Write-Up: Installing FWI Filter, Heat Shield, Air Scoop

Not I, is there a link to look at the filter?

i just did a FWI, and at idle my car starts showing that it is running a little hot, but as soon as i drive it it goes back to where it normally is

Where is your IAT sensor located?

Is it the stock sensor, or aftermarket?

texasfan010 wrote:

hey i made my PVC FWI last night. Man i LOVE the whine it makes, its amazing, i couldnt be happier. I just had to tape the IAT sensor to the piping. After driving for awhile I seen that my service engine soon light came on, and never has before. I dont think its a big deal, i think its just the IAT sensor is getting a little bit warmer air reading then what is actually going through the intake. What do you guys think? Am i safe to drive?

This is your problem.

I'd love to do the air scoop myself, but my filter won't fit where you put yours. It's about an inch too long overall, since that weird bracket thingy your filter is resting on comes up higher in my '95. I can't cut out the air hole in the engine bay because there's some kind of sheet metal framework around it that looks like it's kinda important to the structural integrity of the car. Not worth the risk for cooler air. I'll find a way though; that scoop looks sick!

Note that I did not cut any sheet metal. As for fitting the filter, couldn't you just use a shorter one? They come in lots of sizes. I didn't know what would fit, so I bought 3 sizes and returned the other 2.

Spectre only sells really really big and really really not-big filters, although I could look at Advance Auto to see if there's a K&N filter that would fit. I've gotten the 4" FWI tubing to fit through the hole because of the ribbed outside, but the filter just won't fit. Maybe I'll sell my Spectre 9" when I'm done with it if I find the right other filter.

Just had a thought...the way I park every now and then would rip that scoop right off. I'll leave it alone for now!

Because the front end is curved, the scoop never touches parking bumpers. The moulding always rubs in the middle first.

See the scoop?

















I cut the hole in my plastic bottom piece in between the two ribs so that it didn't mess with the structural integrity of the piece. 6 mounting points just like AA, but with long bolts and lock washers and nuts. The grille I put on mine is cut wider than the opening, but the same height, and I bent my tabs forwards and used a pair of short, thick bolts with big washers and nuts to secure it. I rolled the front edge myself so that it looks soft and professional, and painted it with the same blue spray paint I had left over after doing my engine cover. Used sharpie on the inside and voila!

I love how it looks, and it acts as a front-facing sound cannon!

thats a good idea....arent u a little worried about rain gettin in there? such as driving behind a car in the rain..all the rain shoots up on ur windshield..im sure it could get in there..

The bottom of the scoop is about 3 inches under the opening of the plastic shielding, and then the bottom of the cone filter is about 5" above and behind the opening inside the fenderwell. I'm not too worried, especially with AA running a high boost setup with a filter that's very close to his opening for so long without problems.

Big thanks to AA, too, because with his help I did this all in half a day. At 11AM, I set out to Home Depot to buy everything, came back and made it, cut out all the holes in my car while test fitting, painted it, and it was dry by 9PM which is when I mounted it. Looks awesome, doesn't take much to do, and because of all my extra hardware like lock washers and bolts for the mesh, my grand total for this scoop was $13. The plastic bottom is very soft and I cut it with the snips I used on the gutter and screen, and safely 'drilled' the holes for the bolts with my pocket knife.

Supposing some rain drops managed to hit the scoop and then bounce upward, absorbing into the filter, I don't see how it hurts anything. Lots of production cars pull air in through the grill and hood scoops.

Especially cars like the Subaru WRX and STi. They don't just pull air through a hood scoop, they force it in at twice the PSI we do, straight onto the air filter!


What do you think of the end product, AA? I think I'm the only other guy on here who's done it.

Nicely done! I painted mine black for a stealth look, but every person's tastes are different.

Haha, I painted mine blue because it's all I had laying around, and I can't buy spray paint until this August!

AA wrote:

Supposing some rain drops managed to hit the scoop and then bounce upward, absorbing into the filter, I don't see how it hurts anything. Lots of production cars pull air in through the grill and hood scoops.

You'll end up with a wet and very rusty filter. I should show you what mine looks like after 1 winter. Salt straight onto Spectre cone FTL.

i was just thinkin...like deekster said..with salt and stuff goin in...

would an S shape cancel that problem or a 3 shape. so that way air could make its way through the tube...but salt and water wouldnt make it through.

What tube? If you mean the intake tube, the filter will block anything before it enters the intake.

Have you guys ever seen an air grabber intake?

This is tempting. Aaron, would you say this is a worthwhile addition after having it for a while and testing it?

I would say for $20 I'm keeping mine. Is it worthwhile? Yes, if you can stand the fact that there's a piece of rain gutter fastened to the bottom of your car. It survived the winter months, and IAT are lower than I've ever had, sometimes below ambient.

I like the look, might be best to paint it dark gray or black, but it's a nice project to do one day on the weekend. Very easy if you have a little bit of engineering know-how, and it makes some great noise!

This is my crude version of this. It's experimental.