Replacing the Air Filter


[BSD] Air filter replacement procedure:

  1. You need: 10mm and 8mm socket with long extension, or grab a long Phillips screw driver.
  2. Pull vac hose (thin) and other hose (thick) off of clip on air filter box. Air filter box is were the cool "Vrrrr" sound comes from in the engine compartment behind driver’s seat. It is black.
  3. Loosen about six 8mm nuts holding top half of filter box to bottom half. Then, loosen them some more. Loosen them the rest of the way (lots of turns.)
  4. Loosen 10mm nut holding clamp from air intake to air filter box.
  5. Remove hose from filter box
  6. Lift top half of box out
  7. Replace air filter with new one
  8. Install is reverse of removal, mostly. Tighten the air hose thing last.

Removing The Air Intake Baffle

[CA] I did an half an hour project after work taking out the air intake baffle in the fender, I had done this with other cars previously, and read of another NSX member talking about it as well, so what the….heck. Heres the sccop on how to do it.

Raise the driver side rear wheel enough to remove the wheel, remove wheel.

Carefully remove the inner part of the snap fasteners that hold the inner wheel well. The fasteners are supposed to be gently pulled out – I pushed a couple in gently, and it allowed the fastener as a whole to be removed. Just pull the ones above and forward of the wheel, as that id all the room you need. There will also be four (I think) phillips screws on the
lower part of the wheel well lining, remove these as well.

Looking inside the wheel well toward the intake you will see 2 10mm screws, remove these and as you follow the baffle aft (towards the rear of the car) you will see a third 10mm screw as well. Remove that and the baffle pulls right out with little effort.

The baffle is actually two parts and by removing just the two immediately visible screws, the forward part of the baffle can be removed.

By design, the baffle looks like a complete waste of time, and has very little airflow characteristics that would be beneficial. I am assuming it’s to trap whatever little water makes it inside the vent and to quiet the intake down. I can see how a ram air effect inatke tract would be very easy to make, and install…..

Reassembly is the reverse. Pretty easy, no special tricks or gimmicks. BTW, this is a good time to clean the wheel well.

I didnt get a chance to drive the car as it is a torrential downpour right now, but I did start it, and it sounds much better, if you blip (quick depression) the throttle, you can hear the air rushing into the intake…whoooosh! Especially with a K&N filter!