THOR Cowl Intake Thoughts

75SV1 said:

Any pics of EMC (computer) location?

Click to expand...

Sure thing. I made a custom battery box with an ECM mount years ago.

Thanks for the pic.

Been running the Thor for 2 years now. The noise is overblown. Turn the radio up if it bothers you that much. Mine isn't a daily but I do drive it a few days a week. I do notice a much better throttle response and especially going up grades made a huge difference holding rpm.

JC93XJ said:

Been running the Thor for 2 years now. The noise is overblown. Turn the radio up if it bothers you that much. Mine isn't a daily but I do drive it a few days a week. I do notice a much better throttle response and especially going up grades made a huge difference holding rpm.

Click to expand...

Lol, there is always someone who says "just turn up the radio".


To each is own. I had my cowl intake for 7 years and as I get older I want my vehicles to be as quiet as possible. Not "overblown" for me.


I think if you are the type that installs glasspacks, removes the carpet, and likes boom-boxes then you will almost certainly not care about the sound of a cowl intake. I'm no longer one of those people.

ngrover said:

3) it's a trade off between what should be a better flowing intake vs air temp. I don't imagine the cowl intakes with all their bends and inline cone filters flow all that well compared to a filter sitting directly on top of the throttle body. EngineMasters did a dyno comparison of 19 different air filters and I found it eye opening: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x693421

Click to expand...

That was a good episode but it hardly applies to FI and no studies were done on tubing/length/bends. I'm curious as to why and how you got a 68mm throttle body on it? My stroker only runs a 62mm TB! I see your filter set-up as fairly restrictive and you haven't done anything about your PCV system.

What about a mini hood scoop over your filter? That's the only way you'll get cold air I can think of

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

I haven't run it with the t-body yet. The PCV will get done. I have 10 things going on at once including the t-body, manifold, air cleaner, t-case swap....



I'm also in the middle of a stroker build, hence the supporting upgrades. I want to put all the external mods onto the existing stock engine first before I put the stroker in.


The filter shouldn't be restrictive. People run 10x2 air cleaners on v8's producing more power. Doesn't mean it's ideal but I'll give it a go. If not, I can fit a 14x2 filter assembly which should be more than enough.



The video is obviously not an apples-to-apples comparison for us folks running a closed-hood fuel injected 4.0, but I wouldn't say it "hardly applies". It does provide some insights. Running salad bowl with a filter on top was the least restrictive as it introduced the most direct flow for air into the carb. I can't run a salad bowl but MAYBE eliminating a few feet of pipe and 2 90 degree elbows will help. We'll see I guess.


This was last nights project ( 2.5" down pipe ). When it all gets done I won't be able to tell you if the air filter swap alone made a power difference but it should be quieter!

SlowXj said:

What about a mini hood scoop over your filter? That's the only way you'll get cold air I can think of

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Yup that's a good idea! I will do something like that if I think it will help.

RCP Phx said:

That was a good episode but it hardly applies to FI and no studies were done on tubing/length/bends. I'm curious as to why and how you got a 68mm throttle body on it? My stroker only runs a 62mm TB! I see your filter set-up as fairly restrictive and you haven't done anything about your PCV system.

Click to expand...

The 68mm throttle body is from a Dodge Durango.


A long time ago I started my stroker build and began documenting it here:
https://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6250

I haven't updated it in a long time but I did outline the process of getting a 68mm throttlebody mated to a 99+ intake manifold.


I'm starting to hijack this thread so I'll not go into detail on it. If you want to know more PM me. I have it installed and I've had the stock engine running with it

Here's some reading/input for you!
https://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1162392

ngrover said:

Lol, there is always someone who says "just turn up the radio".


To each is own. I had my cowl intake for 7 years and as I get older I want my vehicles to be as quiet as possible. Not "overblown" for me.


I think if you are the type that installs glasspacks, removes the carpet, and likes boom-boxes then you will almost certainly not care about the sound of a cowl intake. I'm no longer one of those people.

Click to expand...

LoL unfortunately my rig is neither of that. But yea I do like quite and a clean interior. I think the benefit of a Thor over a stock box is worth the performance and the extra sound which is overblown

I made a home made Thor style intake using 2 3/4" piping with silicone 90 degree bends clamped onto the piping. Worked good, sounded good, but......during the afternoon monsoons in central Florida, when coming to a stop there was enough water coming off the roof and down the front windshield into the cowl that it would bog down the jeep and sometimes stall it out. Wasn't uncommon to see a bunch of white smoke coming from tailpipe while it was happening, moisture clearly going through engine. Got tired of the stalling so I put regular intake back on.

That suggests the filter was either too low in the cowl - or the wrong side of the Jeep (unless I've vastly underestimated the volume of water).