Air intake

[bloggs24]

Hey everyone, the plan is to make a new cai, Just wondering what others have come up with for there AU's

At first the plan was to buy either a BPR or G&D, but i just can't justify paying the kind of money being asked.

I want to make the box out of hdpe, and insulate it with fiberglass as it is a very good insulator and then paint the inside white to if anything help the box from absorbing/retaining heat.
From what i think is obvious, the more bends in the pipe, the more restrictive it is which means there are less gains to be had. and there are alot of bends in an AU intake pipe.
Then i had an idea, if i were to move the battery, maybe i could mount the airbox on that side behind the headlight, and have a pipe going from the throttle body, with almost 1 small bend, go straight over the rocker cover to it.
Has anyone tried this?
Anyone think there could be larger gains to be made?
Is it even possible?
Where could i buy sheets of HDEP?
Opinions?

[b2tf]

I wouldnt bother moving the battery and putting it on that side, it will have to go over the rocker cover which would heat it up anyway. Stick with the basics and use a thin alloy metal as plastic will retain heat.

[The Mighty Red]

now the XR6 is my toy and not the family car I've been thinking about this a bit lately ......How about putting the CAI in the grill panel between the windscreen and the bonnet on the passenger side.
It would only need a short piece of pipe and would get lots of cold air.....It would restrict the Passenger side vent but I am not sure if it would restrict Aircon/heating etc inside the car enough to worry about .

[The Mighty Red]

LOL, judging by the overwhelming response to my idea I'd say I must be on to something. :evil3:

[Bushbasher]

I'm assuming you're running an i6 here and your idea is an interesting one Red, but remember that apart from the rocker cover generating heat if you pass over it there is also the exhaust on the left as well generating heat, especially if you're running extractors and no heat shield. For the whole thing to be effective you'd have to cover everything in thermal wrap to insulate it. Plus you've also got the problem of space for a nice big duct considering the p/s pump, brake lines and radiator hoses to the overflow bottle, which again is generating heat.
Here's an idea, fit a scoop to the bonnet like a turbo intercooler scoop off a Patrol etc, something nice and low, set up a panel filter right underneath it and insulate the hole box and dice and you've not only eliminated all of the bends , you've also now got force fed cold air at speed....just a thought.

Bushbasher

[JC]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Here's an idea, fit a scoop to the bonnet like a turbo intercooler scoop off a Patrol etc, something nice and low, set up a panel filter right underneath it and insulate the hole box and dice and you've not only eliminated all of the bends , you've also now got force fed cold air at speed....just a thought.

Bushbasher

Otherwise known as a shaker - same as what Zhodak is running on his I6. Works very well, and the intake only heats up once the car is stopped.

[Bushbasher]

You could use a shaker but IMHO they just don't look quite right on a sloping bonnet like an AU, I think they're more suited to a Bonnet bulge where they would sit flat parallel to the road not nose down to the ground where as a low rise unobtrusive scoop colour coded to the car would blend in alot better IMO.

Bushbasher

[sly]

Something like the intercooler scoop on a Terry Turbo or WRX? That throttle body looks like it was done with something like that in mind.

I wonder if the bolt pattern & runner spacing/shape of the FG intake manifold is suitable for retrofitting?

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by sly

Something like the intercooler scoop on a Terry Turbo or WRX?

I certainly think that would look more aesthetically pleasing than a shaker scoop. Apart from anything else, I recon a shaker on anything less than a balls out V8 just says WANNA-BE.

Originally Posted by sly

That throttle body looks like it was done with something like that in mind.

That was my thought as well otherwise why not just have the throttle body face the other way and eliminate all the bends? Then again, maybe it has something to do with the air flow within the manifold itself and pointing it the other way would upset the flow.



Bushbasher

[bloggs24]

Originally Posted by b2tf

I wouldnt bother moving the battery and putting it on that side, it will have to go over the rocker cover which would heat it up anyway. Stick with the basics and use a thin alloy metal as plastic will retain heat.

Yeh, the most heat from the engine bay would be on that side because of the headers, coolant, rocker cover etc. and after having another look, the bends on the intake pipe arent as bad as i was thinking they would be.

Anyways after hearing nothing but good things about it, i went and bought a 3A Racing power stack pod filter from Autobarn, was $46 which was a bit of a rip off compared to what there spose to be. anyway due to time and the fact that i cant be bothered trying to find one elsewhere, (tried supercheap auto and repco), i took it.

Tomorow after my exam, im going to buy some thin alloy metal from... Bunning?!? where has anyone else bought it from?
and also pull out the stock box and make a template.

Im still going to stick to the idea of insulating the inside of the box with fiberglass. After reading about it, i think it would work really well.

[NYTEYZ]

Any updates?? Pics??

[poolkeeper]

CAI waste of time really.
Ive done a few setups, just stick with a snorkel and k&n flat panel.

[MaTTe]

D1XR2C CAI waste of time really.
Ive done a few setups, just stick with a snorkel and k&n flat panel.

I don't think i'd call it a waste of time, nor stick with the k&n flat panel..

I think the fiberglass idea could be a winner, I have considered similar for a while, but since my car was taken from me at a ripe young age, I have stopped developing.. the XT could use it.. but I never drive it.

I say go for the attempt, at worst you waste some time and gain little, but you will make a gain. My car loved the pod in my heavily modified airbox, my next step was to build my own box and look at the different insulation options. I think fiberglass would be one of the better ideas, but I think you'd need to use fiberglass sheet not bog, otherwise it'll probably crack..

See how you go, it's the fun of the game more than it's the fruit of the gain..

[The Monty]

Ok, I uses a 3 inch S/S mandrel bent intake, cut the front out of the airbox, Tickford snorkle, and a K&N XStream pod mounted inside the airbox, so its all legal.

[Windsor220]

I had a similar set up on my EF the only problem was that it all got incredibly hot.

[bloggs24]

Not really much to update with, havent had the time due to exams, work and the passing of my uncle just recently, only got back to dubbo yesterday, was in broken hill for the past week for the funeral.
However atm ive got the pod in the stock airbox and a polished 3 inch pipe going from the box to the flexible stock hose. i can feel the difference with it, much better throttle response.
Ive made a crude template with cardboard, but i think it might be easier to tape up the entire area and lay the fiberglass down, then make the aluminum side wall and lid around it. I went to bunnings and found it between 30 and 80 dollars for small sheets of aluminium!! anyone know of better places, and how bout a place to find cheap fiberglass?
I really want to jump into this but my attention is now on fixing this noise coming from the rear right wheel, guessing either shock mount or one of the bushes has completely worn.

The Monty, that pipe looks sweet, ill have to get me something like that, you have to polish it!!

[ayeyew]

Originally Posted by bloggs24

However atm ive got the pod in the stock airbox and a polished 3 inch pipe going from the box to the flexible stock hose. i can feel the difference with it, much better throttle response.

Sounds similar to what i have

I noticed a bit of difference with throttle response, wasnt too sure if it was all in my head tho!

The main difference i noticed was the "Whiiiiirrrrr" generated by the pod, particularly with the air con on!

Even if there is minimal, if any gains to be had (I pulled the same figures with k&n panel and k&n pod) a bit of shiny metal in the engine bay is always good for bling factor

I put a temperature probe on the snorkel and the end of the metal piping, and there was only a 2 degrees difference, surely not enough to have any massive effect, considering the rate of flow of air through the intake.

Im a bit iffy about having a full metal intake tho, particularly running over the rocker cover, especially with extractors and no heat shielding!

[low au classic]

you can get fiberglass sheets from bunnings i work in a sheetmetal factory if ya were in south gippsland i coulda just grabed ya some

[bloggs24]

Originally Posted by ayeyew

Sounds similar to what i have
The main difference i noticed was the "Whiiiiirrrrr" generated by the pod, particularly with the air con on!

ive got a very loud induction noise, but I wasnt too sure if it was induction noise, does it sound like its coming from the driver side area? thats where i hear it and everyone else in the car hears it coming from.

[The Monty]

No it would be from the passengers side where the air box is/was.

[bloggs24]

ok lol what am i hearing? its loud, gets loud depending on throttle position, and sounds like air sucking, but its on the drivers side?

[99XR6]

Brake booster could be on the way out.