designing a new intake

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

now that it's getting colder, and I have a little money to play with, I'm planing on redesigning my intake. The stock intake has two air boxes before that filter. I'm really not sure what the purpose of these are, it kind of seems like it's to "fill up" the engine compartment to make it look good for customers. One box quite large, looks like about .750 gallons. I've pulled this mess out before, and everything seems to work just fine & millage was the same. So i could use this as part of the system if it has benefits, but it's plastic....
I was thinking i would move the air filter out (maybe swap it for a cone) and run the intake air over an exhaust pipe to heat is before going over the throttle.

My mane questions and concerns are;
dose the air box system have benefits
How hot is beneficial, it's there an ideal temp
And At what temp will i mess up my MAP sensor (and other stuff in my intake manifold)

[GasSavers_BEEF]

my understanding on the boxes on the intake path is that it is to remove noise (like a muffler on your intake). I used to have a dodge truck. I put a CAI on it and the noise level went up tremendously. when the butterfly would open, it would whistle really loudly and at a certain throttle position, there would be a constant hiss as the air passed over the butterfly plate. I actually kinda liked it.

many things that are on cars now deal with comfort level and not necessarily efficiency. not too many people like the loud intakes though they are less restrictive.

as far as the WAI, I have heard that a good target temp is 180 degrees and not much above that. I have a descent setup (pics in my garage). mine has it 179 degrees that I have seen during the summer and stays within the triple digits during the winter (barely). I would rather have something that I don't have to tweak constantly but that is just me.

[dieselbenz]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jerryrigger

now that it's getting colder, and I have a little money to play with, I'm planing on redesigning my intake. The stock intake has two air boxes before that filter. I'm really not sure what the purpose of these are, it kind of seems like it's to "fill up" the engine compartment to make it look good for customers. One box quite large, looks like about .750 gallons. I've pulled this mess out before, and everything seems to work just fine & millage was the same. So i could use this as part of the system if it has benefits, but it's plastic....
I was thinking i would move the air filter out (maybe swap it for a cone) and run the intake air over an exhaust pipe to heat is before going over the throttle.

Bad idea.
http://blog.autospeed.com/2003/11/30...-into-intakes/

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

tjts,
thanks for the link it was quite helpful, I don't understand your "bad idea" comment. The info i got out of that page very much agreed with what BEEF had to say. I really don't care about noise. I do care about mileage (not power, but a cold air dash switch would be cool) and i care about sucking up a puddle...

I'm going to do some brain storming, and dig up some parts and try to find one of those grill thermometers with a long wire (hopefully on clearance)

If i can find my camera i'll post some of the proses

[GasSavers_BEEF]

your vehicle is a '99 you could easily use a scangauge to tell the temp (along with other things) they are expensive at $170 but according to wasabi owner, some people may be getting rid of their cheaper if you are interested.

http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=11525 check out his post on this thread (he is the one with the pink smart, hard to miss)

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

Beef,
i read that thread and have been looking at products of that nature. I really want one that dose data logging, which run more like 350.00. I can't afford that any time soon, or 170 for that matter, so the $8 alternatives look good to me. Also extra gauges and switches look really cool

[theholycow]

If you're willing to use a laptop with it, an ELM327-based unit ought to come in a lot cheaper and allow both logging and live data (but you'll only be able to log and display it on the laptop).

[GasSavers_BEEF]

what some people have done for intake air temp is to use a remote outside thermometer and just drop the transmitter in the airbox. I think those are pretty cheap. that way you can mount the receiver wherever you want.

it is at least an idea.

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

I found a indoor outdoor thermometer for $8 that reads outdoor temps up to 158F (strange number to top out at). I was thinking one of those digital meat thermometer with a wire as they can read much higher temps (at lest 210, hope your food wouldn't need more), but the price cord length and the price difference makes the choice clear, i may upgrade with warmer weather... but i should have something to plug into my computer by then.

the ELM327 units look great! and i can afford one now, but i should wait for the next pay check. I found just the chips for sale too, for an even greater savings. I don't know if i'm qualified for that project. I'll need to look into it some more. I'm sure i could find some info on doing this. I'm fine with the soldering end of things (if i find a diagram), but when it gets to the software I don't know what i'm doing at all.

[theholycow]

For the ELM327, the kits ought to be easy enough. Starting with just a chip and making your own PCB and getting all the components together might be tough. The software is easy...you don't write your own, you just use any of maybe a dozen free programs that work with it.

Don't buy a $30 Chinese fake ELM327 unit on eBay unless you're into gambling. I've heard of people having good results but mine barely works with one of my vehicles, doesn't work with the others, and barely works with one piece of software...it's so useless that it's collecting dust. Maybe someday I'll see if it uses the same PCB layout and components as a good one and order a real ELM327 chip for it.