Airbox Mods

[firechickenXB9R]

His air box is the new design. I would guess 06, 07 and newer.

 

[Stevenc150]

Actually I think his looks like DIY. Here's a link with the newer factory airbox covers ('07-newer). 2007 vs. 2006 Air Box Cover

 

[oxygen151]

As far as opening up the airbox like zombiebueller did, how does that compare to the ASB airbox delete performance-wise? Also, should I take out the snorkel completely, or I have heard something about just clipping it or cutting it somehow?

 

[jasper]

I've noticed something interesting about these airbox mods as well as the newer stock airbox covers. Well this holds true for my 06 uly anyway- if you take a flashlight and shine in on the vent in the front of the cover (by the gas cap) you will notice most of the air in is restricted by the very front of the black plastic airbox. Wouldnt it be best to cut open the very most front of the cover, so the air is allowed directly into the filter? If anyone can advise I appreciate as I will probably be cutting into it soon. Thanks[confused][smirk]

 

[jasper]

comments??

 

[GatorBuell]

I have never looked threw the vent but I believe FIDO opened his up. I cut open everything on mine all the way too the out side and basically cut away all of the inner box. More air is always better but you have to be aware of the possibility of running lean in you A/F ratio. I dont think opening that up will cause any problems but I also dont think it will add that much air.

 

[jasper]

Thanks for the reply gator, yeah I dont expect a huge change, but I also ride a uly, so I'm not trying to have the fastest bike around, just trying to do some simple mods to get more out of it without going too overboard. Looking at the factory design of this airbox does puzzle me though. They have that vent there in the outer cover, then they blocked airflow directly by placing the inner cover directly behind it. Appears to block at least 50% of the air into that vent. Oh, I was also wondering- that picture at top- Am I seeing that correctly, is the airbox actually opened to that left scoop through the frame of the bike? If so that seems like more air than any bike should ask for.. Awesome

 

[jasper]

anyone else see what I'm gettin at?

 

[GatorBuell]

That pick at the top is of the older model XB and your uly will not have that, the right side scoop actually pushed air into the box.As for why Buell changed that I have no Idea maybe they felt it was not needed and kept stuff like bugs and dirt out of the air box itself. If you Swiss Cheese you inner box using a (step drill bit) it will help a lot and you can open up the vent up front. It will get enough air that you will feel a difference, a High flow filter will help also.

 

[jasper]

Thanks again gator, I think I'm gonna cut into it this weekend. I do have a k+n already, so after this I should be good shape.

 

[skellybuell]

Hey guys i have a question about these airbox mods, I always thought that the concept was to have a pressurized airbox to push air through. If i go and do this mod, the air will not be pressurized inside my inner airbox, therefore the opposite of the design. If someone could point me in the right direction of how this works better i would appreciate it. I am not saying it dosent work I am just one of those guys who likes to know how. Most of you guys say it works good and I would like to do it but i just wanted an explanation first.

 

[GatorBuell]

On a normally aspirated engine with out a turbo or a supercharger the air is sucked in by the piston. On the intake down stroke the intake valve opens and a vacuum is caused by the piston moving down in the cylinder. This vacuum sucks the air into the cylinder and the processes begins. The air box is not pressurized but it needs to be open enough that a constant flow of air can get into the cylinders. With the airbox closed off it restricts the air movement choking the motor hence the open airbox mod. The airbox is not pressurized its just sealed to keep the bad stuff out like rain and dirt.

 

[skellybuell]

Ok well i guess pressurized was the wrong word to use. What I meant was forced into I guess. So if I do an open airbox mod and say get a ram induction type outer airbox it would allow more air into the engine thus running smoother. I just thought that with all that open space in there it wouldn't have as much force going into it. So just say your cruising around town, will the air inside the outer airbox become warm since the engine is not really reving as much thus not sucking as much air. I know it may seem like I am asking dumb questions but I dont want to go hacking at my airbox to find out maybe it wasnt such a great idea. Thanks for the input.

 

[GatorBuell]

So if I do an open airbox mod and say get a ram induction type outer airbox it would allow more air into the engine thus running smoother.

Yes, but on that note you have to be aware of the motor running lean. More air will throw off your Air/Fuel ratio and lean means hotter. Would not be to bad with just a air box mod.

I see what your saying, the only thing is about a ram air set up is you motor is only going to take so much air. With opening up the inner box and a ram induction outer box your just making it easier for the motor to get the air it wants and needs. Opening up the box will actually lower the air temp because you will have more air moving threw that area. After I opened mine up I noticed the fan does not come on as much as before and it runs a lot smoother.

 

[Trill]

Woot I got some work done lately!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-a7xmrbyWY

 

[dave_xb12r]

Looks good! ^^

I'd like to see an airbox with all the openings filled with kazoos! I always told myself that if I ever got a car with a turbo, I'd put a kazoo on the blow off valve.

Sorry, that was off topic

 

[xlr8n_xb]

Looks good Trill. Should definitely give some more air to the engine. I have opened up my XB12R air box like zombieBUELLer did earlier in this post. While I was in NYC for the IMS show I spoke to Pete Alesso from GrandStandDesign.com about this topic. He said the XB's love their air but when doing the airbox mods and opening up the stock cover and running an aftermarket exhaust so you dont need the actuation valve. You should use an XB9 air box cover on an XB12 and do the mods to that because the clearance between the rubber boot on top of the stack is minimal. He said he has experienced cases where the boot sucks up to the inside of the stock XB12 cover and cuts out the engine. Its a logical explanation. He said he uses the XB9 air box cover because there is alot more clearance and no chance for this to happen due to the fact that the XB9 doesn't utilize the actuation valve. Thats why I bought a XB9 cover. Just some info if anyone has had this problem. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Amrcnmade]

I see where some might be concerned about the motor running to lean with the air box mod. Gator was right about the engine basically being one big vacuum. But just because the cool, denser air is in the box. Does not mean it will get forced into the cylinder and lean out the A/F ratio. Those motors do come running lean from the factory already. And that needs to be addressed first. But Just opening up the air box wont do it without some sort of forced induction. If that were the case if you took the filter and box off and cranked up the motor she would run white hot with all the ambient air directly running into the intake.

 

[erkblack]

It seems that this mod is going to pull in more hot air. Whitch defets the purpose of doing the air box mod. Hot air doesnt contain enough oxygen to produce any more power. Cold air is what you want for power, hinch the fact buell put the stock intake on the leftside, away from the exhaust and about 1 1/2 inchs from the motor.
Second. Directle below the seat is a fan. This fan is used to suck hot air away from the motor.When you look at the rear rocker box cover there ia a hole on each side of the frame allowing access to this. So when this fan kicks on isnt it goin to just suck all the air out of the air box?

 

[dave_xb12r]

It seems that this mod is going to pull in more hot air. Whitch defets the purpose of doing the air box mod. Hot air doesnt contain enough oxygen to produce any more power. Cold air is what you want for power, hinch the fact buell put the stock intake on the leftside, away from the exhaust and about 1 1/2 inchs from the motor.
Second. Directle below the seat is a fan. This fan is used to suck hot air away from the motor.When you look at the rear rocker box cover there ia a hole on each side of the frame allowing access to this. So when this fan kicks on isnt it goin to just suck all the air out of the air box?

First. Well cold air is just more dense than hot air, and the ECM sees that and says "more air? give the f'er more gas then!" and that's where your power comes from.
A lot of us have heat shields under our airboxes. This keeps that radiant heat out and cools your inner airbox. Opening the airbox is definitely a good thing.

Second. This mod is not talking about cutting the lower plastic under the airbox. Air comes from the top of the bike only.