So... posting this here instead of the Boss section simply because it applies to GT and Boss cars with an AirAid cold air intake. As some of you may have seen, I dyno tested the intake on my 2013 Boss and it actually picked up gains similar to their claims. I picked up 12RWHP and 8 ft lbs of torque where they claim 11 and 11, which might be true on a GT. So, its definitely a good mod if you don't want to tune the car (gains were with no other mods).
Unfortunately, like most things, there was a downside. On the 2013-2014 models, the heat extraction hood causes water to run right onto the filter if it rains or when you wash it. AirAid will send you a rain guard free of charge if you have a 2013-2014 car, but in my opinion, it looks like crap.
I decided to have a little fun with mine and modify it to make it look better! :rockon:
This is how they should come:
The top and bottom 3 bolt holes are technically already in the shield. You just have to knock them out. I drilled the 2 side bolt holes myself, and after some careful measuring and marking, I very carefully drilled the corners out with a 1/2" drill bit. I then connected the holes with a cut-off wheel on a grinder and smoothed everything with a small die grinder and a burr bit. I then cut out and fit up a piece of 1/16" Lexan to the backside and drilled holes in it to match up to the ones in the aluminum shield. After I knew everything was going to work correctly, I sent the shield out to be powder coated in matte black. After I got it back, I put a small bead of RTV around the edge of the lexan on the outside of the bolts to help keep it from oozing towards the inside where it might be visible, and then bolted it to the shield using 10-24x1/2" stainless button head screws with nylock nuts. Sheild was done and ready for installation. Now... the real issue I had was that the templates they send to use as a drill guide on the airbox really don't work so well. Even without my mods, the holes in the rear of the box are too low, which causes the shield to sit too low and the filter won't fit correctly. I discovered this after I already drilled the holes, so I had to drill another set about 3/4" higher. The hole that goes next to the inlet tube fits fine in their location. My only other complaint about the shield was that the bolts they send are too short. They send 4 bolts and 4 washers and the bolts are so short that they really only have about 3 threads on them. If you use the washers, you only get about a half thread started on the shield, and it will easily strip out with barely any torque on the bolt. I found this out the hard way. I ended up ditching the washers and just using the bolts, and that allows you to get enough threads to tighten it up without stripping.
I honestly like the look without the shield better, but the rain issue was always nerve racking. I had to do something about it lol, and in my opinion this looks a lot cooler than just the plain old boring aluminum that they send you.
:beer:
Unfortunately, like most things, there was a downside. On the 2013-2014 models, the heat extraction hood causes water to run right onto the filter if it rains or when you wash it. AirAid will send you a rain guard free of charge if you have a 2013-2014 car, but in my opinion, it looks like crap.
I decided to have a little fun with mine and modify it to make it look better! :rockon:
This is how they should come:
The top and bottom 3 bolt holes are technically already in the shield. You just have to knock them out. I drilled the 2 side bolt holes myself, and after some careful measuring and marking, I very carefully drilled the corners out with a 1/2" drill bit. I then connected the holes with a cut-off wheel on a grinder and smoothed everything with a small die grinder and a burr bit. I then cut out and fit up a piece of 1/16" Lexan to the backside and drilled holes in it to match up to the ones in the aluminum shield. After I knew everything was going to work correctly, I sent the shield out to be powder coated in matte black. After I got it back, I put a small bead of RTV around the edge of the lexan on the outside of the bolts to help keep it from oozing towards the inside where it might be visible, and then bolted it to the shield using 10-24x1/2" stainless button head screws with nylock nuts. Sheild was done and ready for installation. Now... the real issue I had was that the templates they send to use as a drill guide on the airbox really don't work so well. Even without my mods, the holes in the rear of the box are too low, which causes the shield to sit too low and the filter won't fit correctly. I discovered this after I already drilled the holes, so I had to drill another set about 3/4" higher. The hole that goes next to the inlet tube fits fine in their location. My only other complaint about the shield was that the bolts they send are too short. They send 4 bolts and 4 washers and the bolts are so short that they really only have about 3 threads on them. If you use the washers, you only get about a half thread started on the shield, and it will easily strip out with barely any torque on the bolt. I found this out the hard way. I ended up ditching the washers and just using the bolts, and that allows you to get enough threads to tighten it up without stripping.
I honestly like the look without the shield better, but the rain issue was always nerve racking. I had to do something about it lol, and in my opinion this looks a lot cooler than just the plain old boring aluminum that they send you.
:beer: