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FWI install nightmare

W

War97gtp

New member
I wasn't planning on getting an intake but since zzp has their black Friday sale I snagged a FWI at 50% off. I already knew before I bought it there would have to be some slight modifications to get it to fit. Well after spending more time then I care to mention trimming the pipe about 2 inches and trimming the inside of the fender (not the bracket just the hole where the stock airbox attaches to), lining up the filter to get as much of it in the fender as possible and twisting the pipe around to get the right angle on it so it seals good near the throttle body I got it installed pretty decent (2/3 of the filter inside the fender).
Then of course I forgot the damn pcm. There is no way the pcm can fit in the space below the intake pipe where it originally sat (i tried several angles and i tried taking the pipe back off and laying in the pcm first but then it blocks the pipe).
My car being a 97 the coolant bottle is there and it seems as if it wasn't there then there would be enough room.
Needless to say im back to the stock intake. Does anyone have the zzp FWI on a 97-98 gtp? and if so what did you do with your pcm.

 
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have you considered relocating the coolant bottle? you can probably get a 99+ coolant bottle pretty easy/cheap.
 
Attach it to the underside of the diagonal brace...

but let this be a lesson to purchasing some items from ZZP... Not everything is at it appears!
 
Yes, after doing some research it appears the newer coolant bottle is the way to go. Gtppower did you need anything else besides the bottle itself to install it? (what did you do for the lower mount and can you reuse the hose)
 
I hate the strut tower coolant bottle.

I just got a universal one and mounted it up above the fans by the right side dog bone.
 


The proper hose came with mine. And, I just zip tied the lower mount. I think Intense sells the actual clip that goes there though.

I don't like the bottle there either, but at least it's easy to remove and get it out of the way for changing belts, etc.
 
I plan on buying a brand new one its only 27$ im not sure it comes with a hose though is my original hose long enough? and also I don't see a hole for the lower mount on my car after i looked around the lower part of the strut tower. IM beginning to rethink installing this intake and stick with the stock one if its such a hassle is it really worth it how much hp will I get out of it?
 
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The newer coolant bottle is the way to go. It made everything much easier on my 97. Also that bracket that's connected to the fender is realistically supposed to be cut off to allow the filter to fit right in so you don't have to cut/trim the intake tube. I'm selling a 99+ bottle if you're interested
 


Hose from my 97 fit fine on the new bottle, but make sure you have the white plastic piece for the bottom or you ar foo to the JY anyway and I got the bottle and piece for mine for $3.99 there
 
I know about the white plastic piece but like I said I don't see a hole anywhere to stick it into around where the lower mount would be for the coolant tank. I don't really want to cut the fender bracket out I read on another post that its a pain to do and I don't really want my car hacked up like that. I think its too late anyway as I already trimmed the intake tube and my pic shows about how far the filter can go on the end of the tube. I have a 3.6 Pulley coming in the mail (I have no KR) how much of a restriction will the stock intake be? if its less than 5hp I think ill stick with it.
 
Alright so I got the 99+ coolant bottle, hose and white clip/lower mount thing from a junk yard for 6 bucks today. It seems to be an easy install only thing is I cant figure out how to make a hole for the lower mount. I cant fit a drill down there by the pulleys and you cant drill from the wheel well on the outside because the body/frame is in the way.
 
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War97gtp said:
Alright so I got the 99+ coolant bottle, hose and white clip/lower mount thing from a junk yard for 6 bucks today. It seems to be an easy install only thing is I cant figure out how to make a hole for the lower mount. I cant fit a drill down there by the pulleys and you cant drill from the wheel well on the outside because the body/frame is in the way.
Click to expand...

I put a 99+ reservoir on my '97 4+ years ago. I just used two screws up top to mount it. Not once have I had an issue with it touching the belts or pulleys. It's been removed and re installed a bunch of times with no problem.
 
Ok well finally finished the install today lets just say it took a lot of time and patience. I did have a bit of luck as I was able to find a spot to drill a hole for the lower coolant tank mount from the wheel well.
After eyeing things up I drilled where I thought the mount should go from a nickel sized hole in the wheel well and luckily it was just the right spot (you have to drill on the upper right corner of the hole)



I used a smaller drill bit at first and went bigger because I didn't want the hole to be too big then the clip wouldn't be in there securely it came out pretty good sits nice and tight



The new coolant tank dropped in and sat on the mount like it was from the factory then I just got some self drilling screws and washers and bolted the top of the tank in on the strut tower. It came out better than I expected its solid as a rock doesn't move a bit. ( I ditched my junk yard coolant bottle and got a brand new one because I was uncomfortable with the amount of dexcool sludge there was built up in it).

I had to do some more grinding on the upper part of the hole in the fender where the stock airbox sits because the air filter was sitting too low and was pushing against the computer. Here is the finished product



I was just wondering with the 97 coolant bottle out of the way will there be more airflow to the area behind the headlight where my filter sits now?
 
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So after driving around for a day I measured my air intake temps with this setup using the torque app. After the car is fully warmed up with 40F ambient temp my air intake temps are between 80-90 just driving around town. If I come to a stop it goes up to about 120 after a few minutes. I should've tested the temps with the stock intake before I put this one on but these intake temps seem a bit high. I will be installing a 3.6 pulley in a few days and don't want high intake temps causing KR (this is especially important for me during the summer because I live in vegas when 100 degrees is the norm) Between the loud embarrassing suction sound on cold starts, my pcm being held down with a zip tie and now the temps im debating on going back to the stock intake. The only thing I like is the blower wine. Does anyone know or can anyone find out what their temps are with the stock setup?
 
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