Too cut or not to cut, that is the question.

[2and3cylinders]

I've reviewed all that I believe is available on the forums regarding trimming the airbox intake snorkel, including Dave from Vcyclenuts opinions and findings from his dyno runs.   It is my understanding that cutting the snorkel does not significantly increase horsepower to any real appreciable degree but does increase intake noise, which may or may not be "pleasurable" so to speak.

 I also know that the snorkel can be cut to varying degrees with with commensurate increases in intake decibels.  There is also the option of trimming back the sound attenuating and heat insulating foam on the underside of the fuel tank to improve air flow into the airbox filter cavity.  Again this 2nd modification is said to possibly improve performance but also again not too a significant degree; as well as increase intake noise.

 As I'm now doing a major maintenance service and have the fuel tank and airbox off and was going to change the air filter anyway, this would be the time to make these modifications.

 If any of you have done one or both of these modifications, your associated timely input would be much appreciated.

[skipperT]

I wouldn’t touch the intake snorkels. 

Removing the foam from the intake of the airbox lid/fuel tank area did change the intake sound a wee bit on my bike  

remember that Yamaha made that specific change of adding the foam vs the FZ/MT 09 models which lack it, due to the possibility of water intrusion and wanting to keep it out of the airbox. Just a heads up. 
-Skip

[betoney]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I've reviewed all that I believe is available on the forums regarding trimming the airbox intake snorkel, including If any of you have done one or both of these modifications, your associated timely input would be much appreciated.

I haven't changed the snorkle but did cut about a 4" section of the foam away from the front of the tank, I didn't notice any difference whatsoever.  I believe Nels from 2wheeldynoworks posted something up about this a few years ago, if I remember correctly he said removing the front foam resulted in .5 hp at max rpm- on a dyno... real world noticeable results though? probably not.

[peteinpa]

Haven't messed with the inside air box snorkel but my foam is gone.  I like the slight increase in intake  sound.  Was done together with ECU flash so I don't know what it does for power.

Nels was doing dyno work and didn't know why the FJ was low on power compared to the FZ. it was much more than .5 HP.  Removed the foam and power back up.  Got to find that.

[2and3cylinders]

4 hours ago, peteinpa said:

Haven't messed with the inside air box snorkel but my foam is gone.  I like the slight increase in intake  sound.  Was done together with ECU flash so I don't know what it does for power.

Nels was doing dyno work and didn't know why the FJ was low on power compared to the FZ. it was much more than .5 HP.  Removed the foam and power back up.  Got to find that.

The tank foam is for minimizing water ingestion in the rain; would a thunk.  I get the foam reducing intake roar and insulating the gas from engine heat?

I'll probably go with what the inscrutable Yamaha engineers provided, why should I second guess them?  1/2 or even 1.5 hp is not enough to sway me.  I'll be quicker, faster loosing the 20+ pounds I've packed on during the pandemic, though I can also easily blame my health issues.  Even loosing 20 only would bring me down to where I already had needed to loose another 5 or so.  Can't go too low though, then all my gear would be too loose. 🐷😱

Thanks guys...

 

[BBB]

I’ve done both, removed foam and cut the snorkel back. I did the latter because the original design looked like an unnecessary change in direction for smooth air flow. I’ve ridden in plenty of rain with no issues.

As for benefits, I can’t say how the changes decouple from each other as I changed to a free-flow filter, removed foam,   cut the snorkel, fitted AIS blanking plates, changed the exhaust and had the ECU flashed all about the same time. The bike is certainly smoother, noisier and more responsive, but I can’t hear any changes in induction noise over the louder exhaust.

Snorkel cutting: marginal, if any gains, no noticeable downside.

[2and3cylinders]

BBB, also thanks but you appear to have muddied the water doing so many changes at once.

It is strange how far the snorkel extends down into the airbox but maybe its interior shape smooths and directs air flow through the filter more uniformly.

I have noticed at each of my 4 air filter changes that the bugs seem to accumulate on the end third of the filter.  I've saved each filter and now with one used air filter tried lightly brushing, then blowing with compressed air, followed by washing with an oil dissolving dish detergent, thorough rinsing and blow and air drying, and finally treating it with K&N air filter oil.  It came out almost like new.  I'm not sure it was worth my time but if the remaining two were similarly restored in assembly line fashion, having such renewed spares ready to go can save quite a few shekels and be more environmentally friendly versus newly manufactured.  I've done this before on other models as many as two times each!  I come by my frugalness honestly, as my parents were already in grade school in 1929 and lived through the Great Depression and WW 2, and impressed on me and my older sibling (though not so much my younger) that restoration, recycling and hordng are tremendous virtues.  It really was almost a sickness I termed a "Depression Mentality" and became hard to resist.  My parents mantra was the old "There are children starving in Europe." (but of course no mention of the millions of starving American children and all those elsewhere to this day), and "we had ration books and had to stand in line for hours to get bread, sugar and meat.", etc..  My father actually saved and moved old (lead painted) wood from our old house on the south side of Chicago and dragged it up to our far north suburban house he built himself but never used in it.  My sister finally threw it out 65 years later when she cleaned out their basement!

[betoney]

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I have noticed at each of my 4 air filter changes that the bugs seem to accumulate on the end third of the filter.  I've saved each filter and now with one used air filter tried lightly brushing, then blowing with compressed air, followed by washing with an oil dissolving dish detergent, thorough rinsing and blow and air drying, and finally treating it with K&N air filter oil.  It came out almost like new.  I'm not sure it was worth my time but if the remaining two were similarly restored in assembly line fashion, having such renewed spares ready to go can save quite a few shekels and be more environmentally friendly versus newly manufactured.

Just throwing my opinion in here, would it not be even more frugal or environmentally friendly to buy a reusable filter?

I bought the GYTR filter, Yamaha's equivalent to or rebadged K&N, its twice the price of oem but one filter lasts the life of the bike.  I don't clean mine on a mileage or calendar based schedule instead clean it based on my riding conditions, sometimes several times each year. 

[2and3cylinders]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:03 AM, betoney said:

Just throwing my opinion in here, would it not be even more frugal or environmentally friendly to buy a reusable filter?

I bought the GYTR filter, Yamaha's equivalent to or rebadged K&N, its twice the price of oem but one filter lasts the life of the bike.  I don't clean mine on a mileage or calendar based schedule instead clean it based on my riding conditions, sometimes several times each year. 

True, I've considered that but I'd maybe have to then buy 2 so there's no down time, and just rotate and clean the dirty one at my leisure.

[2and3cylinders]

The latest on air box mods and filters from Dave at Vcyclenut, albeit on a 2021 MT09...

https://www.vcyclenut.com/intake-testing.html