Air box mod

[Muffin1]

Not wanting to spend hundreds on a new airbox i went ahead and did my own take on the fender feed intake that's posted here on the forum but routed from the grill area where the factory intake gets its air, i used a 1.5'' tube for now because the opening next to the radiator support was only that wide and angled, i cut the airbox and the small plastic diverter behind the grill.
It seems to be more responsive getting up to highway speed but that could d be a placebo i don't have any scientific proof, i did have a increase in mpg's,
So after filling up at Costco with 87 and doing a 90 mile highway trip back home running mostly 75-80 with two slowdowns thru a construction zone (50mph) setting up and a cluster of slow pokes going 60-65 the return trip was 22.9 and i never since owning the truck got that high mpg.
The previous on the dash was 21.3, i did not reset the monitor, so it creeped up from 21.3 the 22.9 for this trip. Also the original filter is still in use and looks fine with almost 18,000 miles so far
i will be doing the same trip Monday so i will report back, and i realize there are a lot of variables and the intake tube is relatively small in diameter, could be a tailwind maybe

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[RangerFitz]

Very cool, it's shouldn't take much to help out the restriction between the hood and cowl!

 

[Frenchy]

Interesting to say the least, but I have a question......

Have you tried going higher in the Fuel Octane? The reason I ask is that in the owners manual you will find a section where it does state "for better performance and towing to use premium fuel"(91 and up). Even though the Ranger is certified to run on 87 Octane Fuel I can promise you that with Higher Octane fuel it will have a little more power available due to the Ignition Timing having the ability to advance more without any Pining or Detonation in the Engine. This in turn will also allow for more Fuel Mileage.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I was going to do something similar with a custom fabbed up grill I was working on prior to trading my truck in. Mine was going to be a bit more involved, but your premises and mine were basically identical.

Dual forced air nostrils (piping not pictured);

 

[MarioCart]

Interesting to say the least, but I have a question......

Have you tried going higher in the Fuel Octane? The reason I ask is that in the owners manual you will find a section where it does state "for better performance and towing to use premium fuel"(91 and up). Even though the Ranger is certified to run on 87 Octane Fuel I can promise you that with Higher Octane fuel it will have a little more power available due to the Ignition Timing having the ability to advance more without any Pining or Detonation in the Engine. This in turn will also allow for more Fuel Mileage.

don't forget to add that the performance gains are most noticeable at high altitude and/or towing a heavy load. That statement in the next paragraph tells me that any other condition, the gains are minimal.

 

[Racket]

A few of us have the AfE Magnum intake horn which is bigger at the inlet than the US factory piece but the same restriction where it enters the box. By itself I can't say it provides a benefit but seems better than stock but an actual improvement would be a replacement horn that includes a bigger cutout/inlet at the box.

 

[RedDakooter05]

I've actually been considering doing this myself, just haven't had time.
Personally, I want to route the hose (bigger than 1.5" lol) down low rather than where you routed it. Probably near the opening of the bumper.


Thanks for posting, should come in handy if I ever do tackle this.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

A few of us have the AfE Magnum intake horn which is bigger at the inlet than the US factory piece but the same restriction where it enters the box. By itself I can't say it provides a benefit but seems better than stock but an actual improvement would be a replacement horn that includes a bigger cutout/inlet at the box.

I have the aFe Power Magnum scoop, mainly because of the bigger opening and the one piece design vs. the 2-pce OEM unit. A gold example of the improvement you mentioned is the Mishimoto air box with its integrated air scoop - not sure it it’s a larger inlet, but the path to the box is more direct.

 

[Racket]

A gold example of the improvement you mentioned is the Mishimoto air box with its integrated air scoop - not sure it it’s a larger inlet, but the path to the box is more direct.

My preference would be to keep the factory filter for longevity.

 

[Frenchy]

don't forget to add that the performance gains are most noticeable at high altitude and/or towing a heavy load. That statement in the next paragraph tells me that any other condition, the gains are minimal.

I'm going to guess that you never had the truck at sea level or high altitude? I have done both and I can tell you it is noticeable regardless where you are. It's not a 100 HP difference noticeable. It is noticeable enough to tell the truck preforms better regardless even if you don't have a load.

 

[Frenchy]

My preference would be to keep the factory filter for longevity.

Definitely a good way of thinking there. Even though many think the aftermarket air filters are the way to go, you still get best filtration with the OEM Air filters. Personally instead of the air box modification like the OP did I would say go with the Velocotec(or however it's spelled) for a 2WD truck or go with a Snorkel with a 4WD Truck especially if going OffRoad regularly. Both would help provide a positive pressure on the intake and in turn would help with the MPG.

 

[Muffin1]

Interesting to say the least, but I have a question......

Have you tried going higher in the Fuel Octane? The reason I ask is that in the owners manual you will find a section where it does state "for better performance and towing to use premium fuel"(91 and up). Even though the Ranger is certified to run on 87 Octane Fuel I can promise you that with Higher Octane fuel it will have a little more power available due to the Ignition Timing having the ability to advance more without any Pining or Detonation in the Engine. This in turn will also allow for more Fuel Mileage.

I have tried the 89 and 93 in the past not full tanks mixed with a 1/4 tank or so of 87, don't recall what the mpg's were off hand but they were not what i posted above, ( the current fill up is 17gl's of regular)
Since getting this truck the mpg's were disappointing, ( as most know) maybe that's on me thinking this small motor should provide high mpg's i guess i was a little naive on this subject, but i loved the look and capability of the truck so i accepted it for what it is while still trying to tweak the weak points..

 

[Muffin1]

I've actually been considering doing this myself, just haven't had time.
Personally, I want to route the hose (bigger than 1.5" lol) down low rather than where you routed it. Probably near the opening of the bumper.


Thanks for posting, should come in handy if I ever do tackle this.

Yea i agree about a larger diameter, that is still doable and as for routing i did think about the lower bumper opening but was weighing the chance of water/rain getting sucked in there.
Also i wanted to have the opening of the tube face out directly up against the inside of the grill so the air would be forced in but again didn't want to expose the tube opening to any elements, so i compromised where the opening is protected from the elements but still gets additional air.

 

[RedDakooter05]

Yea i agree about a larger diameter, that is still doable and as for routing i did think about the lower bumper opening but was weighing the chance of water/rain getting sucked in there.
Also i wanted to have the opening of the tube face out directly up against the inside of the grill so the air would be forced in but again didn't want to expose the tube opening to any elements, so i compromised where the opening is protected from the elements but still gets additional air.

The chances of water getting up there is pretty slim, and a tube/hose thats flexible, well all those "ribs" would cut down the chance even more, and I would be using the oem opening for the snorkel That's quite the vertical climb for water to travel.

 

[Muffin1]

The chances of water getting up there is pretty slim, and a tube/hose thats flexible, well all those "ribs" would cut down the chance even more, and I would be using the oem opening for the snorkel That's quite the vertical climb for water to travel.

Gotcha, I was thinking about rain water droplets atomizing or misting or whatever its called damping the filter IDK. Just trying to be cautious.
Also i can easily move the hose end to face out from behind the honeycomb grill area and test it out.
Thanks for the reply.

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