Cold air intake. My air box is broken

Hi, I'm Bogi, one of the auto experts on RepairPal's Car Genius team! Great question, and we totally get the appeal of ditching that bulky air box! On your 1997 Nissan Quest, installing a cone style aftermarket filter is certainly possible and many people do it. In theory a cone filter can flow more air than a restrictive stock air box, and on some vehicles this can result in a slightly more responsive throttle feel and a sportier intake sound. However the real world performance gains on a minivan application like the Quest are typically pretty modest. That said there are a few things worth keeping in mind. A cone filter sitting in the engine bay is exposed to hot air from the engine, whereas the stock air box is usually designed to draw cooler air from outside the engine compartment. Hot air is less dense than cool air, which can actually reduce engine efficiency and potentially offset any gains from the increased airflow. There may be some aftermarket options available that utilize a high quality cone style filter while also adding a divider of sorts to isolate the filter a bit from the engine heat. You’ll just have to do some searching to see what you can find. They are generally referred to to as Cold Air Intake systems. Feel free to give us a call at 877-913-1554 if you have any more questions or you'd like help finding a trusted RepairPal certified shop in your area who could provide that independent assessment. We're happy to help!