it help doing so? I have no idea, but it probably couldn't hurt as long as the hose isn't too long or restrictive.


.

 

Yes I too have also wondered why they do not have the intake pointing into the inner guard hole.
On the matter of the trumpet flair on the end however, might I quote from Roger Bywater (AJ6 Engineering, his article on Series 3 XJ6 fuel injection)
"The air intake from the filter housing projects forward alongside the radiator & has moulded bell-mouth to smooth air entry.
If this becomes detached (easy when changing a filter) there will be a noticeable loss of power. It is no embellishment - it needs to be in place".
The trumpet (bell-mouth) end is there for a reason, why remove it.

John Herbert

 

Why not make a cut in the plastic pipe and add a flexible hose so the bell mouth can be inserted into the inner fender well through the existing hole?