My teenager crunched our 2004, among a number of damaged items is a white box behind the right fender, connecting to the air filter intake hose. It looks like a bee nest (there is a dead butterfly in there too). It must be some sort of air baffle, does any one know its purpose ? does the Prius need it to operate properly ? is it just for intake noise reduction like an exhaust muffler ? Tx
In addition to noise reduction, IIRC, it also * helps remove water from intake air * it is part of a "tuned" length, designed for max efficiency. Rather than buying a new one you should consider getting a salvaged one. AutoBeYours is a Prius specific salvage yard/rebuilder. They enjoy an excellent reputation here for low cost, reliability, and quick service.
I am starting to think it acts like a capacitor in a circuit, to smooth out the in rush demand, thus lower effective impedance (EE 101 all over again). If my guess is correct, then it does help with the in-flow, ever so slightly. I did check with autobeyours, thanks for the suggestion.
This is what Rokeby meant when he referred to the the tuned length. It does indeed act like a capacitor. Tom
Unfortunately for performance it also acts like a resistor. It's there to tune out noise and even the airflow over the rpm range, at some sacrifice of peak airflow.
