[Jaxonalden]

JHandy

You can run without airbox (nothing more than a panel). The performance degradation with drawing in engine heated air will probably offset the free breathing benefits your getting from replacing your OEM airbox. I see you live in Texas, I can just imagine the under hood heat that's being produced and in turn being drawn into the intake with no "airbox". I'm sure I don't need to tell you how dense the air is at that temp. Don't know? Try breating it yourself besides running an engine.

What I did when I installed my EVO was to install the top engine cover and remove the passenger compartment access panel. I then reached up to the airbox panel and felt all the way around to insure there was a complete seal. There was a gap at the top of the box/panel and engine cover, I used a dense foam to seal off the engine compartment heated air and to allow it to draw all air through the drivers side intake duct.

FYI, with the snorkel installed the air intake is choked down to pretty small orifice. Remove the snorkel and the hole is doubled. Remove the airbox and that hole is doubled and with the EVO the intake the air has a straight shot to the intake tube.