running too hot?

[hydrastas]

recently i bought a cone filter setup and i havn't gotten around to making a box to keep the engine temps out. today i drove for the longest consecutive time in my car for an 1.5 hours straight on the freeways and i noticed if i was cruising at 75 the temp gauge would be near the line below the hot mark. i was wondering how closely related the coolant temp and air intake temps are. i also noted that it felt like i lost a considerable amount of power while it was hot as well.(engine retard the timing?). would building the sheetmetal box around the filter to keep the temps down help in my situation?

edit: or how about some NOS?

 

[kris_stewart10]

ALL THROTTLE NO BOTTLE

but i would think since you are running the car at a hotter temp than with your old filter and no box