One of the challenges of using the BPE Forward Facing Cold Air induction system with the James Cowl is that there is no 3rd party air box available to use with this combination. The air box is a particularly difficult component to fabricate as it is impossible to work accurately in that area with the lower cowl in place so all fittings and adjustments can be time consuming when designing a custom air box because of the repeated removal & replacement of the lower cowl.

We searched and searched for a K & N style cone filter that would fit the 3.75” opening of the Cold Air induction system (AFP FM-300) and at the same time fit in the confines of the lower cowl. It turns out that there is very little space front edge of the FM-300 and the lower cowl with the cowl curving upward significantly towards the “Smile” air inlet. Our goal was to keep the cowl intact and use the standard inlet vs. the major modification Deems performed on his SJ Cowl to make room for his air box and filter.

After realizing how tight the space was and when considering the need for alternate air from inside the cowl in case air filter began to ice up we settled on a flat high flow K & N filter hard mounted close to smile opening at an angle.

Following the filter installation about as far forward as we could place it we were left with only ~1/8” inch or so between the filter and the leading edge of the injector body. This was surprisingly tight. We looked and looked then finally asked BPE if the spacer behind the FM-300 was a required part. Apparently the spacer is only there to angle up the injector body 5 degrees to help clear the lower cowl. By removing this spacer we gained almost 1.5” which was as good as a mile in this application.

Once the filter was in place & mounted and the Injector Adapter removed we mocked up an interface from the FM-300 to the air filter. This design seemed straight forward and allows the air box mounted to the FM-300 to stay in place while the lower cowl and filter fall away for servicing. Simple!

We believe we have a nice tight fit between the air box and the filter with the air flow about as direct as we could hope for with this cowl engine combination. We also understand that while a tight fit is nice there can be a fair amount of vibration and flexing in this area. We hope we are able to overcome this by soft mounting the upper air box section to the FM-300 with a rubber transition collar cut from the back end of a Cone style K & N filter.

The grey bulb seals (Front & Rear) are Vans Door Seal material while the black flaps on the sides are cowl seal material. We plan on applying a fiberglass cone to the inside of the metal air box to remove the deep corners and guide the airflow directly into the FM-300. Once that is complete all that is left to do is place a flap on the top of the box for alternate air.