Rusty's Air Tubes

[wrecklaw71]

has anyone used these airtubes ? if so other than appearance one could expect a similar power increase , correct ? Also if you have used one ,how was the quality?

 

[jrsxj98]

Good quality, I have ran one for about 4 yrs now with a 6" K&N, cant beat the price, unless you fab your own...

 

[JONNYD]

Mine is loud. When you put your foot into it you get that nice screaming sound. If you get one, get the bigger filter; you have the room and it wont hurt. There are other companies online that sell similar filters, and you can get a deal if you look around. As for performance? It has to be better than your stock airbox. The only problem with rusty's tube is that your filter is now very near to the intake. This does 2 things:
1. You are pulling air from near a 200 degree piece of aluminum, so your intake charge might not be colder than the stock piece, and the tube is not long enough for a good heatshield to be buit around it. (CHeck out Dr.Dyno's website).
2. You have just decreased the amount of air between your filter and intake valves. It would have the same effect if you took a 99-newer intake and swapped for a 98-older. There is less air volume past the filter, so throttle response could be negatively affected.

Just some thoughts, get a rusty's, they are cheap and decent, get the big filter, then weld up your own based no the rusty's design that is further from the intake. Build a heat shield, and whalah!

 

[Mike@Accurate]

http://www.accuratepower.com/Accessories.html
MIKE
Dyno tested, 8.25hp. I think it is the only air pipe to be dyno tested to prove performance gains.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

1. You are pulling air from near a 200 degree piece of aluminum, so your intake charge might not be colder than the stock piece, and the tube is not long enough for a good heatshield to be built around it. (Check out Dr.Dyno's website).
2. You have just decreased the amount of air between your filter and intake valves. It would have the same effect if you took a 99-newer intake and swapped for a 98-older. There is less air volume past the filter, so throttle response could be negatively affected.

Here's another thought. Just copy my intake and stick an S&B 7" Powerstack cone filter on the end of it. There are no downsides but plenty of upsides, and it'll probably match Accurate Mike's intake for HP gains:

1. Heat shield keeps hot underhood air out of the intake and also protects the filter from dust/water that could be flying around in the engine bay.
2. Long intake pipe has a large reservoir of air so throttle response is excellent, and length aids low/medium rpm torque production.
3. It's cheap. All you need is a $48 filter and a few bits from Home Depot.
4. My intake takes up less underhood space than the stock airbox.

I didn't stop there though. I also insulated the underside of the intake manifold with a Thermotec heat blanket so it doesn't absorb radiant heat from the header. The manifold stays much cooler and another positive side effect is a lower underhood temp. Snap straps ensure that the blanket stays firmly in place:

 

[JeepSpeed]

http://www.accuratepower.com/Accessories.html
MIKE
Dyno tested, 8.25hp. I think it is the only air pipe to be dyno tested to prove performance gains.

Big disclaimer: Tested on a TJ, correct?

 

[Mike@Accurate]

We tested a stock XJ box, no anything, our TJ/YJ pipe and our XJ pipe. The stock box was the loser, both pipes made the same power, more than no filter at all. I think that no filter was more turbulent. After that, I think the size of the K&N is the only factor (we use 3" tube on both the TJ/YJ & XJ pipes). I use the same moose, 9" long, K&N on both air pipe kits. Some say the XJ's accordion is not as good as the elbow. It is the only thing that fits under the hood. It is bigger (3 1/8" id) than tube though. This may negate any disadvantage. I have an engine dyno, they were actually tested on a "no-J". '97 OBDII electrics (XJ). Full, stock, TJ exhaust & cat. XJ radiator & accessories (A/C, PS & alt were running). The stock, base-line, runs-were at 190.47hp. Within .47hp of advertised stock power. I don't think anybody else has had an airpipe close to a dyno. I also drag tested the XJ pipe. It knocked .2sec off in the 1/4. Runs were back to back, airbox first. The truck was warmer with the airpipe, and still ran better. Hope this helps with your observation, MIKE

 

[hjeepxj]

http://www.accuratepower.com/Accessories.html
MIKE
Dyno tested, 8.25hp. I think it is the only air pipe to be dyno tested to prove performance gains.

Do you have the dyno sheets?

 

[xtrememtbiker85]

i have had my rusty's air tube for almost a year. the only reason i noticed a sound change was because of teh large k&n filter i installe dwith it. i dont think its the tube that makes teh noise. but i like the sound. especially the whistle at highway speeds.

here are some pics with it installed.

 

[Mike@Accurate]

Our dyno is old scool (1959 water dyno, 500ft lb/10000rpm) I have a page in a note pad. The dyno is not enclosed, in the middle of the shop and would give a safety inspector an anurism. Untill you get used to a motor running at 6-7k right in front of you, you WILL back-up. Usually around 4500 with most motors. The shop uses it to dyno the motors for Willard Wilson's S145 APBA 2.5L Hydro (2.3 Ford) (landlord, record holder, world champion many times). We are also set-up for SBC (Nascar Late Model Modified, 5L Hydro), Nissan L (Mini Stock dirt cars), and Focus ZTEC (maybe the new APBA 2.5L motor). You have alot of time in controls, plates, cooling & electronics to get a motor up on the dyno. We just put a dyno-mounted starter on it and are looking into a 4-6-8cyl EFI box to make it a little simpler. I have 280+ hours in getting the Jeep hooked-up & tested. It didn't know the truck was missing, no codes, dash panel worked. I even hooked up the whole tank/pump/lines, bat temp sensor, shifter... all of it. I have recently put data aquisition on it and need to write/buy a program to get cool looking dyno charts out of it. It is a water dyno hooked up to a 10000 gallon tank. You can run a motor up to redline and full load, and go get a soda. Not like most centrifugal wheel dynos. It is cool, but old school. (in a manly kind of way). Do I note a hint of skeptisism here. If so, bluntly, you can eat me. When the word got out that I was doing OBDII testing with aftermarket cams, MOPAR called me fishing for info. They gave me the impression that this was a bit more than rare. I'll go 1 on 1 with any shop when it comes to 4.0/stroker poop. If I post something, I'm not talking out of my ass. After all, I remember when some vendors were claiming 30hp from bored TB's. I couldn't wait to try one out. When I posted the results (3.25hp), the 30 hp claims vaporized. There is no BS on my site. I have tested all of it. I live 20min from a dragstrip. We drive a S/C XJ and Stroked ZJ to work every day. I own a TJ too. My brother has a 4.6CJ project going. SM465/Dana 20 bla bla... When that is finished, and driven, and tested, I'm going to offer a free-standing injection system for 4.0 swaps. My airpipes do make power. Some others probably do too. I know about mine. MIKE

 

[HodgePodge]

and its a heck of a lot cooler looking than rusty's

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

Not to go off-topic, but Mike knows his Shizznit...

Accurate's been very helpful in my stroker build and has never tried to "sell" me something I didn't need. Even answered my off-the-wall questions when I wasn't ordering anything. Try calling Hesco

There's not a lot of "Old School" shops left anymore... Good thing his shop isn't close enough for me to drive to.

 

[ayoung]

Dr.Dyno, like the looks of your intake a lot, what did you use to make the connections for the ccv breathers?

 

[blue95xj]

I know i'm jumpin in a little late here but the noise some of you have been hearing from your intake is actually the air being sucked in. My buddy has a 94 z28 and he installed an slp cold air intake and it too was making the same whistling sound until he installed bbk headers which we are guessing that it evened out the balance of the air going in and the air going out.

 

[VDoubleUVR6]

I know i'm jumpin in a little late here but the noise some of you have been hearing from your intake is actually the air being sucked in. My buddy has a 94 z28 and he installed an slp cold air intake and it too was making the same whistling sound until he installed bbk headers which we are guessing that it evened out the balance of the air going in and the air going out.

I get this same "whistle" on my 97 Jetta VR6 both with a short ram and a cold air intake (that I currently run now). Its just the position of the throttle that creates the whistle at certain RPM's. Sounds pretty cool.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Dr.Dyno, like the looks of your intake a lot, what did you use to make the connections for the ccv breathers?

Since I took those photos, I've replaced the breather connectors on the side of the airtube with two 2" lengths of 1/2" diameter copper pipe which I epoxied in place. They're rock solid. I also replaced the breather pipe from airtube to front valve cover grommet with a length of 5/8" diameter rubber heater hose and secured it in place using hose clamps. It looks a bit tidier now.
Mike, what was the peak torque gain with your intake? I'm more interested in torque rather than HP since my engine spends most of its time at less than 2500rpm.
The cause of the intake whistle at certain rpm (usually around 1800) and light throttle is turbulent airflow past the upper IAC opening in the TB. When you increase airflow with a cone filter, this condition becomes more obvious. The cure is to feather the lower edge of the aforementioned IAC opening. If you have a TB spacer and bored TB, you'll have the same problem again because the spacer causes an abrupt narrowing of the TB bore. Just bore out the spacer to the same diameter as the TB.