can i use a cold air intake for a 85-88 on my 87 silverado?

[bigblue09]

i have a 87 silverado 305 fuel injected. i found a cold air intake thats for a 85-88 blazer. i was wondering if it would work. i am trying to improve gas mileage. and ideas?

[Dragon]

Fullsize Blazer, or S-Series When I still had my '89 K-2500 LWB Pickup, I could never find anything for below '90/93 that had the Dual Aircleaner Studs....

[bigblue09]

its for a full size blazer. here is the link http://www.innerauto.com/browse/year/1987/1988/chevrolet/blazer/fipk/?ref=S1161368748W453914ac6fba6&label=87+88+Chevrolet+Blazer+FIPK

[Dragon]

Huh for some reason those types of links never show properly....  Anyways, if it is the System I think it is with the Conical Type Filter,Straight Tubing, and a Cheap Plastic Throttle Body "hat" for $120-190 dollars then it is a waist of money....  You would be better off running an Open Element Type 4" Round Filter(K&N/Summit/Holley/Etc) to give your allow easier breathing, at half the cost...  That being said, both are actually Warm Air Intakes so really you would see more gains just using the Factory Air Cleaner Assembly, with the appropriate drop in K&N/Etc Filter....

If your set on doing that type of Assembly, Go to your Local You Pull, and Find a Same Era Cadillac Sedan Deville/Fleetwood/Etc, as you should be able to get ahold of the Throttle Body "Hat" for $5-20, the pickup some PCV Band Couplers,Clamps, and Length of 3" Diameter tubing, which should give you the same kit for a Serious Fraction of the Cost....

Again to Optimize your setup, you want to Duct Air from behind the Headlights into the Filter, to give you a true Cold Air Intake System....
This is Basically what you can do with the TBI Caddy Intake on a 305/350

I again would recomend that you Duct(Flexible Drier Duct Tubing is the Easiset and Most Affordable!) cold air from behind the Headlight Area, or inner fender area for Optimal Use....  Although to see the added benifits from this much of an Air Increase, it probably would be a good idea to have your EPROM Chip reflashed for said increase....

[bigblue09]

thanks for the idea. i like it, im going to look into it. is that just pvc pipe?

[Dragon]

Yep it was just painted by the owner, just to blend it in better with it's suroundings....  Most will use the white pipe and cut it to his needs.... Personally I don't. Mind a extra few cents or dollars, and just buy black tubing and cut to length(I have a Chev Caprice that benefits from most of the same mods, and I've used the mods sucessfully on others as well)...

[bigblue09]

can you really tell a difference in power and gas mileage?

[Dragon]

You know, as long as you have it working correctly, then yes you can see some gains....  With my current car I was able to notice a bit of an increase in power, of course that did effect my MPG's for the negative, but that's mainly cause I get a bit carried away with my Foot to the Gas Pedal

It's possible to see an increase of realistically maybe 0.5-3 MPG increase(Give or Take), so to have added benefits, you would see more of an increase with other items as well....  Making changes to your Exhaust system at the sametime, will allow it to not only inhale better, but also exhale more efficiently....

Granted I understand you can only afford so many improvements at a time, so long as you do this changes wisely, you can see a difference over all of the necessary areas.... Hence the reason I gave you the above option for a Home Made Budget Cold Air Intake, instead of the pricier aftermarket item(Which there is no Garantee that it will offer any added bonuses, let alone actually fit your truck)... If anything, you can always upgrade to a different more visually Pleasing System, when your funds allow....

A suggestion for Exhaust System when you eventually are able to change it beyond just shorty headers, remember don't get too crazy with the size, as a 305 only need so much, before it starts to choke itself from to trying to exhale too much....  Another words, I would recommend a Dual 2.25 System, from both Cats Back(Yep you will need to add a to the system, to make true dual setup) to the over the axle pipes..... Make sure that you also add a balance tube, to help keep the pressure balanced between the two sides....  Personally when I have a Vehicle that is 2wd, as opposed to a 4wd, I like to use an X-pipe in the system since you won't have the Transfer Case to clear....  Realistically you will notice move of an Improvement in Performance with the X-Pipe, as oppsed to the Old School Traditional H-Pipe, as the H will cause a bit of an Air-Bumper between the two sides... Where as an X-Pipe will allow pressure to properly balance, and flow from side to side....
 
Again besure any major changes you make(Exhaust and Such), you also have your EPROM Chip Adjusted to make the most out of those changes....

[bigblue09]

yea i do really want to do the headers and true duals. i got and estimate on it. if i buy the headers and have them put on plus 2 cats 2 muffelers and the rest of the pipes and installation was like 800 i think. what would be the difference in like power with shortys or long tube headers?

[Dragon]

Honestly you can easily build an Affordable system, then have a shop mount it for you, which would be anywheres from $60-200 depending on how complete the system is you brought them....

I'll PM you some ideas to hash over, and just build it as you go....

[bigblue09]

alright thanks.

[bigkountry]

You can also use the industrial plastic electrical conduit. The elbows fit seamlessly inside (so the snake/wires dont hang) so it makes it perfectly smooth inside with no distortion in airflow.

Some of the larger PVC pipes have a ridge inside when mated to the elbow.

Just my $0.02

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) please describe the setup you have now;  a picture would be oh-so helpful.
a) If the 85-88 air intake could be used, would probably depend if the shape/circular diameter of the throttle body is the same as a quadrajet carb, but let's examine the situation further before we make a move as questioned below.

2)i noticed that most F.I. cars i see have simple, direct ducting straight to the front of the vehicle.  Whereas most carburated cars have some sort of heat tube going into the air snorkle of the air cleaner.  Based on my research so far, it appears that warmer air for carbed cars actually helps mpg at the cost of power.  There is no question the colder intake air gives power gains at(apparently) some cost in mpg.

What i'm wondering now is do fuel injection systems have a means to compensate for various intake air temperatures----leaning out or richening depending on the situation?  And thus, they don't need warm air ducting systems?

[eventhorizon66]

Cold air is denser and more oxygen rich per given volume.  The more oxygen rich, the more energy the fuel mixture can potentially produce.  The cooler and denser air into the carb, efi, or whatever the better the power and potential fuel efficiency.  After the mixture has been metered by the carb or efi, once it's in the combustion chamber, the hotter the better, because more gas expansion = more energy.  The carb'd engines have those heat diverter valves (or whatever they may be called) to aid engine warm up and to prevent the throttle blades from icing over.  EFI doesn't need this because it can adjust the mixture as needed to warm up the engine as quickly as possible, and because of this they can take advantage of the coldest, most dense air charge available.  Haven't you ever noticed that the throttle response of almost any engine is a little sharper in winter than in summer, after the engine is fully warmed up?  I have.  If you use this little bit of extra power to decrease your amount of throttle input, it should also increase fuel economy.

I'm not an engineer, just my $0.02, based on what I think I know.  LOL.

Oh, and BTW quadrajet, edelbrock, and holley carbs (excluding 4500-series dominator-style) have the same airhorn diameter as TBI - 5.125".

[bigblue09]

yea the air warming duct is just for the winter to help the engine heat up faster. it will not make a difference if i just take it off and do the cold air.