Cold air intake box pics please

[ishnish]

So does anyone have pics of their cold air intake system? I wanna see if anyone has an intake box installed on their car and would like to see all the different setups. I plan on making one myself and saw a great article (http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-intake-exhaust/194759-diy-cold-air-intake.html) on how to do so. I just wish there was pics for each step cause I am a little lost on how to mount the box in the engine bay. Anyways, some pics of different setups would be great .

Also, is it worth it installing a cold air box around the filter? Would it make that much of a difference? Thank you

 

[Ricardo18]

I don't have pictures, but I currently have a simple setup just going from behind the foglight. My header produces a lot of heat so very soon i will figure out a setup that keeps this heat isolated without having an impact on the visual appeal of the motor set-up. I do have an idea of what I will do already, just not the specifics.

Two things I will look at is getting an alternative foglight setup and using one of the openings as an inlet and also separating the engine bay into two compartments-one hot, one "cold" using some thermal insulation. I'll have pics up with my current set-up and later on will have pics of the new setup.

How much of a benefit will this be? I'll probably just use a couple thermocouples from work and do a couple experiments. One with the old set up, one with the new setup and report my results. I'll include temperature in my "hot" section and temperature in my "cold" section before and after the thermal insulation install.

Good luck with the CAI box. Something reflective would work quite well. Just be sure it doesn't "outshine" everything else in your engine bay. That usually doesn't work too well in the aesthetics department .

 

[ishnish]

Wow looks like you got all of your work planned out perfectly. I can't wait to see the setup bro! Good luck with it all. Are you using the fog light openings because you think it would look better there or seomthing? I plan on keeping my fog lights. But why not try the area next to the fog lights? I think it's the air duct opening or something idk what it's called. But a lot of people use that for the inlet instead.

Another question I have for you is would this be a little risky? As in the chances of hydro-locking might increase?

I was thinking of using sheet metal since a lot of people tend to use that

Keep me updated I would love to know how everything goes for you and pics tracking the progress would be great. Btw welcome to the forums! I don't even consider you a newbie after what you just posted but what the hey I thought I'd welcome you anyway =P

 

[Ricardo18]

Thanks for the welcome! I've been on a few other forums prior and do all my own automotive work, so I guess you could say I have some experience.

I do like the foglights on the eclipse and it would definitely be difficult making the decision to use the space for something else, so this aspect could change. My plan is to use the space next to the foglights for...well, foglights. I think the shape being used for something other than just...placeholders could bring out a unique aspect. I might go with some L.E.D's in that space instead of getting something off the shelf. Nothing that screams rice though, just something to add a unique touch without looking like it's trying to take over the already good lookin front end .

The reason I chose to go with the foglight space however, is because it had a readily adaptable shape. for any ducting. I did an experiment with my avenger and noticed a much more pronounced throaty sound from the cold-air intake.

I'll admit it was more than just a cold-air intake. I had the intake sealed and running air from the foglight opening which was able to generate pressure (verified via Scanguage II). This increased pressure was the only difference between this setup and the regular cold air setup. I did use sheet metal and some screws and did the design twice. I built up more pressure than my intake clamps could handle (of course this was all trial) TWICE, causing my system to fall off. I guess I needed more re-inforcement than I initially thought.

As for hydro-lock with a sort of "ram-air" setup (any form of routing pressurized air into your system), just make sure you don't go into a pool of water that covers your intake filter. Whenever I drive over a puddle, I usually take my foot off the gas to be safe. You might get some droplets in your tube during very hard rain, but the amount is so small it would vaporize into practically unmeasurable amounts before getting to your cylinders. This actually works in your favor as a little water vapor only reduces detonation. Co-incidentally, it stormed the day I installed this in my avenger, and the car ran smoother during the rain than I've ever experienced.

 

[dalesmitsu]

The air box thats for the air is to prevent heat Not Hydrolock. Only useful in short ram air intake. You can also buy sock cover your cai air filter, it helps but very little but it will still cause hydrolock.

Buy an aem bypass valve, retail around 50 from summit racing they come in different sizes.

This bypassvalve can be installed on other CAI systems, I had one on my Injen R cai and I have pictures.

 

[spawn87]

what many people forget is that it does not matter the temperature of the air our turbo'ed cars take since the turbo does a great job of heating the hell or it in the end. thats why the main and most important for air cooling will be a good front mount intercooler.

but if you do want to make the heat shield like i did regardless. this in how i did it.
just took some sheet metal and after i had already made a cardboard template i traced cut and bent to kit in place.

Heat Shield - home made heat shield DSMtuners Gallery

 

[1990AWD]

what many people forget is that it does not matter the temperature of the air our turbo'ed cars take since the turbo does a great job of heating the hell or it in the end.

Yes, the turbo heats it, but the colder the air coming into the turbo, the less it will heat, meaning the intercooler can get the air even colder. There was a guy here a few days ago posted that just going from a filter on the turbo to an intake pipe gained him 70whp because of the colder air.

 

[Ricardo18]

That's a very good point that the turbo heats the air regardless, but having cooler air (which is also of a higher density), will reduce the temperature of the turbo outlet air temp. This reduces loading on the turbo by a marginal amount as higher temperature air is more difficult to compress due to the sheer amount of thermal energy.

Essentially, you can get the same power from less boost. We are talking small gains comparatively however, but it's similar to adding a CAI to a N/A motor. After all, your motor is really just a massive air pump just like the turbocharger, albeit with a bit more activity going on.

Hypothetically speaking, as air temperature approaches absolute zero, compressibiity reduces and air density increases as it approaches its dewpoint. This really just means that you can boost slightly less and achieve the same power as mentioned earlier up to the point where air condenses to the point of incompressibility.

 

[ishnish]

Ricardo I can't wait to see what your setup will look like man =D. Yeah I get what you mean about the fog light section having an adaptable shape already. I've never seen LEDs where the air ducts next to the fog lights are so I'm excited to see what you'll have going on. Now the issue I have behind this whole hydro-lock thing is that I hear different stories about how it can happen. Some say the smallest droplet can totally screw your car over while others say that your filter must be completely submerged in water. This is why I've been afraid to take the risk of running my filter downward next to the air duct on the passenger side of the car.

Dalesmitsu, I've heard of the AEM bypass valve many times. I remember reading about it in the past but can't really remember what it actually does. Care to refresh my memory? Are there any cons to having one? I don't see any pics of it in your gallery.

Spawn87, bro I really like your setup! I mean for something homemade it looks really nice! Props to you my friend. Do you know if it made much of a difference for your car?

We need more pics guys more more moreee! XD

 

[Ricardo18]

Here is one pic of the Avenger prototype. The air was colder and denser due to an increase in inlet pressure. This increases the volumetric efficiency by putting less strain on the motor on the inlet.

Note that the filter is within the metal shield which is sealed.

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[dalesmitsu]

Ricardo I can't wait to see what your setup will look like man =D. Yeah I get what you mean about the fog light section having an adaptable shape already. I've never seen LEDs where the air ducts next to the fog lights are so I'm excited to see what you'll have going on. Now the issue I have behind this whole hydro-lock thing is that I hear different stories about how it can happen. Some say the smallest droplet can totally screw your car over while others say that your filter must be completely submerged in water. This is why I've been afraid to take the risk of running my filter downward next to the air duct on the passenger side of the car.

Dalesmitsu, I've heard of the AEM bypass valve many times. I remember reading about it in the past but can't really remember what it actually does. Care to refresh my memory? Are there any cons to having one? I don't see any pics of it in your gallery.

Spawn87, bro I really like your setup! I mean for something homemade it looks really nice! Props to you my friend. Do you know if it made much of a difference for your car?

We need more pics guys more more moreee! XD

Here's the InjenRd Cai with Aem bypass valve. This was on my old 97 gs sold both.

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Bypass valve prevents hydrolocking the engine. By block any type of water depth. Including slush during winter.

Make sure you install the way I have it, this done by the stencil that comes with the instructions. Also, for those who buy this Bypass valve used through CL, tuners,ebay etc. and you dont have the stencil. It can be downloaded at aem's website.

Only con, I can think of the air filter gets very dirty quick. I recommend using the cloth cover. I've used this through the toughest Ohio's winter/rain and held up great.

As of now, I own a black 98rs that came with a brand new Aem cai with dryflo filter. But I plan on getting another bypass valve.

Here is one pic of the Avenger prototype. The air was colder and denser due to an increase in inlet pressure. This increases the volumetric efficiency by putting less strain on the motor on the inlet.

Note that the filter is within the metal shield which is sealed.

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Bro thats hideous, it looks the Tin man had sex with it :barf :


Try find the heatshield for the Short Ram Intakes, it will fit on the cold air intakes, from a vendor or ebay.

Make you get it in same size as your Cai piping size because they come in 2.25 to 3 inches.

 

[Ricardo18]

Here's the InjenRd Cai with Aem bypass valve. This was on my old 97 gs sold both.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

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Bypass valve prevents hydrolocking the engine. By block any type of water depth. Including slush during winter.

Make sure you install the way I have it, this done by the stencil that comes with the instructions. Also, for those who buy this Bypass valve used through CL, tuners,ebay etc. and you dont have the stencil. It can be downloaded at aem's website.

Only con, I can think of the air filter gets very dirty quick. I recommend using the cloth cover. I've used this through the toughest Ohio's winter/rain and held up great.

As of now, I own a black 98rs that came with a brand new Aem cai with dryflo filter. But I plan on getting another bypass valve.



Bro thats hideous, it looks the Tin man had sex with it :barf :


Try find the heatshield for the Short Ram Intakes, it will fit on the cold air intakes, from a vendor or ebay.

Make you get it in same size as your Cai piping size because they come in 2.25 to 3 inches.

Appreciate the feedback on the hideous prototype. You can crack on the looks all you want, but I never claimed this was a finished piece at any time.

Either way, as I had mentioned that this was a prototype, which generally wouldnt be a showpiece, it was done to get the routing of the final piping. That said, I had to make sure everything works before I make a final design. I don't drive that car anymore actually, so I never got to complete the design. As I mentioned it fell off as I was testing.

Heat shields found on ebay or anywhere else aren't sealed, which defeats the purpose of my set-up.

 

[husseinagiz]

Hey guys, i was that close to buying an injen intake for my 97 sypder gs for abut $290 but a lot of ppl warned me from the water, i ve been looking for a water shield buti couldnt find anything, idk if i should make my own or people here got any ideas or just get a SRI instead of a CAI just to stay safe? i need help please i just registered on this forum about 3 days ago been searching all over the place for answer but couldntfind any.
thank you i appreciate your time !

 

[ishnish]

Hey guys, i was that close to buying an injen intake for my 97 sypder gs for abut $290 but a lot of ppl warned me from the water, i ve been looking for a water shield buti couldnt find anything, idk if i should make my own or people here got any ideas or just get a SRI instead of a CAI just to stay safe? i need help please i just registered on this forum about 3 days ago been searching all over the place for answer but couldntfind any.
thank you i appreciate your time !

That's quite some cash to pay for your intake first of all . My friend who has a CAI actually bought a water shield for his SRT4 and it seems to work just fine. However, he did say that it just looked like a piece of cloth that was over priced . You should be fine with the CAI as long as you find a water shield. He ran his for a while, checked on it about 2-3 weeks later, and saw it was covered in mud but his intake filter remained clean. So I guess you might wanna make sure to wash and dry the thing routinely as well. Hope that helps

And welcome to the forums btw! I hope this place helps you as much as it's helped me!

 

[husseinagiz]

thanks and i decided to buy a 2 piece intake and make it a SRI when ever it rains cause i didnt find the water shield if you can ask your friend where he got it from and what brand it is i would really appreciate it, thanks !

 

[boostwut]

Yes, the turbo heats it, but the colder the air coming into the turbo, the less it will heat, meaning the intercooler can get the air even colder. There was a guy here a few days ago posted that just going from a filter on the turbo to an intake pipe gained him 70whp because of the colder air.

show me that logs that prove this to be true and i might believe you. i would believe 10hp but 70 i dont think so.... as for your logic about how the intercooler would work by adding a heat shield is all wrong... the intercooler will cool the air only as much as external ambient temp no cooler thats a fact. and given that the turbos temp may go down by a couple degrees thanx to cooler air thanx to the heat shield the performance factor or any factor that a cold air intake would have on an n/a motor does not apply to turbo cars. only thing you can do is set filter in a more high air traffic location like some do to improve the suction speed.


o and recardo18 comparing the values of n/a vs. induction when it comes to intake systems does not apply they both work on diffirent fundamentals even if the out come seems the same. but i do agree what you saying about a true cold air intake on n/a and by the way even if it doesnt look good i get its a work in progress and if it works thats all that matters, its gana spend 80% of its time hidden anyways

 

[Chill Kill Kult]

did want to throw it out there, if water can threaten the filter from splashes and such it's probably not in a good place, also going to add that (generally) a lot of "cold" air intakes scoop up hot air from close to the surface of the road. the street absorbs heat from the sun and heats the air around it. I don't know how hot it gets but I know on some summer days around here it's pretty common to see tar melting on the pavement.

 

[knochgoon24]

show me that logs that prove this to be true and i might believe you. i would believe 10hp but 70 i dont think so.... as for your logic about how the intercooler would work by adding a heat shield is all wrong... the intercooler will cool the air only as much as external ambient temp no cooler thats a fact. and given that the turbos temp may go down by a couple degrees thanx to cooler air thanx to the heat shield the performance factor or any factor that a cold air intake would have on an n/a motor does not apply to turbo cars. only thing you can do is set filter in a more high air traffic location like some do to improve the suction speed.

I'd believe it, and here's why.

When you're drawing air in from behind the radiator, that air is upwards of 165°F. Pass that through a turbo pushing 25psi with a 72% efficiency and the air coming out is 450°F. (Stealth 316 - Turbo Outlet Temperature)

If you pass that through an intercooler, the air will heat the intercooler. In a perfect world, all our intercoolers would cool the charge down to ambient (100% efficient), but it doesn't. And unless you have the airflow to cool it, the intercooler will heat up quick. This is a common problem on dynos where the airflow through the intercooler isn't exactly the greatest.

Hotter intake temps reduce the mass airflow through the engine and hasten the onset of knock. Both of these reduce power. Sometimes, 1° of timing can be 15-20whp. And air at 150°F is only 86% as dense as air at 65°F. An extra 14% horsepower on a 400hp car is a bit more than 50hp there alone. (You can also see why SAE corrections are commonly applied to dyno results.)

Here's one I made out of a piece of Plexiglas that I heated and bent to shape.

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While not perfectly sealed, it draws air in through the SMIC hole. Intake temperatures substantially dropped.

 

[husseinagiz]

hey what kind of intake is this and did you cut it or is it custom made ?

This is a good way to cool your engine
Attached Thumbnails

what kind of intake is that, did you cut it and weld it to fit or is it custom made or you ought it like that?

 

[1996tsitalon]

I'd believe it, and here's why.

When you're drawing air in from behind the radiator, that air is upwards of 165°F. Pass that through a turbo pushing 25psi with a 72% efficiency and the air coming out is 450°F. (Stealth 316 - Turbo Outlet Temperature)

If you pass that through an intercooler, the air will heat the intercooler. In a perfect world, all our intercoolers would cool the charge down to ambient (100% efficient), but it doesn't. And unless you have the airflow to cool it, the intercooler will heat up quick. This is a common problem on dynos where the airflow through the intercooler isn't exactly the greatest.

Hotter intake temps reduce the mass airflow through the engine and hasten the onset of knock. Both of these reduce power. Sometimes, 1° of timing can be 15-20whp. And air at 150°F is only 86% as dense as air at 65°F. An extra 14% horsepower on a 400hp car is a bit more than 50hp there alone. (You can also see why SAE corrections are commonly applied to dyno results.)

Here's one I made out of a piece of Plexiglas that I heated and bent to shape.

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While not perfectly sealed, it draws air in through the SMIC hole. Intake temperatures substantially dropped.

thats pretty slick. what thickness did you use?

 

[knochgoon24]

I think it's 3/16" or 1/4".

 

[Moy]

Cold air boxes like the plexiglass one above actually do improve efficiency as well as power (to a degree).

If you want to reduce the chance of heat soaking the intercooler, such as in traffic, cool down from a drag pass, etc, even to pull more air through the intercooler, mount one or more electric fans on the backside of the cooler (puller fans, more efficient than pushers). Fans capable of higher CFM's will draw more air through the cooler, thus lowering the temperature of said cooler.

Another thing a lot of people don't think of when they talk about cooling the engine and IAT is the engine undercover. The plastic bit that sits from under the front bumper toward the rear of the engine, it helps divert the air through all of the heat exchangers before being dumped under the car. With this panel gone, any air coming through the front grill will just dump out before it gets through everything.

 

[4Lurker4]

Here's mine. Although mine is different from most people because I run a Big SMIC so I have an air reroute from the SMIC ducting. Most of the air goes through the SMIC and a small amount goes into the box. Mine was made to shield from engine heat and also because I wanted something that looked clean and flush. This site always gave me ideas, so I'll post some of my work. It's missing the rubber mounts to keep it in place, but those will be made soon (simple force pins on 3 sides to make the top curve correctly and keep it in place.

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Don't mind the 2 VCs...trying to figure out what color scheme I'll be going with

 

[gixrman]

The air box thats for the air is to prevent heat Not Hydrolock. Only useful in short ram air intake. You can also buy sock cover your cai air filter, it helps but very little but it will still cause hydrolock.

Buy an aem bypass valve, retail around 50 from summit racing they come in different sizes.

This bypassvalve can be installed on other CAI systems, I had one on my Injen R cai and I have pictures.

It should be noted that this is for N/A motors only and can not be used on forced induction motors.
AEM Air Bypass Valve for Cold Air Intakes - Prevents Hydro-lock
Also K&N offers a filter sock (dry charger) which is what I use to help prevent water ingestion.
http://www.knfilters.com/search/wrap.aspx

I've got a cold air intake but I went completely ape $hit on the design. see profile pics. Its getting redesigned though as I cant run a strut bar.

 

[4Lurker4]

Actually, I like your work gixrman, one of the reason I got off my butt and started making things for myself. Just started working with CF, still designing the tools I'll be using to create fun things out of cf. I liked your hood idea btw