Cai help ASAP!!

[mastershake]

Ok so I ordered a grand am 3.4 cai off eBay and started installing. Got the tubes mixed up the first time and redid everything. It seemed fine until I tried putting the fender liner back in and realized the filter is jutting out too much preventing me from putting the liner back in. What do I do??? i cant turn the filter any more as the washer fluid bottle is in the way.

[03glgold]

picture of the fender well area setup

[mastershake]

heres pics.. oops the first ones flipped lol

[03glgold]

I would make sure others agree with me first but if those are all slip over sleeves and the tubing is separate i believe you could cut the tube that goes down a little shorter with a band saw or something.

EDIT: now seeing how your top picture is flipped i would try turning that elbow a couple degrees towards the battery if you can

[[ion] C2]

smaller filter, or add another 90 or 45 or something

[sleepyalero]

what ion said, or just mess with the intake and try to get it to move away some, thats what i did.

[mastershake]

yeah i just went and messed with it and got it to move a little. so thats good. (moved it enough to be able to put fender liner back in)

another question: maf sensor wires are TIGHT.... is this ok????

[[ion] C2]

I would relieve the tension however you can.

[guiguilandry]

try to find a way to give it some slack you don't want to have a bad contact in the maf connector...
also makes sure that your CAI isn't rubbing against any metal parts of the body...

[sleepyalero]

my maf wires are a little tight too, havent had a problem yet.

[jhubbz]

try to find a way to give it some slack you don't want to have a bad contact in the maf connector...
also makes sure that your CAI isn't rubbing against any metal parts of the body...

Yeah, I had to turn mine back into a WAI because I found out after 6 months or so, even though I padded the edge with a couple layers of dynamat, the body started rubbing against the tubing and created a hole

[a.graham52]

yeah i just went and messed with it and got it to move a little. so thats good. (moved it enough to be able to put fender liner back in)

another question: maf sensor wires are TIGHT.... is this ok????

i was able to take tension of the wires buy untaping them from the harness and pulling them out a bit. Something to that effect. I dont really remeber but there deffinitly is a way.

[MMGT1]

I extended mine, but you would want a quick fuel tune after. Any connections will skew the hz to the PCM a little. Also, you should not solder connections in line with the MAF. Use good quality butt connections with heat shrink built into them

[sleepyalero]

i would say the wires being somewhat tight is okay. ive had my cold air intake for 4 years now and the wires have always been tight. and have never had a problem.

[mastershake]

Alright so I tried moving the Mac sensor closer to the throttle body, which helPed a little... Still kinda tight though. Also, the end of the filter may be touching the fender but it's not the filter material, just metal trim. Is that still a problem?

[[ion] C2]

not really

you're coming to ASS, right?

[sleepyalero]

Alright so I tried moving the Mac sensor closer to the throttle body, which helPed a little... Still kinda tight though. Also, the end of the filter may be touching the fender but it's not the filter material, just metal trim. Is that still a problem?

mine does the same, its fine.

[MMGT1]

You want that MAF to be around 8-9" from the throttle blade. Its needs that linear flow between them to enable best reading from it. Too close and you'll get feed back from the cam that will mess with your idle trims a lot. When we put these intakes on, we remove that "flute" that is attached to the factory intake. Most people think it was for reducing engine noise but it served a much more important function, it "absorbed" that feed back through the body and kept the flow over the MAF more constant. A few of the Corvette guys are adding these boxes now to improve idle conditions over on HP's site, but they are dealing with cam lope as well that is making this issue really stand out.

[sleepyalero]

awesome info MMGT1

[mastershake]

I didn't move it that far, maybe fractions of an inch just to gain a little slack. Also I probably can't come to ass this year :/ I'm a support employee at the post office which means I get no vacation/sick days... I have annual leave but that has to be put in AT LEAST six months in advance. So unless they magically schedule me off that weekend I'm out of luck

[sleepyalero]

dang that sucks :/

[mastershake]

Hell yeah it does... But there's like 70 employees ready to retire anytime now so I'll probably become full time soon. With plenty of vacation days :p

[jhubbz]

You want that MAF to be around 8-9" from the throttle blade. Its needs that linear flow between them to enable best reading from it. Too close and you'll get feed back from the cam that will mess with your idle trims a lot.

Is this true for an IAT sensor also? From what I remember, you want to position the IAT closest to the filter

[[ion] C2]

Is this true for an IAT sensor also? From what I remember, you want to position the IAT closest to the filter

you want the intake temperature reading to be as accurate as possible... the closest to the engine as possible gets you the temperature of the air as it's going into the engine.

IAT is hardly used for anything though, unless your temps are really hot (140+ or so)

[mastershake]

another question... the cai didn't come with cleaning instructions, so can i just assume i clean it the same as a k&n? do i need to oil it?

[MMGT1]

Is it a Dry Filter? If it is, then no, dont oil it... Dry Filter is the way to go too man if yours is dry!

[guiguilandry]

normally cheapo air filters can't be cleaned because they are made of some cardboard material that will expand it's pore when drying back...

[AleroB888]

You want that MAF to be around 8-9" from the throttle blade. Its needs that linear flow between them to enable best reading from it. Too close and you'll get feed back from the cam that will mess with your idle trims a lot. When we put these intakes on, we remove that "flute" that is attached to the factory intake. Most people think it was for reducing engine noise but it served a much more important function, it "absorbed" that feed back through the body and kept the flow over the MAF more constant. A few of the Corvette guys are adding these boxes now to improve idle conditions over on HP's site, but they are dealing with cam lope as well that is making this issue really stand out.

If I ever get my car back, (haha) I hope I have time to make some first-hand N/A tests in that area. I might be willing to give up some drivability to get a tenth or two in the quarter. As far as remote supercharging, the more limited space gives you less options for placement, unless you can design from the ground up, which I may be able to do soon.

[mastershake]

this is the one i bought http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-99-05-PONTIAC-GRAND-AM-OLDSMOBILE-ALERO-3-4-3-4L-V6-COLD-AIR-INTAKE-KIT-3p-/330685665446?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &fits=Model%3AGrand+Am&vxp=mtr&hash=item4cfe66d0a6

does anyone know the part number for the AEM dryflow filter? what about the k&n one?




also i realized that i reset the ecu when i took the battery out, and i have lucas fuel additive in my gas. is it going to screw with how the car re-learns?

[MMGT1]

http://www.aemintakes.com/search/product.aspx?prod=21-203DK

The one I use

[sleepyalero]

i have a spectre.