I'm going to be picking up a K&N filter that I ordered for the Lancer. I was looking at Lancer EVO and Lancer ES engine bays on the internet and I noticed that the Evo doesn't have those small slits near the intake. The regular Lancers have those small slits that the engine is supposed to use to breathe. So today, I got my trusty knife and started hacking away at it, and I made it look similar to the opening on the EVO. I'll take a picture later and post my job on the site.
This could be like your very own ram air set up. I was looking through the grill, and now I could see where all this air will go into.

This is what I'm talking about!!!


Now this is what the EVO looks like. I cut mine to look similar to this one. Like I said, I'll post it up later.

 

yeah, that's a cleaner way of doing it. I just removed that whole plastic piece all together.

granted, the evo because of the turbo and high HP it needs that much more air, where as our cars well..... its a different story.

 

UPDATED w/ pics*******



this is a picture of me looking at the grill from the hole.





is the K&N filter supposed to wobble a bit. it's in there and I had no problem put the clips on.

 

Even my stock filter wiggles a little bit.... not a ton but the clips don't fight me when I put them on. RRM ram air FTW! Can't wait to get one.

 

just get yourself a knife buddy and do the same. free mods are the best!

 

that plate is there to force air thru the radiator for cooling...during winter i took mine off also, but its warmin back up so i put it back on..i wouldnt recommend leaving it off durin the hotter seasons

 

What about if you already have the RRM SRI? Is it even worth it removing the plate in cold months then? I've left the snorkel and plate. I've got the V1 and I bought a heat shield from eBay for $15, plus I have the RRM Evo Extreme hood too. Maybe I'll cut the slits out. Every little bit helps.

 

Doesn't look too bad - I think if you took a dremel or file to the rough edges it would look much better. I think that's the OCD part of me though

 

i made a piece outta sheet metal that scoops the air rite from the grille to the stock snorkel and then to my RRM ram intake. and as said above i would recommend taking off the entire plastic piece. from what i know it serves no purpose.

 

it does serve a purpose..to keep air going thru the radiator instead of just flowing around it. i did a similar mod to mine i jus used duct tape instead.. check it

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/6930368-post12.html

have to link it since it wont let me repost pics