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Old 08-26-2009, 09:41 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Question Modify Airbox on TBird?

Can the airbox on the TBird be drilled out at the bottom like on the Speedmaster/America? If so, has anybody tried this yet and installed a K&N or Uni? Wondering if the EFI can adjust without a remap for this modification???
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Old 08-26-2009, 09:54 PM   #2 (permalink)
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If you drilled out the bottom of the air box you'll hit china dude! Removal of the built-in seat baffle is key. Get out your chainsaw and let us know how it goes.....hehehe
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Old 08-27-2009, 10:33 AM   #3 (permalink)
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It can't be done like on the america/speedy. It COULD be somewhat, but the amount of intake area gained would be about 1/4 as much if that. the reason is hard to describe, but in short the bottom of the filter sits on a 1" high protrusion at the bottom of the box that is about the size of an egg or even less. So you would have to put a piece of foam around it as a seal sonce the foam on the bottom of a UNI will not be touching it. That would eliminate 25% of potential area right there. So you'd end up with a oblomg hole maybe 1/2 the size of a small egg.

the other issue is that any mods we do will not be compensated for by the EFI unless 1)-you get a power commander or such and have the bike custom tuned, or 2)-it happens to be a mod someone else has created a map for and your bike has provisions for loading that map.....in other words, if it's custom you need the device it was made with....PC or tubeboy.
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Old 09-20-2009, 02:20 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Question TBird Airbox Mod???

OK, so its been a few more weeks and several more TBirds have new homes... Has anybody done any airbox mods they would like to share results on?
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Old 09-20-2009, 02:53 PM   #5 (permalink)
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No one is going to do anything like this yet because the EFI will not compensate for more than a small change. And as of yet we have no way to tune it unless tuneboys can be used w/o a bike specific model. But someone wouls still have to create the map. And the power commander for the Tbird isn't out yet. So the only thing you'd accomplish by modding it would be to make the bike too lean and thereby risking engine damage. A small increase CAN be compensated for automatically by the system, but if you mod the box it's gonna be much more than that or it would be worth doing anyways. In short, we have to wait. Bike is too new yet.
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Old 09-20-2009, 03:00 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Daz, I'm not sure I have a complete grasp on the new world of EFI , but, I was thinking that if an increase intake was balanced with exhaust that the there wouldn't be a problem with the tune. I've no idea though. This is the sort of thing I'd feel much more comfortable being back in the land of carbs. I was thinking that once the bb kit and bc pipes with cat bypass in that I could make use of a lot more intake.

That Power Commander 'auto tune' is going to come in really handy I'm thinking.
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Old 09-20-2009, 03:07 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Thatch View Post
... That Power Commander 'auto tune' is going to come in really handy I'm thinking.
If I'm going to venture down the dark path, then the PC-V 'auto-tune' is the route for me!
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Leave the pork pies for now - get the sausage rolls while they're hot!
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Old 09-20-2009, 03:13 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Things are the same as with carbs. The degree to which the exhaust is restrictive isn't the point here tho. The exhaust needs to be less restrictive if increasing the volume by increasing the amount of mixture, yes. But that aside, ands assming you have TORs or whatever, at the intake end of things what i was saying is that if the EFI doesn't compensate for the extra air in the mix then the bike would run lean if you don't map it for that. Just like when you do airbox mods on a carb bike you have to change the jetting. Only here we can't do that till we have the devices we need to, power commander or whatever. And yes, that autotune may end up being a godsend if it turns out to truly be what the name implies. Especially for you with a BB and those pipes and no map available for use with both. You'd have to have it dyno tuned, but with auto tune you could pass that step AND be ready if you happen to change things yet again in some other way that alters the fueling needs.
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Last edited by dazco : 09-20-2009 at 03:17 PM.
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