RESONATORS DELETE UPDATE AND AIRAID CAI

[VR Baron]

Did some freeway driving 65-75, a little louder but not much and more as you drive uphill slightly the level or down hill, engine lugging in high gear I guess. Its about the same as I had drone anyway and guess about as much as anyone with my kind of setup. As I said before the sound is a bit more from out back then from the back seat. Not bad overall, a more crisp sound and of course it is way faster then before !

Hi All

I wanted to update everyone on the resonator delete and amend a few things as to sound and problems I think I have resolved from other threads back to September.
FIRST, the sound is still the same without the resonator's from 3000 rpm on up, a bit louder, more clear, sounds good.
SECOND, and this is a change that ties into the problem solved area.
The sudden drone I had before the delete and still there after in the 1-2000 rpm range since Sept. is gone. The sound is now as when I added the shortie headers, more quiet then just the exhaust I did. All you hear is normal exhaust sounds, no boom or drone really. I will get to why and the problem in a minute.
THIRD, the sound is now different in the 2-3000rpm range after the problem was fixed. 2000 it starts to get louder(good) and at 2400-2800 rpm does get even louder and boomy, but then mellows out into the v6 roar from 3000 on up.Never had that before but all sounds good and normal with is setup I think.
FOURTH, The problem I fixed and what I think caused the sudden drone/boomy sound back in Sept all along and wasn't header breakin or the switch to 87 octane gas from 91 at the same time, and been using 87 ever since is that my Airaid box was not sealing all the way to the hood!! I was improving my home made heat shield after I did the hole mod to the box, just had a change I wanted to do and noticed that there was a gap in the hood liner where the box contour shows so you can tell there is a tight seal. Pretty indented all the way around except in the back corner toward and closest to the engine, if you have an Airaid you know what I mean.Problem is it looks like it is sealed and no way to tell unless you chalk it again, which I have always done to show the outline to be sure.Well now this area no longer contacts the liner tightly do to heat, the way the box is tightened down, the seal or something, don't know for sure.
The area in question is right where the hood liner angles upward and here do to the Airaids large box is where it cannot seal all the way because of the liner suddenly angling away from the box.
The fix is a pc of gas line with a bolt in it so it compresses but not all the way. This then goes under the box corner on the mount pad closest to the engine to shim the box upward in that area to seal better. After that I added a pc of insulation foam onto the liner at that farthest corner area and that did it. She's sealed really good now.

Went for a drive and all that drone was gone immedietly! Engine more torquey and a little more responsive I guess to much air was getting in but I suspect to much HOT air was the culprit and changed A/F and timing or other peramiters. Maybe our experts can chime in on that.

Moral here, make sure the aftermarket open airbox is definately sealed, even if it appears to be!!

[KMPrenger]

Hrmm...well now I'm gonna have to check my AirRaid I guess! lol

[VR Baron]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Hrmm...well now I'm gonna have to check my AirRaid I guess! lol

One thing I forgot in the update was that I had done the shim mod sometime back when I first got the airaid as I am usually over cautious on these things. I had read that another member had an even worse seal problem then I did and thats when I did my mod. I took the spacer out but had forgotten I had done so, figuered it was just overkill and didn't need it as all appeared to be fine, but I guess not!!

[KMPrenger]

You might need to take a picture of that for me so I can see what the heck you did lol.

[VR Baron]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

You might need to take a picture of that for me so I can see what the heck you did lol.

All I did was take a pc of 3/8" gas line and put a bolt in it so it wouldn't compress all the way and still have a cushin affect. I put it under the air box on the box mount pad closest to the engine.Kept it on the outboard side of the threaded rod the box fits over and tightened it down. That still left that one corner jutting out toward the engine not fully sealed to the liner to my liking,though it could be. I just added a small pc of that foam insulation that comes in rolls to the liner itself where that corner comes into contact and the whole combo appears now to seal more evenly and better. At least it's as good a seal as you can get and really leaves a good imprint on the hood liner.
For my problem thats where it needed to be to have any affect. It seemed to help at freeway speeds as to the drone/vooom sound but after driving around today in traffic and three days after doing this "fix" it only is marginally better around town at low rpm where initially it was much better. It still may be my entire combo getting carbon build up giving more resonance and louder as it is a performance setup so that is to be expected I guess. I have no other answer why the sudden louder sound change three months ago.The vooom sound now from idle to 3000 rpm at slow speed around town and that only slightly more and continuing further up the rpm band then before the resonator delete.
Seems it was a change but this engine adjusts so much as it does whatever it wants I think. The only thing to do now is change out the magnaflows, which do "vooom" alot and more so with headers I think now, add J pipes, go back to stock mufflers.

Or get an SS