Hello everyone!

I was thinking about what I want my next big purchase was going to be, and I came up with a ram air hood. I was thinking about the ZZP Downpipe, but people that my mom and dad work with said I probably shouldn't get it because it will most likely mess with the computer and throw off some codes. Also, they said it would cost money to have someone install it, and they don't want me doing it. After all the fuss, I just thought I'd let the downpipe arguement simmer down and maybe ask about trying to get my crummy little hands on it later. But for now, I was wondering about the hood.

I've checked out a few hoods (MPD, and PFYC). The MPD hood is WAY to expensive, but I like how it's insulated and how high of quality the port is. The PFYC hood is more affordable, and it looks to me like the port would work just fine. With both of these hoods, will the port lead directly to the CAI? Are there any other hoods like these (functional ram air hoods) at an affordable price?

Thanks,
Tyler

P.S. Thanks for reading my novel above, and ANY relevant responses are appreciated!

 

If i were you, i would do lots of research, research that shows that a downpipe can only beneficial to the engine as it would it allow to breathe better.
As far as messing with the computer, that would occur with a high flow cat, which is a good thing again for the vehicle, it would throw a 'code' on the dash, which is remedied with another good mod, a stage 1.0 PCM from ZZP ... which in itself has a few goodies for the car.
As far as the CAI, you should look into making one yourself from home depot supplies, its much much cheaper with similar gains.
If performance is your goal, ditch the hood.
headers - can be found relatively cheap on ebay.
cai- can be had for under 75, home made.
downpipe- hp gains aswell as ubend delete (of course you wouldn't need this if you go headers straight of the bat)
TUNED pcm - unleash some hidden gains from your car.

good luck, ditch the hood idea for now.

 

I got the hood from MPD and if you go to my garage you can see how it looks and yes it gos in to the top of the CAI once again you can see the pics in my garage .
Now MPD was more expensive but you get what you pay for the steel frame on there hood is a great way to guarantee a good fit and has a very little weight difference performance difference is minimal at speed I get 1 or 2 mpg more now and just a hint more power but you have to be moving to get that .
I did mine for the look first and what ever the HP gain or fuel economy I got was just a bonus.

 

As long as the bolts aren't too bad, a downpipe install is a cake walk. Here's info from when I did mine:
http://crzyz28.sytes.net/mycars/2004..._downpipe.html
The pipe will NOT mess with the car computer. The rear O2 sensor is the only part to have a complaint about the high flow cat. The rear O2 sensor has ZERO affect on performance, it's simply there to monitor the health of the cat.

Currently, I have not seen a code thrown as a result (but it has only been on a short time and the car parked in October for Winter). Originally, I was not going to re-tune my Monte anytime soon (plans have changed, I look to tune in spring with a host of other mods). But since tuning my Monte was at the time unattractive, before I bought the down pipe, I found a wonderful answer to the Check Engine Light problem (should it occur). Many people from Ford, GM and Import guys have used a modified Spark Plug Non-Foulers successfully to space the O2 sensor out of the exhaust stream (cheating it's readings). I was prepared to do that myself (I won't have a need to when I finish my mods in spring).

Just a thought. But I do understand where mom and dad are coming from. You probably depend on that car as a daily driver and they just don't want to see you do something that causes some serious headaches. Hit these forums, there are lots of great headache-free mods!

 

So ditch the hood (for now) and go with a downpipe from ZZP? I don't plan on doing the PCM anytime soon, just because I would have to take out the whole heat shield around the CAI and thats what took me FOREVER to install. If I do get the downpipe, what should the options be? Will it throw codes if I don't get the PCM? Will I be able to install it with just some jacks?

Thanks!
Tyler

 

Don't get me wrong, the ram air hood looks wicked sweet (BlazedSS is the most recent member on this forum to get one and it looks wicked awesome).
If you look at my web site here:
http://crzyz28.sytes.net/04monte.html
That shows all the mods I've done (with pics) and shows mods I plan to do (most my future mods I have the parts sitting around now). When I am done I will re-tune the PCM.

I completely understand where you are at (I was there and I'm crawling out of that spot, with a lot of education). In my opinion from what I've learned so far, none of your mods can work to their potential if the car can't "breathe" (basically exhaust it). So one of the best performance mods to do first is a new downpipe with high flow cat. I bought the stainless steel ZZP one (was a little more, but it will never rust). The factory DP has a 2" internal diameter, the ZZP pipe has a full 2.5" diameter. From what I understand, that is the biggest bottle neck in the exhaust, the second being the front exhaust manifold (solved with a ZZP Power Log).

From what I understand, there is no need for headers unless you plan on putting out over 300HP (and that number may even be a bit low).

Installing the DP can be done easily in the driveway. You could do it on jack stands so long as you can get the front of the car high enough. If you look at my pics, I chose to set the front wheels down on these home-made wooden boxes (on jack stands would have gave me more clearance, but I felt more comfortable with this option). I was lucky, my '04 Monte was not as rusted as others and the rear flange I recently had apart (so any problems with that, I addressed earlier). I think install took me and a friend 30-60 minutes. I noticed a little extra power, not much, but now it opens the world for all my other mods.

Again, the high flow cat may cause the car to throw a check engine code. The reason for this is because the rear O2 sensor does not like what it's reading, as it's expecting the readings it got from the factory cat. I have yet to throw a code, but most people here will tell you, they got it in about a month. Now, if I was not going to tune my car (as I originally planned, but my mods have grown a LOT, so now I think it's a must), I was going to solve the check engine light problem a different way. Here's a how-to guide:
http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-how...cel-light.html
I've research that method and a LOT of people with many different cars (domestic and foreign) used this method successfully. Sure, it's a gamble, but I think odds are in favor of it being a cheap band aid until you're ready to consider a tune.

That's my take on the subject. Again, do your research, but also understand where your folks are coming from. Since they are taking the word of other people, they themselves don't know a lot of what you are doing and have good reason to be apprehensive of you doing mods to the car that may harm your chances of driving it safely. Again, it is a daily driver and they don't want to see you turn it into something that CAN'T be driven. It's a valid concern. Again, do your research before jumping into anything.

 

I just want second what blazed ss says the MPD hood is awesome, bolts right in no issues on my en, my body shop guy (Person who painted it) said it is the best fitting aftermarket piece he has seen lineup on any car.

From people I spoke with in the past, the PFYC did not lineup as well, and was hard to work on getting onto the car.

I recommend saving more for the MPD hood, it is worth it in the long run, do it right the first time...

Joe

 

Thanks so much for the info Maniac! I really appreciate how you included the link with pictures from your downpipe install. It really helps comfort me about how probable it really is.

Thanks!

 

No problem! There are a lot of people that have done a lot of mods on this site. And you'll find a lot of mods are quite common.
Pre-warning if you do decide to do the down pipe, soak the nuts and bolts with a penetrating oil (such as PB Blaster). I'd repeat soaking them at least once a day for a week (I did that on mine). Depending on how rusty they have gotten will determine ease of install. Mine were not bad at all, install went text book.

I also noticed Montess2k gave more insight on the hood (which if I can ever pony up the money what him and Blazed have to say will play into my decision of where to buy I think). That's a ways in the future for me (if it ever happens at all).

 

on the topic of hoods, I may have stumbled on a 3rd vendor in that arena:
http://www.stingerfiberglass.com/pro...onteCarlo.html