Does the Ultimate airbox mod increase the noise?

Hello,

I am thinking about doing the Ultimate air box modification, how much doe it increase the air intake noise???

compared to? closed with the door on is quiet. Taking the door off is the biggest leap. Gets noisy.

I have completely removed the flapper door and the noise level is fine...but I read a couple of post that indicated when they did HighFives Ultimate airbox snorkle modification the noise level got loud!

I am looking for some opinions of people that have done the mod to let me know how loud the noise was before compared to after.

Loud? 

A relative term to be sure. 

Definitely won't be louder than your exhaust noise. 

Take off the airbox door and start the bike up. If the "added noise" from that isn't too intrusive for you, then Highfive's mod should be quieter I'd assume. 


All I know is the added "noise" from removing airbox door was quickly forgotten once I felt the increase in umph by doing that. 

I've done HighFive's mod and I don't recall it seeming any louder than the flapper stuck open. I also didn't notice any performance increase, but that was before the programmer and pipe. I did one ride with the door off after the air box mod and it was annoying so I put it back on. I wouldn't compare removing the door to HighFive's mod, removing the door was much louder to me.

honeybadger wrote:

I've done HighFive's mod and I don't recall it seeming any louder than the flapper stuck open. I also didn't notice any performance increase, but that was before the programmer and pipe. I did one ride with the door off after the air box mod and it was annoying so I put it back on. I wouldn't compare removing the door to HighFive's mod, removing the door was much louder to me.

I appreciate the information...time to mod the air box!!!

SLOWRIDER wrote:

I appreciate the information...time to mod the air box!!!

Save your parts! I put the door back on. It was louder than the exhaust and quite annoying!

chabon wrote:

SLOWRIDER wrote:

I appreciate the information...time to mod the air box!!!

Save your parts! I put the door back on. It was louder than the exhaust and quite annoying!

Hello Chabon,

Are you talking about the flapper door or the door to get to the air filter???

SLOWRIDER wrote:

Hello Chabon,

Are you talking about the flapper door or the door to get to the air filter???

The air filter door makes a BIG difference. I bought the bike with all the mods and it was way too loud for me. The guy didnt save the parts so I had to find a air filter door and I also put the top assembly back on to get it back to stock. If I was younger (mas testosterone)  I might go for the noise. I want to protect what hearing I have left at this point!

chabon wrote:

SLOWRIDER wrote:

Hello Chabon,

Are you talking about the flapper door or the door to get to the air filter???

The air filter door makes a BIG difference. I bought the bike with all the mods and it was way too loud for me. The guy didnt save the parts so I had to find a air filter door and I also put the top assembly back on to get it back to stock. If I was younger (mas testosterone)  I might go for the noise. I want to protect what hearing I have left at this point!

Do you have your flapper door held open or are you totally stock?

I went totally stock. Has enough zip for me. I do some long trips, 300+ miles a day. The drone of the noise gets a little tiring. Might try pulling and plugging the vacume line so the door stays open when I have the seat off next time.

I seriously don't know what all this talk about "noise" is.....

Anything above about 30 mph and the wind noise cancels out anything from the airbox. 

Yes - it's "noticeably" louder at idle when you're standing next to bike. And maybe when putting through a school zone or neighborhood. 

Out in the real world, blasting back roads, stop light drag racing, hooliganism, and all around joy riding and the smile from having the xtra ummmph more than cancels out the "noise" from the airbox. 

Just to be REAL clear:

1) airbox door = completely removing the entire door that allows access to air filter

2) flapper = that little 2 square inch piece of shit on the snorkel part of the airbox under the seat

Getting rid of, or gluing down #2 won't increase noise at all and has little to no effect on performance

Getting rid of #1 is a god-send for those seeking more power - but there's a cost. You'll need a fuel programmer and there's some increase in noise - but it's not like the difference between a Powercore pipe and stock. You won't be waking the dead by removing #1. ( the other cost is potential water and dirt entry into airbox area - depends on your riding environment) 

Here's the great deal about #1 - it's one screw and two e-clips with pins to remove, and it can be re-installed in minutes. 

Playing captain destructo with the airbox means permanent alterations that can't be reversed without purchasing a whole new bunch of parts. 

At any rate - don't be scared of the "noise". It's by no means turning your little 250 into a straight-piped harley or anything.

Ya, I think there are a lot of variables involved here. My helmet is pretty air tight (with ear plugs) so the wind doesn't make much noise, I thought the noise was the Powercore pipe, put on stock muffler and still sounded just as loud. I'm prone to migraines and thought I would have to sell the bike as I got a headache every time I rode. Put on door and instant improvement, now all I hear is road, and chain noise. And yes, I did sacrifice some power, its all a trade off. And your right about riding environment/riding style. Part of the fun of the bike is experimenting and setting it up to your particular likes and needs. I did like blurbing the throttle when it was loud   


Easiest thing to do is take it off and try.



Somewhere in Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico......  


IMGP2313.JPG by DDMcGinnis, on Flickr

My air box is completely gutted of the inner snorkel and flapper....which is much simpler and reverseable, compared to the ultimate mod.
Anywho, the noise that created isn't as bad, as the door off...and even with the door off, is nothing compared to my PC4 pipe.
Ya you can hear it at times...if your looking for a difference.
But you'ld be pretty anal to critique that paricular difference...

Slowrider forgive me if I contributed to the thread getting away from what you actually asked. To bring it back in: If you already have the flapper stuck open as you do and do the airbox mod exactly as HighFive did http://www.wrrdualsport.com/tech-guide/air-intake/77-airboxmod will you notice an increase in noise? I did exactly that and no I did not notice a difference at all at any speed. The only other thing I ever tried was the airbox door removal and I did notice it and seemed extra annoyed with it for no noticeable benefit beyond the airbox mod. I read the information HighFive posted about tuning on a Dyno before and after the airbox mod. Between that and my own experiment with the air filter door off I concluded that his airbox mod would leave me with all the air I could use with just a pipe and programmer no need to do more. After it's done right you can't tell it was done at all without listening or looking really hard. My opinion is go for it. I did and I haven't happened upon even a mild reason to regret it. Please post back for posterity what your results are.

This is an interesting thread to me - it's as much about air box mods and their efficacy as it is how we perceive the sound level. 

First my two cents regarding the air box mod - I'm at about 5500 ft above sea level and have dialed in my first 1/8th throttle O2 via the WR's built in programmer. With the air box door off I noticed a definite improvement in off the line acceleration and throttle response (all things relative - it's a slightly overweight 250). The top end felt a little hesitant which was odd to me as I expected the fuel injection to accommodate the additional O2. My final thoughts on performance - the door off could be a good mod if there was a  programmer involved.

 Now my thoughts on sound level - Aack! That was too loud! In contrast to some other posts here the idle was NOT that loud for me nor was high speed cruising. Accelerating hard and working through the gears at near WOT was very loud and just too much noise.

A bit about how we hear things - I'm a recording engineer/musician of about thirty years. I go out of my way to protect my hearing (not saying I always have) - 32db reduction foam ear plugs and my helmet, often with visor down and as many vents closed as possible. What we get from this type of set up is a general attenuation of high to upper mid range frequencies (like rolling down the tone knob but leaving the volume the same) - we're doing almost nothing to stop lower and mid range information from our bikes. Without these things in place the upper frequency info is masking the lower/mid range stuff. 


Analogy - When the sun just starts to go down certain parts of the color spectrum start to pop and things look good, cars look shiny, etc. That's because the blue part of the spectrum is the first to go after sunset and the blue spectrum can be a little dirty or hazy to our eyes. - Ear plugs and a helmet are similar to this in that the highs go away so the mids/lower mids become more apparent, sharper. 

For some of us hearing protection and the type of helmet worn is going to make the WOT stuff stand way out. For others with little to know protection and maybe an open face/non visor set up the wind and chain noise will mask the open air box note.

It's all about perception. I think the noise level before and after air box mods is going to be experienced differently from one rider to the next - I guess you just have to try and see (or hear).

Great explanation Sanluissound. 

Thanks, I appreciate all the advice.

Noise is definitely a subject thing, what one person thinks is cool drives another person crazy.

I think it is age thing!!! The older I get the quieter I want it.