Air intake question

[jfrabat]

I bought my YJ some months ago, and the idea is to use it as a daily driver for a couple of years while building it in the process so that when I go back to Panama in 3 or 4 (or 5!) years, its all ready to hit the trails.

Now, my YJ is a 4 banger, but I do plan to pu 33" tires on it after I do the spring over axle conversion (it currently has 31", but no lift, and there's basically no room for the suspension to compress without the tire rubbing on something or other). In any case, I am doing all I can to get the most out of the 2.5L. So far, I removed the restrictors from the filter box (stock) and put in a K&N filter. I also put a 62mm Helix spacer, and I bought a 4.0L throttle body which (hopefully!) will arrive before I head home for Xmas, so that I can bore it out to 62mm as well... But I do plan to change the stock airbox at some point. Now, given the fact that i do plan to hit some trails, would you guys recommend an airaid type intake, or a snorkel? I imagine that the airaid type will give me more power, but I worry a little about it when crossing rivers and stuff (ussually not so deep, but I still would be focussed on that). Do you think a snorkel would benefit performance (I imagine it affects air temp taking the air from higher up and out of the engine compartment), but dont know just how much...

Any experience with this? Comments? Suggestions?

 

[Craig]

I prefer my snorkel. It has a constant flow of cleaner, cooler air. It almost acts like a ram air on the highway and have noticed a slight increase in fuel mileage when highway driving. You can also attach a prefilter to the top if you're doing a lot of dusty trail driving.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I've heard others say the same as Craig, that their snorkel acts like a ram air induction on the highway. Also, yes, it gets cooler air to the engine which will help performance.

Have you installed an electric fan in your YJ? My electric fan was the one thing that brought me the most improvement on power and mileage. I went the easy and expensive route and bought a Flex-a-Lite fan. Simple install, took less than an hour and can be wired direct or through a switch for water crossings. You could also use a junkyard taurus fan.

 

[TwistedCU]

The Flex-a-Lite (FLX 475) is a great mod, but the Taurus fan is cheaper if you have the time and inginuity to make your own brackets. Personally, I opted for thew easier, more expensive Flex-a-lite and it was realy simple. It was the only power related mod I did to my 92 4 banger YJ that made a significant difference in power and fuel economy all by itself.

No single mod to the engine will make that 4 banger a powerhouse, but lots of little mods will allow it to run 33's without seeming anemic.

Regearing your axles to 4.56 for 31's or 4.88 for 33's will make a huge difference as well. Pricey but well worth it.

 

[jfrabat]

Well, I think I'll take your word for it and go for the snorkel. It'll be less stressful for me on the trails (not worrying about hydro lock). Any recommendations on brands and such? By the way, do the snorkels come with filters? Or do they use the stock box? Can anyone show pictures of their instalations?

As for the mods done, I agree, not one will bring all the power, but many little improvements will help. I intend to do a Taurus fan conversion in January or February (I like it A LOT because not only is the cheapest alternative, but moves more volume of air than all the after market electric fans, according to what I have been reading), as it will take some work to get it working properly. I am looking for new alternators as well (I saw one that puts out 165A on eBay that seems good enough for me; the mean green one seems nice, but a little too pricey for my taste) to run the fan propperly.

I have already installed the throttle body spacer, and as I said, I ordered the 4.0L TB as well (if it arrives within today, I intend to take it home with me and bore it to 62mm, as my TB spacer is also 62mm, as is all the ducting in the Jeep). I also replaced the paper filter with the K&N, and removed the air restrictors from the stock box. I put in a new O2 sensor (I get the feeling the old one was never replaced, and the Jeep had 110K miles when I bought it) as well, and changed the cat converter (the guys I bought the Jeep from changed it; they put a cheap one in, but it IS new, so I was not about to complain, although I prefered to put in a high-flow converter), and put a Gibson Cat-Back system to improve airflow through the engine.

I am still not convinced on the regearing, because it is too expensive. Just doing the SOA conversion (with the cost of the tires) will be a big investment (about a grand and a half to do it right), so regearing is not yet in the plan. But maybe at a later point I will (and I will go 4.88 if I do it at all; if I am to spend all that money, I might as well make it worth it!), because, as I said, I do have a couple of years to finish the Jeep.

Felipe

 

[Craig]

I haven't seen any other brands but ARB but I've never looked. Never had a problem with mine and it was easy to install (just make sure you triple check your measurements before cutting the hole). I have a 4.0L so I don't know how it hooks up to a 2.5L but if you check out page six of my cardomain site you can see a few pictures that show where the intake hose goes into my airbox. The install kit for the snorkel came with a plug for stock intake location on the airbox and a mounting bracket to relocate it to the side.