warm air intake is in

[Project84]

Okay, so I used a 1 1/2" PVC 90* elbo, a 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" silicone coupler, and about 18" of 3" flex dryer exhuast duct tubing to fab my HAI (w/o heat shield for now)... blocked the inlet where the IAT sensor is and took it for a spin... Scangauge is saying IAT sensor is only reading high 80's, today ambient was 75*F, but after popping the hood and feeling the flex tube and the air box lid, it was for sure above 100*F.

My question is in line with what BEEF just said... w/o my IAT sensor reading this hot air, am I going to see any of the benefit from the HAI?

I'm planning to drill/tap 2 holes in line with the intake tube (after the HAI obviously) to pick up the new temps so I can read them real time, which is what I was waiting on the ScanGauge for anyway... oh, the 2 holes are for adding an additional IAT sensor.

Sound good?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

without seeing a picture of your setup, it will be hard to really see what is going on. it depends on the temp of the vehicle and how far you are driving. I don't see mine heat up for a while when I am driving. it usually takes a mile or two for it to start getting over 100 deg. also of note isthat I do have a heat shield. earlier in this thread I was discouraged by my results before putting on the heat shield (anti-heat shield). my temps were low and I didn't feel like it was helping.

if your set up is like mine, well here is my setup, I have the header in the front so incoming air blows right on it from the grill. I had to block off the grill first. then the bottom of the car is open so I needed to isolate the heat going into the intake so that it wasn't dissipated from other air sources thus the shield. it still isn't perfect but seems to be working alright. try taking it on a longer trip. I want to say that you said your commute was only 10 min. it may take longer than that to see a difference in temp especially since you don't have a shield or shroud on it.

I just don't want you to go through all this trouble, get frustrated, and rip it off of your car.

*edit* I just read in your profile that you plan to parallel two IAT sensors together. this may not be what you want to do. an IAT sensor is like a variable resistor. the warmer it gets the lower the resistance. not sure how good you are with electronics but if you parallel two resistors of the same value, the result is half that resistance so your intake will think it is on fire all the time. you may also go past the limits that the computer will allow you to operate in. I have never done it so I really don't know how your ECU will react to it. you may want to research that more before you do it.

[Project84]

Well, after relocating the IAT sensor this morning by basically pulling the hell out of the wires until it was long enough to stuff into the air box on top of the air filter, I was getting above ambient soon after startup and after my 6 miles commute to work this morning in 65*F ambient temps, the IAT sensor reading on ScanGauge was 138*F and slowly climbing.

I'm going to pick up some 22 gauge wire, extend the IAT sensor to the intake tube after the filter so it reads the actual air as it is being pulled in by the throttle body, I have the correct drill bit and tap so it will even be threaded an air tight! Also using hot glue tonight around the 90* PVC elbow in the airbox to tighten it up and reconstructing the dryer vent ducting. If there's time left, I'll play w/ my galvanized sheet and see what kind of heat shield I can make, I've already picked mounting spots that seem ideal.

I forget what you said about ideal intake air temp... was it 170*F?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I have heard that ideal (if you want to call it that) runs between 160 and 180 but there is always some fluctuation. I have seen 179 and this morning which was cooler than usual it was running 137 when I got to work.

I highly recomend that you do a grill block too. I think the grill block will do a lot for you too. it will help with your temps and with aerodynamics.

[Project84]

the material I have left over from cutting out my heat shield should be enough for a grill block! I'm excited about it, and I think when I relocate my IAT sensor I'll be seeing higher temps.

Have you noticed if the HAI depletes the air filter quicker? Since its drawing in air from a turbulent area, possibly debris as well...?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I haven't had an issue but I changed my filter not too long after I put on the WAI so that isn't really that good of a comparison.

I talked with a buddy of mine about the rust on the header to see what he thought about starting a fire when it contacted the air filter. he is into old cars. he said that the rust on the header probably wouldn't come off too easily and by the time it made it up the tube (if it made it that far) would be cool enough not to bother anything along with the fact that it would be heavy enough to fall to the bottom of the air box once it got out of the suction of the tube.

good luck on everything. one more little piece of advice and take it or leave it. make your grill block in several pieces so that if you need to take some of it off because it is too much, you can. backup plans are always good.

[Project84]

relocated IAT sensor to intake tube, adjusted flex tube... hoping to see 160*F tomorrow afternoon! Will get pics soon, and start on my heat shield and grill block! Very exciting!

Thanks BEEF

[cheapybob]

Originally Posted by Project84

Okay, so I used a 1 1/2" PVC 90* elbo, a 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" silicone coupler, and about 18" of 3" flex dryer exhuast duct tubing to fab my HAI (w/o heat shield for now)... blocked the inlet where the IAT sensor is and took it for a spin... Scangauge is saying IAT sensor is only reading high 80's, today ambient was 75*F, but after popping the hood and feeling the flex tube and the air box lid, it was for sure above 100*F.

My question is in line with what BEEF just said... w/o my IAT sensor reading this hot air, am I going to see any of the benefit from the HAI?

I'm planning to drill/tap 2 holes in line with the intake tube (after the HAI obviously) to pick up the new temps so I can read them real time, which is what I was waiting on the ScanGauge for anyway... oh, the 2 holes are for adding an additional IAT sensor.

Sound good?

Nope. Just drill a small hole in the airbox over near where the original inlet is, and remount it there, and tape off the original inlet with some black race tape. I think you want 175f to 180f at the sensor. Use some insulated foil tape from home depot to insulate the airbox and tube to the intake so the air doesn't get a chance to cool down before it gets there. I have a 97 Saturn SC1, and I'm guessing the airbox setup is similar. There are photos of my setup over on saturnfans.com under this user id, as well as threads detailing my mods and what worked vs what didn't. My mods are simple and I'm at 50+ mpg doing over 60 mph on the flat, or for example 44.75 mpg from Detroit to Chicago at 70 to 75 mph. Most of the improvement I'm getting is from the hot air intake, and that was documented doing before and after tests.

As for BEEF, sounds like you are doing pretty well, now. Really, you should get your cooling system to where you don't need to watch it. IMO, you don't want it over 205f because you'll see ignition retard and mpg loss anywhere above there. At least that's how it is with my Saturn SC1. Then switch the scangage from FWT to TPS and monitor TPS to minimize how hard you press on the pedal to get XX mph in gear Y. You will quickly learn how hard to press to go how fast, and from then on you accelerate with a certain TPS (I use 23) and when you reach the desired speed, you back off to the TPS required for that speed.

[cheapybob]

Originally Posted by Project84

Typically referred to as a TBB or Throttle Body Bypass... HUGE mod for the F-Body crowd (Camaro/Firebird) equipped with LT1 and LS1 engines. I'm not sure, but the TPI throttle body may have had a coolant line passing through it as well.

I have that disconnected on my racecar, too.

I think its obvious that the hot air intake works on most OBD II GM applications. Whether or not it works on other cars depends on how they are programmed to control fuel.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

cheapybob,

the reason I am monitoring my temps so closely is because I did the grill block and the WAI during the winter/early spring. now the daily temps are getting higher and I just don't want the temps to get away from me on hot days. also, while I am riding down the road, my temps hover around the 190 point and that is engine temps. at a stop, it has gotten as high as 215 but that happened before I did all of this other stuff as well.

I do agree that it would be good to monitor other stuff but I like being able to see my water temps. I have also given thought into a second scangauge so that I can monitor 4 more parameters. I just can't justify the cost.