I want to do the deckplate mod, but I am wondering if I really need the deckplate or if I could get by with just having a hole in the front of the airbox. My 1999 2wd 4Runner is never going to see anything other than city and highway driving and I want to know if there is any reason why I should use the deckplate. Will the car have trouble passing the visual or emmisions part of a smog check? Thanks for the help.

 

You never NEED to do the deckplate. I didnt. I drilled my box for more flow and got it. then I wanted more so I chopped the entire base off and got it but wanted even more flow. So I upgraded to the fipk for $200 more than I should have. I shoulda did Blues intake mod and saved major money. good luck and cant advise you of your stuff on the smog crap being i dont deal with it here

 

You should be perfectly fine (emissions-wise) to run with just a cutout in the airbox.
Here is what Gadget had before the deckplate mod was popular:



If you don't do any offroading at all, then I would have no problems with just doing the cutout.

 

do the deckplate mod if you want to cut a hole for more airflow but still be able to close it up for offroading (such as water crossings where having a huge hole in your airbox would suck)

-Russell

 

I did the deckplate mod over 2 years ago and haven't installed the cap since (over 50,000 miles). However, I used the flange on the inside of the deck plate (the portion permanently mounted to the box) to install some window screen material which keeps a lot of the "chunky" stuff (bugs, leaves, etc.) from entering the box. Also, you never know when you may really need to close it up. The plate and additional material (i.e., silicone sealant) is only about $12 - $15 and takes less than an hour to install.

 

I took off the spoiler and drilled holes in my 93 pickups intake, and it's been raining heavily lately, there should be no problems right?


Im in the process of doing blu's intake too

 

The only time i put it back on is to clean the engin compartment. Also, if it rains a lot and there are huge puddles on the road. I'm not sure if that would hurt the engin but I just wanted to be safe.

 

More opinions?

 

If you don't like the idea of cutting the intake out why don't you just remove the elbow? I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it...

I personally have the deckplate and it is pretty reassuring to know that I can just plug up the hole in about 30 seconds time if needs be.
I have been running probably about 20-30K miles with mine.

 

Yoter, is there a writeup on Blues Intake Mod? If not, what does it consist of?

 

Any thoughts on the deckplate and gas mileage? I did the deckplate a while back and it seemed like my mileage was worse.

 

Gas mileage gets better...but most of the time foot gets heavier too.
No, this mod will help, not hurt gas mileage.

 

Maybe the foot being heavier was the problem

I guess the more agressive noise leads to more agressive driving!

Are there any other mods out there that can help with gas mileage? My problem is that I've went from a 2 mile one way commute each day to a 36 mile one way commute each day. Obviously I'm feeling the new gas expenses.

 

Regarding your question on improving your gas mileage, there've been a lot of threads on this...

The biggest bang-for-the-buck are your driving habits. Light foot, good timing (in your head, not the engine), more coasting, etc.. I also experimented with my ECT and O/D and found that I got better mileage with the ECT in "PWR". I also only disengage O/D for descending the steeper hills.

 

I thought with the ECT on it would lower gas mileage?

 

https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech/blu_intake/blu.htm

^ blu's intake mod

 

I can't wait to do my deckplate mod!

 

i did the deckplate mod, and i've never put the deckplate back in to cover up the hole. even flooring it through foot deep water, my airbox was bone dry.