Opel Drilled Airbox Experiment

thoufique · 13th November 2006, 19:37

Hello, I recently tried out the famous corsa drilled airbox for better performance and the intake growl. here is my take..

Here is the chart that convinced me to try it in the first place..
http://www.tomstickland.co.uk/astra/astradata/gdata.htm

I have a opel corsa 1.6 gsi with dual fuel (gas and petrol ) and i have a K&N panel filter installed.

The opel airbox is knwon to be very restrictive. It gives you a great smooth ride but performance is damped...
If u are going to try this try it at your own risk. The idea is to drill the front and the side of the air box with equally spaced holes.. Do not drill the engine side or the bottom of the air box because the engine might end up sucking in hot air from the engine bay and u will end up with a decrease in performance

I set about the task by removing the filter box and getting my drill machine in place with a 3mm drill bit. Diconnect the battery while you drill the airbox for an hour or so to recet the ECU.

Here is the front drilled..

Here is the side .. the side opposite the engine

I fired her up on petrol and took her for a ride.. pure exhillaration. Quicker response and i was able to touch top speeds with ease.. not to forget the deep intake growl...

Then the bubble burst.. i swtiched to gas and it wudnt even idle on gas.. i increased the gas intake to the maximum,Still wudnt idle and the pickup was too sluggish.. The mixture was too lean to run on gas...

So either had to get a bigger Gas vaporiser ( the gadget tht converts liquid lpg to gas and feed in to the engine) or had to get back to my OEM air filter box... So now i am running with another air box i picked up at a second hand market place(pudupettai in chennai).

and now i am wondering if i should get rid of the gas kit.. I have this huge crawing for performance now..
Let me know what you guys think.

Mpower · 13th November 2006, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoufique

Then the bubble burst.. i swtiched to gas and it wudnt even idle on gas.. i increased the gas intake to the maximum,Still wudnt idle and the pickup was too sluggish.. The mixture was too lean to run on gas...

So either had to get a bigger Gas vaporiser ( the gadget tht converts liquid lpg to gas and feed in to the engine) or had to get back to my OEM air filter box... So now i am running with another air box i picked up at a second hand market place(pudupettai in chennai).

There is a screw that is used to adjust the gas flow just like a carb. No need for a bigger vaporiser. Take it to your gas installer. Ask him to adjust only the idle screw.

v1p3r · 13th November 2006, 20:29

What's really interesting to note is that he says the Corsa GSi 1.6 mill is "renowned for its tuning potential". Sounds interesting...

z klasse · 13th November 2006, 21:28

what you have done is just created the normal airflow get disrupted. The opel has a nice inlet of air from the front grill and what you feel has a lot of pick up is just the slight growl of the engine. It is more psychological than performance. go back to the stock airbox and put in a k&n panel filter and then see the difference. I have owned a corsa and have tried various things and trust me it is not a engine 'renowned for its tuning potential'

It is a strong engine good for use for long highway runs. Not meant for immediate acceleration. Go back to the stock and try what I have told u. See the increase in performance then.

thoufique · 14th November 2006, 09:17

@z_klasse : i am running back on a stock air box but i gotta disagree on the performance being the same part. i felt a definite difference on a butchered air box ..

@Mpower : i am aware of the idle screw and i had unscrewed it to the max.. still enough gas wasnt flowing in.

Anyway giving the car 2day for a free flow kit.. lets see how tht goes.

13th November 2006, 19:37	#1
thoufique Newbie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: chennai Posts: 12 Thanked: 0 Times	Hello, I recently tried out the famous corsa drilled airbox for better performance and the intake growl. here is my take.. Here is the chart that convinced me to try it in the first place.. http://www.tomstickland.co.uk/astra/astradata/gdata.htm I have a opel corsa 1.6 gsi with dual fuel (gas and petrol ) and i have a K&N panel filter installed. The opel airbox is knwon to be very restrictive. It gives you a great smooth ride but performance is damped... If u are going to try this try it at your own risk. The idea is to drill the front and the side of the air box with equally spaced holes.. Do not drill the engine side or the bottom of the air box because the engine might end up sucking in hot air from the engine bay and u will end up with a decrease in performance I set about the task by removing the filter box and getting my drill machine in place with a 3mm drill bit. Diconnect the battery while you drill the airbox for an hour or so to recet the ECU. Here is the front drilled.. Here is the side .. the side opposite the engine I fired her up on petrol and took her for a ride.. pure exhillaration. Quicker response and i was able to touch top speeds with ease.. not to forget the deep intake growl... Then the bubble burst.. i swtiched to gas and it wudnt even idle on gas.. i increased the gas intake to the maximum,Still wudnt idle and the pickup was too sluggish.. The mixture was too lean to run on gas... So either had to get a bigger Gas vaporiser ( the gadget tht converts liquid lpg to gas and feed in to the engine) or had to get back to my OEM air filter box... So now i am running with another air box i picked up at a second hand market place(pudupettai in chennai). and now i am wondering if i should get rid of the gas kit.. I have this huge crawing for performance now.. Let me know what you guys think.
	() Thanks

13th November 2006, 20:29	#3
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,334 Thanked: 6,896 Times View My Garage	What's really interesting to note is that he says the Corsa GSi 1.6 mill is "renowned for its tuning potential". Sounds interesting...
	() Thanks

13th November 2006, 21:28	#4
z klasse BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 351 Thanked: 28 Times View My Garage	what you have done is just created the normal airflow get disrupted. The opel has a nice inlet of air from the front grill and what you feel has a lot of pick up is just the slight growl of the engine. It is more psychological than performance. go back to the stock airbox and put in a k&n panel filter and then see the difference. I have owned a corsa and have tried various things and trust me it is not a engine 'renowned for its tuning potential' It is a strong engine good for use for long highway runs. Not meant for immediate acceleration. Go back to the stock and try what I have told u. See the increase in performance then.
	() Thanks

14th November 2006, 09:17	#5
thoufique Newbie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: chennai Posts: 12 Thanked: 0 Times	@z_klasse : i am running back on a stock air box but i gotta disagree on the performance being the same part. i felt a definite difference on a butchered air box .. @Mpower : i am aware of the idle screw and i had unscrewed it to the max.. still enough gas wasnt flowing in. Anyway giving the car 2day for a free flow kit.. lets see how tht goes.
	() Thanks