Swiss Chees Airbox Mod - Did I just help or hurt?

[trueX]

I have a 2011 WRX stock hatchback - I drilled 4 "1' holes in the airbox BEFORE the filter to make sure to not get added debris, sounds a bit better and seems to have better throttle response. Went off a friends rec, no CEL or anything so far but if its going to mess up my A/F ratio ill just black duct tape back over the holes. Opinions?

[Sinister]

That's a great idea. You should get a before and after dyno. I'll bet you gained a ton of power.

[trueX]

Sin, I really am new to all this and my buddy who graduated from UTI and is very good at tuning cars and modding etc. We got to discussing AEM cold air intakes and he just said "why don't you swiss cheese the air box (which I had never heard of)"? I had him explain and it seems to make sense, its not getting hot air from the engine bay I dont think as the airbox and holes are very close to the front grill. I honestly just cant tell if your being sarcastic or if the mod actually does some good, I didn't do it for the power though, if you were serious on the power gain then great but as a general rule of thumb he said "more air in = more power out" I was going to put another 2 holes or so in it but I don't want to screw my A/F ratio and be stuck with an air box full of useless holes. He said if anything it would make the A/F ratio better and maybe gain 2-3 mpg. Is he way off base? He is mostly a VW guy, he has some scooby exp, but hes on his third Jetta and I just didn't want to do a mod that works good for a jetta but hurts my wrx.

[zax]

He's an idiot. And why would you do that to a brand new car?

[michaelwfox]

[trueX]

So its a useless mod and just black duct tape over the holes? Ya I know doing anything to a new car knowing how little I do is dumb I admit but I put my trust in other sources I guess I thought were reliable :/

[zax]

You have to think of it this way: if it would gain 10whp and improve the fuel economy by 10%, why wouldn't Subaru do this from the factory?

[trueX]

zax, very very good point, I always wonder on these $20 mods or so that say they increase this and that when subaru R & D puts thousands of dollars in making the car run correctly. Holes duct taped over already :/ - Ill just get an AEM cold air when taxes come in I guess

[EJ257]

Sin, I really am new to all this and my buddy who graduated from UTI and is very good at tuning cars and modding etc.

Since he's so good at tuning cars, and recommends this "mod", what does this do to your AFRs?

Moral of the story: don't listen to this guy again...

[trueX]

ya I currently have no way to monitor my A/F ratio so that was my main worry but he said from the factory they are a bit overcompensated for (for lack of a better term) so I trusted him and did the mod. Its already fixed with 3 layers of black duct tape covering the holes, looks 100% like it did before the mod. Live and learn I guess. I did like the more throaty sound and maybe it was just in my head but I did like the quicker throttle response but that mod is no where near messing up a new car. Thanks for being kind to a noob guys <3

[Uh Oh]

He graduated from UTI. Instant sign you shouldn't take his advice.

[spirited09wrx]

another point of advice nobody mentioned. Ask before you do silly mods your friends tell you about

edit: i do believe he'll need a tune with the AEM intake...survey says?

[free2be4ever7]

I have a lot of friends that have graduated uti and have a very good understanding of what there doing. Don't knock uti because some kid doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyone can talk like they know what there talking about.

[Killerkanadian]

The name is the first red flag.

[poly_poly-man]

it definitely won't screw up your A/F, since it's before the MAF sensor.

It can't be too bad, since it won't let particles in, since it's before the filter.

It can't be good, since the filter is still a major bottleneck compared to the rest of that stream, and all the air that is let in is warmer than it could be (and it makes it so less air comes from where it's cool).