could try swapping the air box and battery around, I would turn the battery so you wouldn't have to have sharp bends in the intake pipe around the battery. doing this would obviously require custom work for battery mounting and intake pipe fabing. could go all out and relocate the battery to the trunk, but then that's a lot of new battery cable to run and tuck away. I'm not saying my idea about switching the battery and air box would work, but you could pull the air box assembly out and measure (and pull battery and set in for time being) to see if the battery would sit too high or not allow decent room around it for intake piping. Good luck with this

*edit* maybe consider moving the battery toward the engine and put the filter next to the battery and relocate the relay boxes on the fender. It wouldn't hurt (other than radio setting, radio time, and just your time) to remove the battery and air box and just start moving the battery around that area to see where you can have the battery out the way with as little fabbing as needed (unless you like fabbing, then go a lot if needed), but also keep the intake piping from having sharp bends.

quick side thought about this tho, I would make some kind of shield to the engine bay so that it is a cold air intake, not just a fancy looking intake tube with a pretty filter that sucks in engine bay temp air

 

It's debatable how much the cold air intake will affect the engine performance. But aside from that, there are some pictures in this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...com/forum/130-7th-generation-1993-1997/414083-cold-air-intake-vs-short-ram.html. (7th gen is basically the same under the hood.) The pictures near the bottom show the battery moved toward the engine (like Countryboy90 suggested) and the intake routed around it. Maybe you could get a smaller battery also.

 

Thanks for the reply, guys!
I am definitely leaning towards battery relocation to the trunk for two reasons: One, It seems easier than trying to swap relay boxes and shit like that (or is it?). Two, (more of a stupid reason) is that I just bought this battery from O'Reilly's two weeks ago or I would just buy a smaller battery and move it around. Thanks for showing me that thread, DrZ. Sounds like I'm not the only one encountering this dilemma. And Countryboy90 have you ever manipulated the relay box or taken a good look it it? I ask cause I hate to screw it up or something. I still have a few other mods I want to get to before I tackle this project, so I have plenty of time. Thanks guys!

 

Oh and DrZ,
Check this video from Might Car Mods on cold air intakes. The results are surprising!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJRL30YS6XFxq9Ga8W2J3A

 

I was thinking that if you needed some space maybe look into unbolting them from the fender and move them. iirc from when I did my 4afe to 4age swap the wiring to those to relay boxes goes forward and the boxes are the end of the line for the wiring. (cant remember for certain, its been a while since I swapped engines/trans)


I personally haven't done a cold air intake on these, I thought about it, but since my Prizm has a air flow meter, I never cared to mess with it. All the idea's I came up with were made by just looking at the pic you posted and thinking about it a little bit.

 

I'll have to look into moving the relay box. If it looks easy to move than maybe, otherwise I guess I'll keep looking into battery relocation.

 

most vehicles including these pretty much have a stock cold air intake lol, how is changing the piping and locating a filter inside the engine bay going to make it cold? if you notice any power gain, its usually do to changing of the filter. doesnt your stock airbox receive air from outside the vehicle? Unless you run a heat shield all the way down the piping, and that takes space.

 

I see your point, C.Sterwart. CAI filters are free flowing, and also last the lifetime of the vehicle. You can specifically route a CAI wherever you need to get the coolest air and they generally have larger diameter piping, too. Also, Factory air boxes are made with only one thing in mind, and that's noise. Auto manufactures don't put very much time/money into a free flowing intake system as the consumer doesn't care. All they want is quiet, so that's exactly what Toyota was shooting for, not a free flowing performance style intake system. With the CAI filter being directly behind the headlight with larger piping, the air is fresh right from the outside world and goes right into the engine. Sorry for the rambling. Hope I made sense!

 

You do make sense, but also have to realize manufacturers design vehicles with very specific things in mind, performance, reliability, etc. Your going to get the best running engine leaving it stock and changing your filter. Turbulence does help engine performance, helps the fuel atomize and flow into all ports, even pistons are designed to create some turbulence. I guess in my rambling im getting at these vehicles arnt meant for performance haha. I guess what you could do is buy a brand new AF, dyno, install a CAI and dyno.

 

I don't entirely agree with the statement that making modifications won't help.

Car manufacturers make cars with limitations all the time...sometimes on purpose, sometimes due to cost, and sometimes because of poor engineering.

Until someone actually throws the car on a dyno with a before and after, it isn't truly known what effects on MPG/performance are really to be had.

MOST cars will have an increase in MPG and performance when some type of intake is introduced over the stock air induction - this is usually because the stock setup has quite a few bends, varying sizes in pipes - and is built to fit the car and air filter rather than worrying about 'peak performance' from an air induction perspective. The IS300 has been proven to have a better stock system than aftermarket, but this is rare (and was dyno proven).

If you're concerned about the battery you have 2 choices....

1) buy an expensive, small / high amperage racing battery and put the filter wherever you want
2) relocate the battery

It really is about as simple as that.

 

I could not agree more with your post :grin:. My battery is not even a month old, and it costed me $150, so getting a smaller performance battery is not my preferred route of action. With that, do you know anything about battery relocation to the trunk? Thanks!

 

Cold air intake

Don't do it. Stock is a highly tuned, free flowing (large filter...look at a Tercel filter) intake from a cold location. With an EFI sensor!

Have you noticed the tuning chambers near the manifold? The big tuning chamber in the front corner of the fender?

Put your ear by the intake at idle. You can hear the wacky floating idle timing advance kicking in and out-- "poom, poom, poom...........................poom, poom, poom......................."

(Stock exhaust is also sophisticated.)

 

 

first pic i have a gutter elbow with hole drilled for sensor wrapped with tuck tape so the filter would fit better. 3rd is after relocating battery with battery tie down bar from a honda,a small sized ac delco battery, already had power wire from sub reused ground wire. going to be cutting the tray right out of engine bay. 4th is intake on my other car

 

Was relocating the battery easy? From what I understand this is all it really consists of:
1: Ground old negative battery terminal to chassis
2: Route positive (+) wire to the trunk.
3: Once battery is in trunk and positive terminal is routed to the trunk, ground batterie's negative terminal to chassis in the trunk.

Is my understanding correct? Would 4 gauge wire be good enough? Thanks!

 

before i put mine in the trunk i already had a sub wire running from the battery to the trunk. mines that thick red wire used for subs i have attached to the 3 main fuses in engine bay running to trunk where i had sub now have the battery. i ran my ground wire to a 10mm bolt on the side of trunk i sanded some paint down first. got a battery terminal i could stick my red sub wire into and clamp. drilled 2 holes in floor to sit the plastic battery tray on from engine bay. drilled a 3rd hole for the battery tie down to hold in place and connected one hook to hole and the other hook to part of the trunk on the side. i will take pictures of it all for you. the only thing is the battery should be in a box of some sort but ive been running it for few years now with no issues at all. car has started better because battery is in from the cold and weather. is also easier to help boost a car where its located.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing the pics!

 

I would recommend at least 2 ga... I've used 4ga but that can hamper the amperage to the starter.... a 4afe takes less amperage, but still....

I would also recommend using a 3 in / 4 out fused distribution block.... under the hood run the power from the battery to the "in".... on another "in" run a wire directly to the starter (to bypass the fuses).

I also like to add a 150A breaker within a few feet of the battery.... makes life easy if you ever need to "disconnect" the battery.

Run a 100A fuse for the power to the alternator, and then a separate fuse to the rest.

breaker:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150-AMP-12V.../360968066083?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item540b5f9423&vxp=mtr

distribution block like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-FUSED-D...734-/131362045273?pt=US_Car_Audio_Video_Distribution_Blocks&hash=item1e95c9bd59

 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Amplifier-Install-Wiring-Installation-Cables/dp/B00KRYPTZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1417639370&sr=1-2&keywords=2+gauge+wire[/ame]

I found 0 guage! Hows that gonna work? haha