Skeleton air boxes, open air kits, and K&N... Doing Anything but wasting $$$

[CaboWabo9SX]

I remember way back in the day when I was a hot rodder Dodge sold this thing off the showroom floor with fiberglass fenders, poly windows that didnt even crank, and a hood scoop that would trap the neighborhood dogs if you werent careful when driving it. It ran mid 10's in the quarter on Atlas Bucron tires..... The general concensus was that for an airscoop to be effective it HAD to have a cross section of greater than 30 sq-inches, and that was for 426ci motors. Scoops were sealed to the airbox so only COLD freh air went in. Isnt the left side scoop that Buell provided adequate for a 60 cubic inch motor without having to do all this cutting an drilling monkey business??? That thing is what 20-25 square inches in cross section??? Has anybody ever really measured any appreciable difference in performance after chopping their airbox all to hell?

 

[xtremelow]

Depends on the year XB, some are strictly for cooling the rear cylinder.

The '07+ frames dont have the hole in the frame so the side scoop does nothing for the intake, thus the reason they switched to the scoop just above the gas filler.

But as many will argue the air vacuum on an XB is ample to what is needed to make power. In most cases the added air box vents are aesthetics not power.

I have this fiberglass air box cover and have had similar on every Buell I have owned and there has never been any gains just more noise from the intake.

 

[vtech007]

"the left side scoop that Buell provided" are not ram air intakes, as you describe in the Dodge cage example. They are not "sealed to the airbox so only COLD freh air (goes) in". They do not pressurize the air box with the incoming rush of fresh air. IF ONLY... Do I think that Erik Buell's design provides "adequate" fresh air? Sure I do. But as a (former) hot rodder yourself, you realize that more air = more power. So on with the modifying...

 

[CaboWabo9SX]

True that. A motor is nothing but a really loud cool air pump!

 

[72BlackonBlack]

I hear you on the more air part. I have a 1972 Ford Torino that is about to have a 472 installed, and I have been considering getting a ram air box with hoses going to the front bright headlight buckets.

I am personally considering chopping my airbox a little bit. I have an opaque black air box cover, so aesthetically it will not affect the bike. I figure it cannot hurt the performance of the bike either, so why not?