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I have just made a pair of air intakes for an XJS V12.
Of course it is hard for DIYers to do aluminum welding, so I decided to go another way.
I used 3mm thick aluminum pipes (70mm OD) and 8mm aluminum plates, then I pressed in, say, hammered in, every parts to stick together.
I opened a hole which was a bit smaller than the pipe OD, and gradually expanding the hole using dremel and cutter until it's just fit the OD of the pipes to be pressed in.
It worked. They are perfectly and firmly fixed, left no space for air to leak.
Just in case, I applied a little amount of JB weld to the joint parts.
The mount for air temp switch is the exception, it is made of 2mm aluminum plate and epoxy putty.
The air filters must be the ones made in China, but the case is real wet carbon and the filter itself is well produced too.
What I used are;
drill press (8.5mm drill bits, stepper drill and 69mm hole saw)
sand paper and diamond file
grinder
dremel
cutter
Even with those tools and all of the materials they are not more expensive than the intakes sold in the market.
I haven't fitted them to my car yet though, I will post a pic after installation.
Looks great. I went the expensive route and fitted the growler kit for FasterJags.
I never felt the car went any better with them, in fact I think it made the car feel worse.
As they are not allowed for CA SMOG tests anyway the last time I switched them back to get SMOGed they ended up in a box in the garage and are still there.
Will be interested to see how you get on and if you notice any different in performance.
I put on a kit yesterday evening, and today it was raining, so sorry for the delay of updating.
It's a shame (but an advantage for my wife) but they are quieter than I expected.
I think it's because of the thick wall of the pipes. It's like just a bit louder than XJR-S air boxes. Maybe deleting the carbon boxes will produce louder sound, which I don't want to because I want to take advantage of cold air.
Once I bought a kit from a ebay seller, which was 2 3/4"OD and 1.5mm wall, it made huge sound.
But it seems smaller ID pipes are much better, for if a larger pipe is fitted there will be a step around the throttle body and make turbulence.
So I changed the intakes to genuine XJR-S intake boxes and had been using until I made this set.
Both the larger pipe kit and XJR-S intakes causes the engine check lamp (mine is a facelift and I can see codes on the trip computer) but this set eliminates that, which I satisfied with the most.
I think the total setting is needed if you want to install the aftermarket intakes.
I mean, too much air will do the harm to AF trim, so extra fuel and better exhaust flow will be essential.
Or the exhaust gas will be very rich. Mine was also stinky, but now it is better.
I put on a 3 bar fuel pressure regulator (genuine one for facelift 5.3L is 2.5 bar) and deleted 2 out of 4 cats by putting on a silencer substitute pipes.
So, it works anyways.
At least it does look good
Actually, the biggest power gain from the mod I have made is introducing an electric main fan. And it made the engine smoother.
If you want power, eliminating the viscous fan is the fastest and cheapest way.
Very nice work. A little intake "whoosh" defeats the original engineering, but pleases many of us!! Me included.
As to any real performance improvement, who knows. Other obstacles to getting air in, fired and out!!!
CA SMOG regulations baffle many of us. My LT1 install uses a K&N knock off type cone filter. Origin, probably China. The install got through, because I cobbled up an airbox that looked GM, sorta. Removed and the cone fitted.
Only one SMOG guy questioned it just a tad as it had no CARB number. but, decided to pass it.
Now, on carb'd engines, the air filter played a part in emsion control. I can see why an open filter sans heater tubing would be an issue.
But, on an FI, none whatsoever.
Got another rig under the bench that looks a bit better, but will need some fiddling to fit.
Looks great. I went the expensive route and fitted the growler kit for FasterJags.
I never felt the car went any better with them, in fact I think it made the car feel worse.
As they are not allowed for CA SMOG tests anyway the last time I switched them back to get SMOGed they ended up in a box in the garage and are still there.
Will be interested to see how you get on and if you notice any different in performance.
Originally Posted by Sarc
As they are not allowed for CA SMOG tests anyway the last time I switched them back to get SMOGed they ended up in a box in the garage and are still there.
.
02-10-2015, 01:53 PM
home made air intakes for V12
