Hey guys i have a dumb kinda pointless question... well i bought a 97 ex last saturday and was going through checking all the oils and everything making sure everything was were it should be, when i noticed my stock filter was nasty dirty... so i went down to checker and noticed they have the little k&n looking filters, so instead of buying a new stock one i bought one of these.... when i got home i removed the airbox and just conected the filter to the stock intake hose.... i felt a lot better acceleration but then again my previous filter looked as if it hadnt been changed since 97 ha ha if nothing else it sounds alot cooler than stock, just wondering if this could be a ghetto way of gaining 1 hp or so ha ha thanks for any responses to this and sorry about the big runon paragraph

 

It's not really good to connect the cone filter to the stock air box tube since its plastic. It will most likely cause an air leak. If you buy a quality filter (not spectre) and any kind of leak free tubing its an easy way to gain 1-3hp and it produces a nicer sound as well.

 

what are the little air filter looking things for?
do those make sound too? like a SRI?

 

If it's one of those off-brand filters it probably filters horribly/restricts the engine, and the power gains, if any, are in your head.

 

If you're talking about the tiny ones, they're breather filters for valve covers. They replace the hose that goes from the intake to the valve cover (top left-hand corner of a sohc valve cover).

OP, I'd highly recommend getting a better filter. If you want a cheap SRI/CAI, get an aluminum intake tube from eBay and get a K&N cone filter or an AEM dry-flow filter. It'll provide close to the same gains as a brand-name intake at a fraction of the cost.

 

First of all, I would be highly suspect of a car that had a filthy air filter. What else wasn't changed - the oil, brake fluid, coolant? Beware of cars that were owned by single women; many don't have a clue or don't have the money to properly maintain their vehicle.

Regarding your new filter - how "small" is it? If it is of a similar size as the typical K&N cone, then you might want to periodically check your inlet tube to see if any dirt/particulates are getting past the filter. Of course, you should make sure that the inlet tube is perfectly clean, now. Does the filter need to be oiled?

Lastly, post pics if you can, but try not to use your cell phone unless you have an 8 megapixel Samsung or 5MP of another brand. The 2-3 MP shots often are terrible.