K&N Air Intake Installation

[djeaux]

Keith (K757) drove over today & we installed a nice K&N kit on the ChromeMobile.

My photos weren't the best in the world, but the installation went fairly smoothly with only a few moments of confusion. Here's the finished product. When Keith gets back online, I'll let him pick out the "how to" photos & give everybody his take it.

The filter definitely makes the RL sound different!

[Raplon]

Originally Posted by djeaux

The filter definitely makes the RL sound different!

How different? Better? Louder?

[djeaux]

Keith will have a couple hours drive time & can comment, but on our test drive, I didn't notice it being louder than OEM at low rpms. At around 3500 rpm, it got throatier & at around 4 grand, it growled. Very nice high performance sound.

The overall build quality of the kit was outstanding.

[k757]

so we start the disassemble. The engine cover came off real easy. Then time to pull the wiring harness and the crank case vent tube. This was not as easy as you would think it should be.



we followed all of the directions that were pretty straight forward, until you try to pull out the bottom of the OEM filter box. The rubber seal in the box, is part of the box. to get the box off of the tube, pull up from the bottom of the box, on the outside.

Here we are, all disassembled. the arrows indicate the locations that the cold air will access the intake cone.



Here is the heat shield's first bolt installed




GREAT TIP: don't install this bolt yet! You will need to add another brace into this connection. Of course, if we followed the directions, we would have had no worries. HAHAH

[bongus]

Nice write-up. Did you refill the coolant? Thanks for sharing.

[k757]

We slide the K&N tube onto the throttle body



Now you will also tighten down the K&N tube to this mounting point as well



The directions say to add the rubber hose to the intake tube, but I found it easier to put the rubber hose onto the crank case vent tube THEN install onto the K&N tube. It's just easier to maneuver.


What a beauty!!!

[k757]

Originally Posted by bongus

Nice write-up. Did you refill the coolant? Thanks for sharing.

There was no coolant involved in any step. The install is pretty straight forward with a few minor things that could have been clearer.

[k757]

Originally Posted by djeaux

I didn't notice it being louder than OEM at low rpms. At around 3500 rpm, it got throatier & at around 4 grand, it growled. Very nice high performance sound.

When downshifting at highway speeds (~4500 RPM+)... OH MY GEEZ! It seriously sounds like a large V8. It just screams



I just need someone to record some sound videos for YouTube (hehehe)

[djeaux]

A couple of observations from an "innocent" by-stander...

1) This is a very nicely engineered kit, especially the air box/head shield mounting. It uses all three OEM air box mount points & fits very well.

2) The crankcase vent tube mounts to a rubber tube on the K&N plenum (air tube). As Keith pointed out, it's easier to mount with the rubber tube mounted first on the crankcase vent rather than on the plenum, as the K&N directions specify. Also, I think the mounting point could be an inch or so closer to the throttle body. As it was, Keith had to unsnap two brown wiring clips that secure to the crankcase vent tube bracket in order to get the wiring to reach the throttle body. (Keith can comment on this, since I may not have explained it very well.)

3) As Keith mentioned, the rear (firewall) mounting point for the air box is also the brace point for the plenum. This isn't really clear in the printed instructions, or maybe we just ignored it... It wasn't a biggie to undo the bolt, but it took an extra 5 minutes.

4) In retrospect, it may have been easier to mount up the air filter element before pushing the plenum into the silicon mount on the throttle body. Getting the air filter element pushed on is a tight fit! There's a small (maybe 3mm) clearance between the filter element & the inside wall of the air box. Still, the K&N has air flow not only from the factory cold air tube but also from a triangular opening in the inside fender wall, so there's definitely more air hitting the filter.

Long & short: A fairly straightforward bolt-on modification with a few points where you have to apply a little more force than you expect & a few points where things are just tight working.

A great ROC visit, too. It's always more fun to share a project like this with a friend & even more fun when the friend is a fellow Ridgeline/Honda enthusiast! Before tackling the project, we repaired to the local Mexican eatery & afterwards, we tapped a keglet of microbrew (which we dubbed the "home foam kit"). But whatever, Keith's a great guy to visit with & I certainly enjoyed being the proverbial fifth wheel on the project.

And yes, it sounds WICKED, especially at the VTEC cross-over point.

[k757]

One curious thing...
What is the purpose of this "dead-end tube" on the bottom side of the OEM intake tube (between the filter and the throttle body)? a sound-deadener application?

The hook was supporting some wires, I get that.

(The photos are of the top of the filter box turned over)