Everyone seems to go for pod filters, and on the odd occasion, they do this along with some form (usually quite shoddy) of cold air intake method. Meanwhile, a bunch of people take on the naive opinion that if you have an intercooler, then the air is going to be cooled down anyway. But, every little bit counts, and with my modifications below, without boost control, my boost spikes on my boost guage went from a subtle 7-8 psi to a good 10-12 psi.

The stock airbox is known to be quite restrictive, but it has its advantages. 

When you ditch the stock airbox, and put on a pod, you get a louder note from the exhaust, you can typically hear the induction sound, blow off valve sound, and wastegate flutter sound, all a helluva lot louder than they used to be. You would also notice with a pod, because you'll be removing the resonator (that little air reservoir looking box that attaches to the stock air box via a 2" pipe join), you're acceleration curve isn't likely to be as smooth as it used to be, and low down torque seems to be slightly lost. 

But, if you just want your car to say "hey look at me, my car is loud and has this stuff" then that's fair enough.. some people like that.. Personally, I have performance, drive-ability and comfort-ability in mind.

So.. I took on the idea of cutting up the stock air box a bit. I removed the bendy intake pipe that once poked out the side of the airbox, and sealed that side of the box shut. Then I cut out a 3" diameter hole in the front of it to locate a selection of 3" standard plumbing PVC pipes and joins, to suck air from down where the stock intercooler is typically located (in my case, I have a front mount intercooler).

With this, I've also replaced the standard panel filter with a HKS high flow panel filter. It is the panel filter combined with a nice intake that has made my engine sing.

BUT, I have since discovered an advantage in the air flow ability of a K&N Pod type air filter compared to the HKS (or possibly *any*) panel air filter.. I kept the stock air box though, and removed the HKS panel filter, and attached the pod to the end of the cold air intake pipe.. turned out to work a treat and boost spiked up 3 psi in 2nd gear as to normal and boost comes on quite a bit earlier.. obviously the pod filter breaths alot better.

Of course, things look a bit messy before it gets cleaned up..




The final product.. barely looks like I've done any modifications at all..

This is a shot from underneath the car where the stock Intercooler is typically fitted.. as you can see, my pod is there :-)


If you have any further questions, I might be able to help - Reach me here - Boostcruising.com Forums