So you wanna get a few more ponies out of your stock intake without going overboard? Well, after buying and installing a larger throttle body (52mm, 58mm or 60mm) and using a cold air, cone filter, intake setup, the next best thing to do is to port and polish the intake plenum itself. This will increase air flow, lessen the stock restrictions and make everything 'flow' much better. While doing this project, you might as well spend the money and buy a set of intake spacers off of Ron Adiar. These spacers go between the upper and lower intakes and provide (basically) longer runner lengths creating more torque at a lower horsepower band. Contact Ron Adair at fatpipe@rfci.net to order a set.
Step #2
-Remove the lower part of the intake plenum and
set it aside (make sure you have some type of cover over the engine so
that no dirt or debris will get into it).
Step #3 (Upper plenum)
-Take the upper part of the intake plenum and
use a dremel palm sander to remove the casting ridges. The ridges should
be 1/2" wide by 1/4" tall. Remove all other 'sloppy' milling ridges, make
it nice and smooth. Finally sharpen the edges of the plenum seperator.
PICTURE
Step #4
-Smooth out each runner opening. PICTURE
Step #5
-Make sure everything is nice, clean and uniform
for better air flow. Take your time!!! PICTURE
Step #6
-This would be a good time to bore out the throttle
body opening too, especially if you ever intend on adding anything bigger
than a 52mm TB on your 3.0L. In this picture, the TB opening is on the
far left. PICTURE 1 PICTURE 2
Step #7 (Lower Plenum)
-Remove the casting ridges on the center divider
of the lower half of the intake plenum. Work each opening by removing the
sharp edges and smoothing out all the contours of the runners. PICTURE
Step #8
-Just continue to smooth everything out on the
lower half and try to make it uniform to the top half you did earlier.
PICTURE 1 PICTURE 2 PICTURE 3
Step #9 (Optional)
-Reassemble the upper intake plenum to the lower
intake plenum and decide what your favorite color is. Use high temp paint
and paint your complete intake plenum. 5 to 6 coats of paint will do just
fine. PICTURE
Step #10
-Put the complete intake plenum back on your
car, hook up all sensors and enjoy the new-found power. PICTURE 1 PICTURE
2
