Has anyone explored this?

As we know the standard intake tubes are fairly restrictive and the current aftermarket solutions are a mix of silicon and aluminium sections.

I understand to make a silicon hose tool isn't hugely expensive and spread over 20+ people would make a very affordable option.
Has anyone explored this? Or have a feel for whether a fully silicon 3" intake would be desirable?

 

Would imagine a hose at the size of the intake would be liable to collapse under vacum.........the intake is a big old lump and would not think you will get away with a pure soft molding......for the cost of the tooling you would be better off asking a local fabricator to make one out of alloy......there again this would be the same as the twin cities pipe.....

 

How much vacuum is there? I'd have thought a steel reinforced Silicon Hose would be ok..


I'd rather not have alloy due to the heat issues and Bling factor.. I've seen a few platforms making intake pipes with 3D printers! This could be a good way to go..


Mercedes CLA45 AMG Intake R&D, Part 1: Stock System and Initial Prototyping | Mishimoto Engineering Blog

 

There isn't heat issues with aluminum TCP intake. There were even tests run on one of the TCP intakes for the 4.2L Supercharged and it showed a cooler intake charge than the stock plastic pipe. The 4.2L TCP intake has way more aluminum vs. the 5L version. The 5L would be even better.

If the aluminum was replaced with plastic in the TCP intake would you be more apt to buy it? I'm not sure people would be happy with plastic. Plastic would scratch easily. You can polish out aluminum. I could pass that along to TCP if you wanted. My car was the test car for the 4.2L intake.

 

I'm with Blackcoog on this.....the air just does not stay in the intake long enough to be effected by heat. Not sure of the exact vacum pressure but why risk using a silicon hose over the TCP one.

Another option as i have done to improve intake flow is blank off the intake silencers...........as for a proto plastic part i would go with an SLA part rather than 3D printed as the layering will make it weak......doubt you'll get change out of £500 for this though and then i'd be back buying a TCP.

what exact benefit are you after????

............now if youre going carbon fibre........then i'm interested!!!

 

It seems to me the goal is cost savings and aesthetics, which is understandable if the metal piping doesn't appeal and you don't want to spend the $300 for TCP.
As for whether it would collapse, that would be a sign of constricted intakes if it happened. Pressure is more or less the opposite of velocity - if you're getting a lot of air going through really fast, then your actual negative pressure inside the piping is going to be fairly small. That's why your vacuum hoses will shorten when you plug it - the velocity goes down and the negative pressure goes up.
Doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea; it just means that's not the concern that would come to mind for me. If the pricing was compelling and the performance was on par or better than metal, then that would be the determining factor in my mind.

 

I don't think anyone driving round in an XFR would worry overly about $300 - hence pricing isn't a huge factor.

Importing from the US is a hassle and with shipping, duty and VAT added makes the intake comparatively more expensive.. The alternative methods (silicon, carbon and 3D Printing) appeal more as I like exploring new things and they look less like a its just been pulled together using off the shelf components..

 

The 5.0 XFRs are really sensitive to air flow and balance of the MAFs. While i agree the collapse of the pipes will be negligeable there will be a small amount......this could be enough to screw with the engine ECU.

Phil, have you enquired about the TC intake and exact costs?

Just another thought......there is a place in Worcester A44 exhausts that carried out replacing my center section with X pipe on my XKR........they also do custom alloy fabrications......maybe worth giving them a shout.......then maybe getting the pipe powder coated.......

 

I've had the TCP intake on long enough to know that it doesn't cause any issues. At least when you have a tune it's doesn't...

 

I ordered the TCP intake on Friday. I hope to have it installed over the weekend. If anything "out of the ordinary" takes place, I'll mention it.