bc3tech
June 16th, 2008, 10:12am
With the lack of cold air intake options available to Aura owners, many people are wondering what they can do to free up the air flow to their engine and give it a big of a larger bark at the same time, like a CAI would do. Well the answer to this is simple, and not that much different than an actual CAI, anyway - remove the intake resonator bong.
"What is it?" you ask? Simply put, it's a piece put in place by OEM manufacturers to mute the engine noise - hence the name "resonator." There's really no other purpose for it. So by removing it, you remove a restriction of air flow into the engine, and also allow for more sound to be heard from your engine. Likewise, most CAI systems come with a new filter, usually a wire-mesh design (vs the paper type of most OEM filters) which also allows for more free-flowing air, but also filters the air just as well as they use an oil-based coating (which needs to be "recharged" every once in a while) to grab the dirt particles out of the air.
So, let's get on with removing this hassle now!
Engine @ idle before:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0002.jpg
1) Jack up the front-right of the car - enough to remove the front right wheel.
Make sure to use the correct spot for supporting your car, or you will bend the frame. You'll know the first one or two pumps after connecting if it's the right spot - if the car goes up, you're good, otherwise you'll see the jack sink right into the metal :eek:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0004.jpg
2) Remove the wheel well shroud.
This is done by removing a myriad of plastic "screws" along w/ standard 7mm screws that hold this large piece of plastic in place. It's there to prevent water & debris from getting up into the metal of the frame and into the air filter as well. You'll want to just keep removing plastic & metal screws as you find them holding this piece in place. Here are a few of the ones you're looking for
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0005.jpg http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0006.jpg
Along w/ the ones on the outer edge that you see here, there are also 3 plastic and (at least) one standard screw that hold a piece of this shroud up under the front bumper. As i said, as you start removing them and try to take the shroud out, you'll easily be able to pinpoint where there are more holding it in.
Keep in mind that this shroud is durable plastic, so pulling hard, coaxing w/ a hammer, etc won't hurt anything as long as you're smart about it. This shroud does tuck into the exterior body molding above the wheel, so you'll have to get it out of that first for it to even come close to coming out. Likewise upon reinstallation this is the first step to getting it back in.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0007.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0008.jpg
3) After you get the shroud out, the resonator bong will be staring you right in the face along w/ a single screw holding it in.
This should be evident as to just how menial this piece really is to the whole setup ;)
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0009.jpg
The 10mm screw here needs to be removed, and then you just need to use some brute force to release the plastic "rivet" that holds the front portion of the resonator in place. People who worked on Ions are more than familiar w/ these rivets, but the problem here is that there's not a damn bit of light that reaches the rivet up front to see how to get it out "properly." So some heavy coaxing by prying / levering w/ a pliers is what I used. It does nothing but hold the bong in place, so the empty, somewhat beat up, hole that's left over is of no consequence.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0010.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0011.jpg
Note You can see after removing the bong that NOTHING is affected as far as the risk to the engine. The inlet to the air filter is actually higher so there's an even less chance of taking on water, and it's still before the filter, so there's no more chance of getting debris into the engine.
4) Put the shroud back in, wheel back on, and lower the car.
5) Purchase a K&N (or similar) air filter to go into the stock air box, installation is straightforward. Remove the two metal clips at the top (closest to the windshield) side of the box above the filter and pull up on the top portion. It flexes easily to allow access to the filter.
6) Enjoy! Most people who have done this mod, or installed a CAI in a car, will tell you the first couple of things they notice are the sound and the better throttle response.
After videos:
Engine @ idle
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0012.jpg
Revving
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0013.jpg
"What is it?" you ask? Simply put, it's a piece put in place by OEM manufacturers to mute the engine noise - hence the name "resonator." There's really no other purpose for it. So by removing it, you remove a restriction of air flow into the engine, and also allow for more sound to be heard from your engine. Likewise, most CAI systems come with a new filter, usually a wire-mesh design (vs the paper type of most OEM filters) which also allows for more free-flowing air, but also filters the air just as well as they use an oil-based coating (which needs to be "recharged" every once in a while) to grab the dirt particles out of the air.
So, let's get on with removing this hassle now!
Engine @ idle before:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0002.jpg
1) Jack up the front-right of the car - enough to remove the front right wheel.
Make sure to use the correct spot for supporting your car, or you will bend the frame. You'll know the first one or two pumps after connecting if it's the right spot - if the car goes up, you're good, otherwise you'll see the jack sink right into the metal :eek:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0004.jpg
2) Remove the wheel well shroud.
This is done by removing a myriad of plastic "screws" along w/ standard 7mm screws that hold this large piece of plastic in place. It's there to prevent water & debris from getting up into the metal of the frame and into the air filter as well. You'll want to just keep removing plastic & metal screws as you find them holding this piece in place. Here are a few of the ones you're looking for
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0005.jpg http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0006.jpg
Along w/ the ones on the outer edge that you see here, there are also 3 plastic and (at least) one standard screw that hold a piece of this shroud up under the front bumper. As i said, as you start removing them and try to take the shroud out, you'll easily be able to pinpoint where there are more holding it in.
Keep in mind that this shroud is durable plastic, so pulling hard, coaxing w/ a hammer, etc won't hurt anything as long as you're smart about it. This shroud does tuck into the exterior body molding above the wheel, so you'll have to get it out of that first for it to even come close to coming out. Likewise upon reinstallation this is the first step to getting it back in.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0007.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0008.jpg
3) After you get the shroud out, the resonator bong will be staring you right in the face along w/ a single screw holding it in.
This should be evident as to just how menial this piece really is to the whole setup ;)
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0009.jpg
The 10mm screw here needs to be removed, and then you just need to use some brute force to release the plastic "rivet" that holds the front portion of the resonator in place. People who worked on Ions are more than familiar w/ these rivets, but the problem here is that there's not a damn bit of light that reaches the rivet up front to see how to get it out "properly." So some heavy coaxing by prying / levering w/ a pliers is what I used. It does nothing but hold the bong in place, so the empty, somewhat beat up, hole that's left over is of no consequence.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0010.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/IMG_0011.jpg
Note You can see after removing the bong that NOTHING is affected as far as the risk to the engine. The inlet to the air filter is actually higher so there's an even less chance of taking on water, and it's still before the filter, so there's no more chance of getting debris into the engine.
4) Put the shroud back in, wheel back on, and lower the car.
5) Purchase a K&N (or similar) air filter to go into the stock air box, installation is straightforward. Remove the two metal clips at the top (closest to the windshield) side of the box above the filter and pull up on the top portion. It flexes easily to allow access to the filter.
6) Enjoy! Most people who have done this mod, or installed a CAI in a car, will tell you the first couple of things they notice are the sound and the better throttle response.
After videos:
Engine @ idle
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0012.jpg
Revving
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/bc3tech/How-Tos/Epsilon%20Res%20Delete/th_MVI_0013.jpg