Rich_Manas

i was looking at the stock air box of the tC when our techs took off the front bumper to do a body kit install and i noticed the box is very similar to the comptech icebox. if you remove the fog light cover located to the left you'll get more air into the filter box.

picture below is the comptech ice box.

smurf3642

what's the difference between that and a normal air intake system?

Ambition760

rich....its blake i need to make an app. for my exhaust..ahahahahaha

maybeillcatchfire

i was thinking the same thing cause then we wouldnt need cold air intakes

Rich_Manas

the air hose on the tC is located at the left front fender and if you remove the left fog light cover that air hose will get more air than usual. resulting in more power and power gains are certain with a replacement sport filter with this set-up. normal stock intake systems do not have the extension to get more air.

Rich_Manas

is the exhaust in? cause it would be master Quan that you need to set the appointment with. if not you can give me a call and i'll relay the appointment back to him.

arrow21

So by removing the cover, will this do any good? Will give a small boost of performance? etc?

Rich_Manas

it should give a increase in performance where its similar to a semi ram air, but a good air filter would be needed. basically by removing the fog light cover there will be more air going through the air box, the more air you get in the motor the more power it'll produce.

i removed one of the fog light that was blocking the open filter of my cai in my celica gts and there was a difference in performance at highway speeds. doing this to the tC would benefit more at high speeds than low speeds cause there will be more air flowing through it. it should increase the tC top end a little which the tC needs anyway.

cmwillis

How but running a small piece of pipe or tubing from the end of the intake to that hole where the light goes. I would think it could even be securely sealed to it using a rubber gasket, and screws to where the fog lights would fasten.

Sound feasible? Would be cheaper, and with the trd or KN filter should be close to CAI.

WHat is necessary to remove this little cover, where the fog light mounts are?

Rich_Manas

the only thing i would worry about is warranty issues and possiblity of hydrolock with the extension. also, it wouldn't be a true cai just like the comptech ice box because it does not have a open filter.

maybeillcatchfire

actually it wont do anything i looked on mine and the intake ends in the upper driverside fender just short of the headlight ... very far from the place mentioned

arrow21

This is an interesting idea and I might try using an extension... not sure I will take a look at it tonight when I get home.

Rich_Manas

don't know about that and i didn't say the extension ended at the fog light area. if you actually saw what i saw when they removed the front bumper you would see by removing the fog light cover more air would enter the air hose. the air hose is in front of the splash guard and left of the headlight, so the air has nowhere to go but towards the hose extension.

this is similar to what honda owners pays $200+ for to have it look like stock and have power gains.


http://www.comptechusa.com/store/330130rsx.html

arrow21

So would another filter be needed if we remove that cover ? (I know it is a stupid question, but I am curious, since I do not have much experience with engines.

Slide

Soo what do you think those two outside empty spaces on the bumper are for?
I took a look last nite at this as well, it looks like it goes straight up to the intake. This is the thing, someone needs to find where in the world the intake actually gets outside air. On my focus it was straight at the grill.
I was thinking about the filter as well but then I looked at my Dad's 98 corvette and it has the same thing on the bottom of the bumper, so I dont imagine you would need one. I might put a small grill insert there to keep small animals out.

Could this be a scheme by Scion? Could it be the "hidden" mod that releases some of the power? Could "Kearny Mesa Scion" be in cahoots with Scion to "share" this info.....who knows...the plot thickens.

BTW Ford did a similiar thing with the PZEV engine where they choked the air intake for "emissions". Owners were getting a bug hp boost from this.

And before you doubt this...after looking at the above picture...WHAT ARE THOSE OUTSIDE HOLES FOR????

arrow21

You know what? Before I started seeing were they were putting those fog lights, I thought they were for fog lights So you are saying it should work out for the air intake? I didnt get a chance to take the covers off... I think I am goign to have to dedicate some time to this.

JasonH

I really think the outside openings (well, they're closed off, but you know what I mean) were meant for the foglights. For whatever reason, Scion changed their mind and went with the foglight setup shown above.

Rich_Manas

well if you look at the placement of the aem cai it will be going in the same direction as the factory air box. the open filter of cai will be located where you see the air hose extension. certainly if people want a cheap way to get more power is to remove the cover and install a better free flowing filter (k&n, trd, amsoil). if you want more power then the aem cai with the removal of the cover would net more.

Slide

Well instead of taking off the bumper to remove this little cover I was able to reach through the maze of wires and just pull out the little cover.
If you look in there the stock airbox only recieves air from inside the engine compartment. The whole bottom area is sealed off. So this should lower engine temps and keep colder air near the air intake, regardless if you have the AEM or the stock on.


Results so far. It wasnt a monstrous improvement, but I did notice a smoother powerband above 20 mph or so. This is with a stock filter and the TRD exhaust.

arrow21

I also removed the little cover and I have noticed a small improvement also. I might look into a freeer flowing air filter. I just unsrewed the bottom cover and pulled out a push faster and was able to cove up from the bottom, was pretty easy. But I amight get some fog lights and put them into that area.... Not sure though.