Hey everybody,
I was just wondering, I bought a K&N Filter for my MY02 S2K and was driving around with it off for 3-4 days. Is it bad for the car to leave that stock airbox cover OFF? I couldn't see why it would be, it only allows the engine to get more airflow and it makes the car sound 10 times louder and better. The reason I ask is becuase someone else with an S2K told me it was bad. PLMK.
Thanks,
Anthony

 

Well, you're getting a lot of heat from your engine coming in. Your airbox protects you from that.

 

it is bad, the cover helps protect the filter from heat soak. the engine may feel bad ass (throttle wise) in the beginning of your drive, but once the motor warms up, it'll feel boggy.

 

Reflexx and AP1_rock are right. I tried that too and yes it does sound good but not at the expense of heat soak. I don't think it will do any harm to your car, but your performance will suffer.

If you like the sound get a CAI that routes the filter to the bottom of the passenger side fender. You'll get both sound and performance. Just be aware of the possibility of hydrolock.

 

and you'll lose some power

 

Depending on the climate where you live and the time of year, heatsoak may not be an issue.

I have run my S in the middle of the night with the cover off and had no negative effects.

Although, I prefer the way it sounds with the cover on because when the cover is off, I can't hear the beautiful exhaust notes coming out of the tailpipes.

 

Used to own a second gereration s/c Ford Lightning. A cheap mod was to drill the stock air box with a few 11/2" holes. You would essentially 'swiss cheese' the bottom of the air box.

One of the guys measured the underhood temperature and it was not much more than ambient once you moved, even at low speed.

The underhood temperature did spike when sitting in traffic but as soon as there was even minimum airflow, the temps dropped rapidly.

I don't know if the s2k would exhibit the same, but it's possible.

Regards,

BD

 

Many people see to go along with the popular belief that is spouted by most here on this forum that it is always worse.
But this is simply not true. When the car is moving it is fine if not better. It is only when the car is sitting still is when heat is ingested into the intake with the cover off.