Cold air intake on liberty 1999

[Shmegoshmepikz]

New to this place but wanting to do some mods on the liberty.
Like the title says I’m looking to do a cold air intake on my car seeing all these things online with cone intakes
but how easy is it to do and is it worth it
I’m currently driving a 1999 liberty rx

Cheers guys

[Stifull]

The cone shaped air filters are usually a K&N type and are commonly used on 'cold air intake' hoses.. These are an add on alloy hose that takes the intake hose all the way into the mudguard and inside the mudguard is where the air filter lives. To clean you need to undo a couple of the clips that hold the guard liner in place. This setup achieves 2 things.. The first is obvious and that is it sucks cool clean fresh air that is outside the engine compartment. The second is it gives you that nice sounding sucking noise when the turbo is spinning at high revs.. Some people achieve the sound but not the 'nice cool fresh air' by simply putting a pod style filter in the engine compartment. This is known as a 'hot air intake' and sucks hot air which is not nearly as compressed as cold air and then tries to cool it down in the interCOOLER .. Big Fail unless you have a front mount turbo which leaves no room inside the guard for a CAI then the cai needs to be put into a metal box to keep the heat out and hav fresh air from the front being fed into the box but never just sitting in the engine bay... Personally I prefer having CAI and a BIGGER top mount. In a NON turbo doing a CAI doesn't really make much difference. and even 2nd hand a proper CAI will cost at least $300 for very little improvement in power and because there is no turbo sucking in the air, you will not get the induction sound very much anyway.
So is it worth the effort and expense.. No.. For the same cost, you could get a nice sounding exhaust and in the engine compartment get rid of the 'resonator' (if the NA engines have one) and you may get better airflow from existing air filter that gets it's air from the front of the car. Concentrate on thing that make the car safer. Eg slotted rotors, and while you have that apart, give the brake calipers a nice coat of high temp paint. No need to take them off to paint, simply clean then well and mask everything to stop over spray. Then maybe consider suspension upgrade. Not nessecarily coil overs but just better springs on existing struts.. Something like KING Lows (not the king that make the cheap dodgy camping gear). Finally some nice 2nd hand mags to enable bigger tyres to also improve handling and braking. Doing these things will make the car sound good, look nicer and stop and handle better.

[Yowie]

Welcome.

[General statements follow - not specific to a 1999 Liberty RX]

The stock intake system is known to be pretty good up to a pretty robust power level. Of course the need to modify, have better sound, etc. is valid - it's your car.


If you change the diameter of the pipe containing the MAF sensor the car will need a re-tune, so factor that cost/complexity into your plans & decisions.

As Stifull noted above, there are a few options (DIY or off-the-shelf) that involve pod filters. Performance on a low-power to medium-power car would probably not improve, but could get worse if you're drawing hot engine bay air. Of course, if you want the look and sound and don't mind lost performance then have at it.


On my SH Forester I removed the "milk bottle" and extended the secondary airbox intake to the front of the car (see link below).

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=36234&start=15

Since that was posted I've removed the last piece (the forward-facing silicone 90-degree piece) to have better access to the tow hook for motorsports days and to reduce the amount of grit that ends up in the air filter. Less "ram-air effect" but easier to live with.