Looking good, i am in for this as i was going to fab one over here to go with my Mina Intake filter/heatshield i now have...!.. keep us posted

 

And your contribution helps in what way?

 

Though my 03 STR wears the Mafioso air intake tube, I feel it appropriate to thank qwiketz for his experience, resources, and time in the development of this STR modification. We're very fortunate to have each other and talent to boot.

 

Let's try and stay on topic, air intakes and throwing stones don't mix well!

 

Thanks for the props. I'm in between home remodel projects so I can get back to my real hobby, designing and fabbing up parts. This thing is so simple but I just haven't had the time to put into it until now. I need to knock this out, redo my suspension bushings and then get on the vette. I'm itching to break into the 9's and I have the power to do it. Just need to get some stuff sorted out.

Anyhow, thanks to all for the interest in the thread and it looks like the next big update will be Friday. Until then I'll just be keeping an eye out for people's thoughts on the finish.

 

You might want to consider having the intake ceramic coated like the mafioso style ones. If you leave the metal plain or just painted, its more likely to heat up quicker and retain that heat, even more so than plastic. If the shop that is supposedly building mine (wtf already over 3 weeks?) ever finishes it, it is supposed to be a 3.5" tubing with a ceramic coating.

 

Sent pics link via PM for you of the heat shield in situ , if you want me to strip it out at any point for more detailed pics/shapes/fitments just shout..!

 

I suppose you better add me and few others on here to that list too.

I always thought that critical thinking leads to better results?

I haven't read all of his posts so maybe he is a bit of a curmudgeon but I also asked what this change is supposed to accomplish.

Now I did follow Mafioso's project which was supposed to thermal isolate the intake tract somewhat.

How does that happen with this piece?

 

Never mind -just my addled brain again plus a bit of paranoia.

 

LOL! We're all a "Little Piece of This and Piece of That" This's what makes it all interesting and fun.

 

Mikey, I thought Staatsof was backing you up!

Now didn't we say something about staying on topic?

 

What would be the problem with using good old heat-wrap to insulate the pipe? Might even cut down on the noise.

 

If the difference between ambient air temp and under hood temp is small as inferred by the OP, then insulation wouldn't be of benefit. Hard measurements of the actual temps would reveal all though.

Not to hijack, but my generation of Corvette came with a cowl induction set up from the factory and great promises of improved performance from cold air collected at the base of the windshield being ducted straight into the carb. Unbeknownst to me, an electrical fault prevented a flapper valve that opened/shut the ductwork on mine from functioning for an extended period. After repairs, I noted little change other than more carb noise with the duct work open at full throttle. I then instrumented the air filter housing to monitor and record temps under all sorts of conditions including a number of 100+ mph passes to take maximum advantage of any aerodynamic effect.

Very long story short, the cowl induction system reduced the carb inlet temp by a whopping 1 degree F as compared to when the engine was breathing underhood air from the standard 'twin snorkel' inlets.

There was actually a greater variation in temperature depending on whether the car was pointed into or away from the prevailing winds which were just short of 20MPH that particular day.

Now,

 

IMHO, heatwrap would be unattractive and detract from the aesthetics of the system. Cermaic coating both sides would be superior and possibly powder coating the outside (if practicle with selected colors) would give zing to the intake..such as Mafioso did..

 

Yeah I thought I was helping but it's OK.

A couple things here:

If there's not really any under hood heat hitting that pipe while it's under way then probably the ambient airflow is going to reduce the temp of the pipe. In which case I would think that aluminum would be the best material.

But I have no idea about what the actual conditions are. A good reason to instrument the actual situation.

I just wondered if a plain SS pipe is going to get head soaked in hot summer weather when you're at a light? I thought that's what Mafioso's version was all about?

I'm just asking guys.

 

Thanks for posting. It's me that's confused- again.

 

You are right, of course. But yet, would not heat wrap be a much better insulator than ceramic? And if that improved insulation added an extra 10HP(?), who would care about under-hood aesthetics?

 

A 10 HP increase would certainly be a worthwhile and remarkable advance. The rule of thumb is that a 10*F decrease (or avoidance of increase) in inlet temp is worth 1% in HP. The type-R is rated at a peak 400HP, meaning that a 10 HP = 2.5% increase. This translates into a required decrease of 25*F inlet temp compared to the stock config.

I doubt that even under stationary conditions the underhood temps in the area of the inlet are 25*F higher than the cold air inlet in front of the grill. With the car in motion, the differential is bound to be less as the OP has stated and as per my fooling around on the other car.

Equally important if not more so is the volume and velocity of the air going though the elbow- the engine pumps roughly 11,000 litres of air per minute at red line. Given the short length and diameter of tubing used, (ie. total surface area acting as a radiator) and the probable small differential in inlet vs. under hood temp, any heat gain might be difficult to even measure.

 

If wrapping the pipe yields little transference of heat, IMO, I couldn't give a hang how the pipe looked. Wrap would give it that "Tech" look, like we're Einstiens.

 

I picked up a thermometer with a probe so I'll create another thread describing what I see as far as underhood temps when in traffic, cruising and at idle. I'll create that tomorrow night.

Based on what I see there, I'll figure out which direction to go. Personally, I think ceramic coating of the intake tube is a waste of time and is just over thinking things since there are so many other pieces that soak up the heat. For instance the part after the tube is metal and gets burning hot and then it goes to the intercoolers that are cooling down the charge using radiator fluid.... I think it's an uphill battle you're not going to win unless you run a killer chiller and a closed loop intercooling system. But, once again, thats just my opinion.