the noby booth chronicles

[livelaughlevin]

Hey guys,

today my noby booth airbox arrived from japan. as some may know i drive a rhd kouki levin coupe with a 20v bt swapped in. it has been running open stacks for a long time but i have finally decided to go with an airbox in the hope of preserving my engine a bit better.

before buying the noby booth unit i tried to find as much information as i could, as i usually do before buying something, but i struggled to find info on this airbox. This is why i have decided to take this matter into my own hands and make a detailed series of the process of installing it and to share as much info for the world to see so that people have a better idea of what they're getting than i did.

some preliminary info: i ordered the box only, i have measured the inlet to be 80mm (information that was not on the internet for some reason) so i will be installing a universal 80mm filter and some piping but it seemed kinda wasteful of the shipping and tax costs to get that from japan too
i have bought a set of 30mm SP-TEC stacks to run inside the airbox, i currently run 70mm stacks so i hope i don't lose too much sound and low range...

the box seems to be well made but the carbon is a bit too stretched out in places.... nothing too terrible for a 200 euro box tho

---

couldn't help it

[livelaughlevin]

the baseplate of the airbox has a pretty irregular surface... i will have to try and rectify this somehow (by use of orbital sander and blocks with sandpaper). I also already figured out some mods. Putting the dome onto the baseplate is pretty hard as the screw holes are sunk into the baseplate. Luckily another hobby of mine presented a solution: guitar strap buttons!
they are funnel shaped and exactly the right size, i drilled out the hole a little bit and now they can act as a blind guide for the screw. Since i was in the process of misusing guitar parts i used the felt ring that one can find under the strap button and placed it under the washer of the screw which would press on the carbon fiber.... adding the felt ring stops the washer from sliding off all the time and may also help stop it from vibrating loose mid drive.

[livelaughlevin]

a small test fit has been done. seems like there is plenty of space in the back and on the sides so i am not worried about fitment anymore (ofcourse the box was designed on rhd cars so it makes sense that it fits nicely)
you can slide the box so far back the front itb falls off the baseplate a bit. i will be following the markings on the baseplate as i think they're pretty much spot on. i will have to trim the rear trumpet and maybe the front one too.
it also easy fits onder the cusco strut bar.

the baseplate of the box itself is a bit curved, carbon fiber is flexible so i'm sure this won't be a big issue but i will be making a nice thick gasket anyways for both the trumpet side and the itb side so it won't whistle.

furthermore i will probably add something on top of the screws that would enable me to loosen and fasten them by hand.

---

[banpei]

Is the base that far off? Or aren't your throttle bodies fully aligned to begin with?

[livelaughlevin]

(03-01-2024 05:09 PM)banpei Wrote:  Is the base that far off? Or aren't your throttle bodies fully aligned to begin with?

the base is that far off... it is convexed inwards. Like i said it'll probably be fine as cf is plenty flexible but all the more reason to run a good gasket i guess

it is very evident that this solution is anything but plug and play!

[livelaughlevin]

spent quite a bit of time sanding today, the baseplate is pretty much even now. I'll give it a coat of black around the inside edges and then give it a nice clear coat and polish.
my guitar hobby yet again provided something interesting: amplifier feet!
they fit the screws perfectly and now act as knobs so i can turn the screws by hand instead of needing a 10mm every time i want to remove it.

i noticed that even with very light tightening of the screws the baseplate deforms... i am currently debating whether this is a big enough issue to warrant an internal skeleton to be made (two pieces of metal tubing attached to the dome side that slide over the screws that won't allow deformation of the baseplate, this will have to be very well coordinated with the blind guides i diy'ed tho) overall i'm having a great time modding the noby booth box!

[livelaughlevin]

baseplate is kinda straight now and has been coated with epoxy... couldn't help but make it a modern art piece

[Power_uP]

Is that a Ibanez RG in the background? Please show.

[banpei]

No, it's a cat!
J/K AFAIK Kaya does collect guitars

[livelaughlevin]

(03-21-2024 05:40 PM)Power_uP Wrote:  Is that a Ibanez RG in the background? Please show.

the blue one is an ibanez az prestige series.... besides a crippling jap car obsession i also have a crippling jap guitar obsession. I also have an rg2550ex.
I'll post a pic of the collection when i get home