what's up with these air silencers?

[secretspy]

I've seen all this talk (typing, rather) about how if you remove your air silencers you will gain noticeable power, and it will sound better. Well, I've removed both the upper and lower air silencers, and installed a drop-in K&N filter, and there IS a different sound to it (which I like), but I must say I don't feel any power difference.....I am starting to wonder if these aren't really air SILENCERS, but more like devices to make the air less turbulent. Smoother flow would be better, yes?

[Cal Cruzer]

I don't kniow if you mean on the turbo or not but if this is your reference no matter how "smooth" the airflow is, it is going to be very turbulent once it goes through the turbo. The "seat of the pants" dyno tells me throttle response if quicker but I think someone actually put one on a dyno and came back with more power. Was it Ian-PT-GT?

[Gear_Head]

The silencers are designed specifically to absorb (trap) noise. The one in the intake tube just in front of the turbocharger looks like a glasspack muffler without the twists or packing. Besides restricting the flow they do anything but promote smooth air flow. It traps the sound, and a byproduct of this sound deadening is restricted air flow. I have the AMX1397 3" turbo up intake system which provides air intake with little to no restriction (only the filter provides any restriction at all). The air intake is much louder then w/the stock system, and also much more free flowing. I can understand DC using the silencers because the performance sound of the wooshing air and the turbo spooling up is not appealing to everyone, BUT I LOVE IT!!
[:X]
Alan

[secretspy]

mine's not a turbo. But thanks for the info guys.

[redvelvetswirl]

secret spy
Where can i get some more info on these silencers? I dont have the Turbo PT either, and im always interested in more sound.

[secretspy]

Redvelvet,
I just found information by searching the forums. Other places you might look are:

PTCruizer.com
PTCruiserworld.com
PTforums.com
PT-tuning.com

It's pretty simple if you just want to remove them.....take the cover off your air-box. Look up inside and you'll see a white plastic tube. That's the upper one. It should slide out with minimal effort. You'll probably want to take out your airbox completely for the lower one. It's (to my understanding anyway, and it's what I removed) a black 90-degree bent plastic tube. Get a screwdriver and kinda pry under the tabs, this one will take some effort.