Deck Plate Mod

[makakio]

Did a little bit of minor grinding on the slot openings tonight when I got home from work, not very pretty, but effective. I may pick up another one or two from Lowes and maybe try to do a "cleaner" version. Drove around a little bit today, didn't really notice any sort of super HP gain, but the truck did feel slightly more responsive, almost smoother thru the rpm bands. Then again this could have been more to do with the milder temps around the area today vs any increased airflow.

Again, I didn't really expect anything major out of this, but from a responsive pov it does feel like I achieved getting it access to a less restrictive air source and as makakio indicated as well, shortened up the distance of travel from point of entry to TB. I really would expect to get more of a result by doing the ISR and really streamlining the airflow.

IIRC the OD size you're looking for to do the IRS is approx. 2.75"., but I wonder what would happen if you reduced the size of the pipe abruptly down to approx. 1.50" just before the TB? I know you can use this concept of achieving pressure through resistance with H2O, I wander if you could accomplish the same with forced air?

I did a post on my thoughts/experience just after doing the Amsoil/elbow and very similar. A little more responsive on throttle, revved more freely and where I live (coastal hill country) a bit more willing to hang onto OD rather than shift down on hills where I'd notice the truck wheeze out and then reach down to grab 3rd. Kinda of like I felt after quitting smoking years ago.

 

[makakio]

I ran my deck plated modded air box with a true flow for a year and yeah it was cool, but always cleaning the MAF.
Then I switched to a wix and i am getting same mpgs and no loss of power. And I havent cleaned the MAF in a while.

Don't know if your Wix is an oiled filter or not, but Amsoil air filters became Wix, so maybe it's a just a re-brand?

 

[SCHUNTER1969]

If you are not first you are last

Its all about making the most out of the car and engine. If you haven't done the mod I would suggest do a quick trial. Take the lid off the box for the air filter and take a quick drive. You will notice a difference. I have a 45min drive to work threw some back roads and pass people left and right, nothing like passing people faster!

I did the deck plate mod, ISR mod, and went from a cheapo air filter (shop installed a basic one), to an AMSOIL air filter. I can tell a difference, I tell you what, and its awesome.

People talk about hearing a "droning" sound... they are a bunch of liberal crybabies :crybaby:. I can't hear a difference over my flow master exhaust system. All I know is I can tell a difference in acceleration, especially in 3rd and 4th gear.

What's that you don't drive in 4th gear? Then you are definitely last :moping:

 

[sjwelna]

At the end of the day, this mod likely doesn't make any more power over stock. If you actually look at the dyno graphs, to say that it made ~10hp more you have to cherry-pick the ONE spot on the whole graph where there is a little divergence. Other than that one tiny ~500rpm band way up at the top end of the gear, it makes zero difference.

You know what made a difference on my truck? When I got it the ENTIRE intake tract in front of the filter, the elbow, and the entire way up the snorkle was PACKED with dog food kibble from some mischievous mice or chipmunks at the previous owners house. Thing still cranked up and ran, albeit pretty anemic. When I dumped the literal 5+ lbs of dog food out of the airbox and snorkle/elbow, it ran better. I just unbolted the elbow and called it a day at that point.

This might make a little more noise than stock, but my guess is most people are 'feeling' more power because of that. Just my .02.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

Its all about making the most out of the car and engine. If you haven't done the mod I would suggest do a quick trial. Take the lid off the box for the air filter and take a quick drive. You will notice a difference. I have a 45min drive to work threw some back roads and pass people left and right, nothing like passing people faster!

I did the deck plate mod, ISR mod, and went from a cheapo air filter (shop installed a basic one), to an AMSOIL air filter. I can tell a difference, I tell you what, and its awesome.

People talk about hearing a "droning" sound... they are a bunch of liberal crybabies :crybaby:. I can't hear a difference over my flow master exhaust system. All I know is I can tell a difference in acceleration, especially in 3rd and 4th gear.

What's that you don't drive in 4th gear? Then you are definitely last :moping:

You do realize that you're talking about a 3rd gen 4Runner, right?

The V6 puts out 180-185ish HP in optimal conditions, 215-220 lb-ft of torque on a good day for a nearly 4000lbs sport utility vehicle.

In factory form, this is a vehicle that dedicates roughly 1HP to every 21LBS of weight. Even if you got 10HP out of the deck plate mod, you're shaving that down to 1HP/20LBS. (that's without taking into consideration any drivetrain power loss from things like an Automatic Transmission or oversized tires).


To put that into percpective, your average lawn tractor dedicates roughly 1HP to every 28LBS.

At the very absolute most, you're making a stock (tires/suspension/armor) rig perform as if there were no passengers in the vehicle if you happen to have 1 person sitting next to you.

There's no way that cutting a hole in the airbox is all of a sudden making you "pass people left and right".

Besides.. again.. this is a 4000LBS SUV... not a sports car. If you just want to pass people right and left, I suggest you get something that can do that more efficiently than a 4Runner... maybe a Honda Accord or a Toyota Venza?

 

[cashmoney]

I gained a 1/2" on my man hood by doing the deckplate mod. I'm hoping for at least another 1/2" when I do the ISR.

 

[TOY2G]

Just got down modding my airbox. Essentially it's just an "elbow removal", but I adapted slightly for a more finished look. Didn't do the deckplate mod yet, wasn't sure if I wanted to do something where I couldn't go back to stock if I needed to.

Started by picking up one of these from Lowes:

NDS 4" round grate/black - #52063 40011

and I had some of this laying around so I ended up using it as well:

Started by removing the airbox which consists of (3) 12mm bolts at the top/bottom/rear. You'll need a long extension to reach the one at the bottom. Disconnect the vacuum hose coming in to the side of the airbox from engine compartment side, and disconnect the electrical clip at the MAS. Remove the (2) 10mm bolts that secured the airbox to the inner fender well (where it connects to the elbow. Finally loosen the clamp that attaches the airflow hose to the MAS, and pull up and out on the airbox while using a twisting motion (its hard to describe but when your doing it you'll figure it out).

Next, I pulled off the passenger side wheel cover, and pulled back the black inner wheel well cover. I HATE THOSE LITTLE BLACK RETAINING CLIPS THEY USE TO SECURE THIS!!! I broke 2 in the process, but fortunately I had a few left over from when I was playing around with the driver side mocking up my mudflaps. Once my flaps go on I won't need a few of these anyway so I was able to swap these out. You also have to remove the 3 10mm screws that secure the wheel flare to the the underside of the fender. Once you get the cover pulled back, you can essentially reach up in there and wiggle out the elbow assembly. It consists of (2) pieces, the "back" piece which you pull out from the wheel well, and the "front" piece which is the part that attaches to the airbox, you pull out from the engine compartment side.

The inside diameter of the 4" plastic grate is approx. 3 5/8" while the outside diameter of the airbow where it connected to the elbow is only approx 3 1/2", this is where the stretch and seal tape comes into play. I cleaned the airbox with rubbing alcohol to remove any dirt/debris and wrapped the tape around the airbox opening, making several passes to build up the O.D. to 3 5/8". (This tape is approx. 1/16" thick, so it doesn't take to many layers to accomplish this). Once I measured/aligned everything up, I simply pushed it on the airbox opening, and made sure it was a snug fit.

That's essentially it, once your done with that just re-assemble, and take pics. It fits in there pretty snug, and I like that it still looks somewhat stock, and I could always just disassemble it quite easily if need be (which I might do when I do the deckplate mod so I get direct intake from only one location not from the front and the side.

When I do the ISR i'll probably mill the openings on the grate slightly just to maximize the air flow, however I feel more comfortable having some sort blocking in place in case it pulls in any sort of debris (ie a leaf, piece of paper, or plastic, etc...)

Well thats it, heres some pics.

That grate effectively reduced your air flow by 50%. The openings are the same size as the grates thus 50% of the grate is closed 50% is pass through. Less than 50% is actually open due tot he cross grate. I would say you have reduced air flow into your air box by roughly 56%. Not sure that will help power, but may help fuel mileage.