warm air intake is in

[Project84]

So, last night I drilled/tapped a hole the the ABS filter housing right before where the rubber intake tubing attaches to it, liquid thread sealed the IAT and extending the OEM wiring so there wouldn't be any issues. I observed 137*F IAT yesterday morning w/ the IAT stuffed in the airbox just resting on top of the filter, this morning, with it relocated to what I thought would be a better place, I only got up to 130*F.

I'm thinking of spending a few more $ and just buying 3" galvanized ducting instead of the flex stuff, I've already found 2 rips in the flex tube and I had to smash it pretty badly to cram it between the A/C hoses as well as the exhaust manifold and the oil dipstick tube.

Tomorrow morning I'm planning to play with it some more. The heat shield I'm fabbing is insanely accurate, I'm guessing if that's where I'm losing heat currently, once it goes on, I may have to swiss cheese it so it isn't so effective.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

wait until this afternoon and see how temps get. mine are always lower in the morning. also with the heat shield, leave it on for a while and monitor it before you "swiss cheese" it. I have found myself trying to redo things that don't need to be redone so many times in the past. I have already bent up another piece of flashing for another heat shield and now my temps are right for the old one.

also for the air inlet, look into flex exhaust tubing. it worked good for me. just a thought.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I was just thinking... This seems to be a simple mod. Has anyone considered cutting a hole in the side of the fan shroud and routing the air intake from the radiator instead of messing with the exhaust manifold? I figure it could be done with 2 to 3 feet of 3" pipe. Possibly if the hole was cut in line with the fan blade the fan might actually force the warm air into the pipe, making it WAI ram-air...

-Jay

[Project84]

I can see that working backwards, the shroud funnels air INTO the fan blades, that being the case, if you tapped into it for a source of "ram air" I can see the fan actually pulling air OUT of the intake, or past it causing a vacuum on the intake.

Like you said, the WAI is a simple mod... why fuss with making a more difficult alternative?

EDIT: Also, if you could achieve a ram air effect, what about when the A/C or coolant temp sensor turned the electric fan on at idle? It would feed too much air and cause big problems, also, a clutch fan remains in motion at idle, so that would force air in too.... probably WAY too complicated to make it work w/ all the fine tuning.

[almightybmw]

Originally Posted by Project84

I can see that working backwards, the shroud funnels air INTO the fan blades, that being the case, if you tapped into it for a source of "ram air" I can see the fan actually pulling air OUT of the intake, or past it causing a vacuum on the intake.

Like you said, the WAI is a simple mod... why fuss with making a more difficult alternative?

EDIT: Also, if you could achieve a ram air effect, what about when the A/C or coolant temp sensor turned the electric fan on at idle? It would feed too much air and cause big problems, also, a clutch fan remains in motion at idle, so that would force air in too.... probably WAY too complicated to make it work w/ all the fine tuning.

Every rad/fan setup I've seen the fan pulled air from the front, following the direction of natural air current for the vehicle. I think he's meaning, on the side between the fan and block (chevy V8 setup) ducting the air warmed by the cooling of the radiator into the intake. His fan is clutch belt driven, not electric (unless he swapped it) and would act as a sort of ram/forced air intake. How effective, I cannot say, but its worth a try.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I would think (and I may be wrong) that the heat coming off of the exhaust header would be significantly hotter than anything near the radiator. as far as the ram air affect, that might be beneficial.

I have seen headers glow before. with and without turbos, now that is hot.

[Project84]

I'm just going by where he said "cutting a hole in the side of the fan shroud"... I'm about 99% sure that would cause a vacuum due to the amount of air being pulled over the new "inlet" and not actually ramming into it.

Think of a rectangle w/ a circle in the middle of it. The rectangle is the shroud, the circle is the hole where the fan pulls air through.... I'm taking it as he is considering mounting an inlet at around the 10 o'clock position of the shroud, next to where the fan is... me thinks that no good.

[almightybmw]

ahhh, I reread it now. My mistake. Yeah. That's a bad idea. It'd be better to make a duct on the back of the fan. in fact, replace the fan with an electric, so you can easily create such a duct without worry of belts and things interfering.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I think he is thinking like a squirrel cage fan but they usually have only one outlet at the side and the back is closed off. not sure myself about that one.

there again if you have a pipe and you blow over one end of it then it will suck air through the pipe. some people use this concept to cool their houses.

not sure which concept applies.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by almightybmw

Every rad/fan setup I've seen the fan pulled air from the front, following the direction of natural air current for the vehicle. I think he's meaning, on the side between the fan and block (chevy V8 setup) ducting the air warmed by the cooling of the radiator into the intake. His fan is clutch belt driven, not electric (unless he swapped it) and would act as a sort of ram/forced air intake. How effective, I cannot say, but its worth a try.

Exactly... To send heated air from the radiator under pressure into the air cleaner assembly. Granted, the air won't be as hot as from the manifold, but the fact that it is forced in under pressure, and is warmer than ambient air temps could be actually ideal... warmer air will atomize fuel better, forcing it in under pressure will mean more oxygen in the cylinders. I'm thinking I can increase power and economy with this mod, and I think I can do it with only 2 or 3 feet of 3" PVC pipe spraypainted black so it does not look out of place (too much) under the hood. Also a partial grill block would keep this air warmer, and add to the aerodynamics of the vehicle as well.

-Jay