ChocoTaco369

i just got my FTRA in the mail. now, i gotta install the darned thing. to all the guys that have installed a FTRA or similar cold air kits, what is the best cutting tool to use in order to cut the plastic squares out of the airbox?

here is a picture to show the holes:



a hack saw seems way too big to make those little squares. what did you guys use to make the incisions?

thanks in advance for any input.

bene

iTrader: (16)

one word, dremel.

ChocoTaco369

don't have one. got a cheaper option

iamsickofitall

iTrader: (18)

get the $30 ryobi angle grinder at home depot, a thinner wheel for it will cost you another 3 bucks

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I used one of those retractable blade utility knives.
You just have to work at it.

bene

iTrader: (16)

Shraded knife... Heat the metal til its red, cut the plastic like its butter. Cheap and it gets the job done. You can file the imperfections down.

00454sscamaro

metal scisors- if you have them, forget the technical term.... i tired a muffler grinder, got hot plastic all over, tried dremel too same effect, idk about you, but i prefer not to be burned by little peices of flying plastic+ looks like **** compared to a clean cut. and id say a razor utility knife it was alil thinner plastic , but you hafto push so hard , it would be likely that you slip and need some stiches instead of cutting the stuff. if you have a craftsman "handycut" it gets most of it.

ChocoTaco369

well i gotta work my one day a week at sears tomorrow so i'll see what kind of hand tools i can get cheap. what's the best hand tool to cut this type of thick plastic? i say "hand tool" because i don't wanna spend more than $10

Mr Incredible

I used a jigsaw on mine. That worked pretty good.

00454sscamaro

snips.. thats the name.. heres a link, i think they would be the easist to use at the >10$ limit.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Long Beach

iTrader: (51)

I used some aviation snips and hack saw to get mine. Then i got a dremel tool (good little investment)

Cahill93Z28

i used a power drill to put pilot holes in for the line i wanted to cut, then used a hack saw.

ChocoTaco369

wound up using 2 different hacksaws. took me an hour just to cut the stuff. next time i'll spend the money on a jigsaw...i'm glad that install is over with. took me 3 hours...and it was hot out.

00454sscamaro

.... man snips would of took 15 minutes- max.

Mr Incredible

Pilot holes and a jigsaw took me about five minutes...

ChocoTaco369

lol unfortuantely i took the cheap college kid route with the $5.99 hacksaw and $1.79 220 grit sandpaper.

the thing that pissed me off is i just get done cutting all the stuff and my dad comes over and goes "why didn't you use my jigsaw?"

i'm like "what? i asked you last night if you had a hacksaw and if i had to buy one, why didn't you tell me you had a jigsaw?"

lol i felt like ****, my hands were numb from an hour and a half of cutting

Photochop

iTrader: (74)

So did you get finished up with the install? Did you notice much of a gain? I bought one used from a board member and it's supposed to be here tomorrow...gettin anxious

ChocoTaco369

i'll write a review on it later. the install was a pain in the *** and took me 3 hours, but again, about 2 of them were cutting and sanding with a damn hack saw and sand paper. if you have a jigsaw, you'd cut that 2 hours to 10 minutes.

i spent a total of about an hour underneath my car. i actually lucked out because right as i was about to put the actual scoop into the car (the part that's a pain for a single person), my buddy rolls up and helps me, so we get the scoop in and bolted in place in all of 10 minutes.

the feeling of a gain is kinda funny. from 0-60 there is probably no change. then, all of a sudden, like clockwork as soon as i hit 60 mph there's a big difference. you know that roller-coaster feeling, that rush in your chest you get when you drop down that big hill? i've never gotten that in my car before. after the FTRA, i got that feeling climbing from 60-100 (then again, i have 2.73's so my car is a freight train pulling from 60-100). the funny feeling was, i got that roller-coaster feeling going up a small hill. mind you, i got this feeling in the middle of a hot day. my car felt a lot faster that night when temps were ~65*, but i didn't WOT it because frankly, there was traffic on the roads and i don't like speeding like an idiot at night time.

all in all, i'm pleased. it was definitely worth the money, and i'm very anxious to see if there is a fuel economy gain - although i won't be able to tell this tank because of my series of WOT runs. i'll write a review and comment fully after i fill up.

all in all, from 0-60 i'd guess a 0-5 rwhp gain, but after 60 mph and easy 10-15 rwhp gain. it's a big top end puller for sure.

Iron Sights

Sounds like you've got a weak stomach. Cool, mine has been sitting in my house for almost 5 months. I really need to quit being lazy and install it.

BigDaddyBry

iTrader: (15)

Seafoam.