DIY Mod: "Cold Air Supply"
09-19-2009, 03:31 PM
#61
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 542
Last and very important point, if you do not have a fascia that will allow you to drill a hole (or you just do not want to drill one) fan is the only solution sucking air from the bottom of the car.
09-19-2009, 03:51 PM
#62
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 542
socalwrench
I just read the full thread over, and realized that what you are trying to achieve is to plug your stock airbox's only hole with a tube and run it to the front. We are not doing the same thing, that is why we cannot see why you are waving the red flag!
If I had a stock airbox I would not plug that hole. you need to have an additional hole than the stock otherwise you might indeed restrict the airflow to your engine having it to suck through this long tube... with or without the fan.
Our system is an open system. it can suck air from through out the hood, with a small "firewall" to avoid sucking air that sits around the hot engine. The hose just directs "additional" air to the area... not the only air.
If I where you (excuse me I do not have a stock airbox to visualize, but) I would fit the tube on the bottom (with or without fan your choice) and then open an additional smaller hole towards your headlight, so you do not run the risk at anytime starving your engine from air.
Others please chime in on this issue with more hands on experience on stock airboxes.
I just read the full thread over, and realized that what you are trying to achieve is to plug your stock airbox's only hole with a tube and run it to the front. We are not doing the same thing, that is why we cannot see why you are waving the red flag!
If I had a stock airbox I would not plug that hole. you need to have an additional hole than the stock otherwise you might indeed restrict the airflow to your engine having it to suck through this long tube... with or without the fan.
Our system is an open system. it can suck air from through out the hood, with a small "firewall" to avoid sucking air that sits around the hot engine. The hose just directs "additional" air to the area... not the only air.
If I where you (excuse me I do not have a stock airbox to visualize, but) I would fit the tube on the bottom (with or without fan your choice) and then open an additional smaller hole towards your headlight, so you do not run the risk at anytime starving your engine from air.
Others please chime in on this issue with more hands on experience on stock airboxes.
Last edited by vasman; 09-19-2009 at 09:03 PM.
09-19-2009, 09:31 PM
#63
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,062
I did my install today, but haven't had a chance to really observe anything conclusive. The fan blows enough air through 4 feet of tube for the output to blow my hair back. I was really surprised. If you took a hair dryer, set it on "high" and blew it right into your face from about a foot away, that is what it feels like coming out of the hose. I'll post pics and whatnot tomorrow probably, once I can play around and see whats what.
Originally I had the Vortech heat shield positioned so the air coming in the from the fan was just blasting the intake filter. I noticed that when I was coasting in like say 4th with my foot off the gas, that the A/F gauge would go wayyyyy lean. If I shut off the fan, it immediately jumped down to about 14.7 where it should be. I guess I was force feeding it. Also if I stepped on the gas (causing the car to start suckin air) the A/F would behave normally and drop into range. If I got into boost, it was normal as well. I guess the car just needs to suck alot of volume in that case. I rotated the shield so that the air isn't going RIGHT into the filter, but just blowing fresh air into the vicinity. I'll drive around tomorrow and see what I can see. I did not see dramatic differences in intake or ambient temp so far. Lets see if maybe blowing air RIGHT into the filter was just the wrong thing to do. I'll watch the AeroForce again tomorrow on the temps.
socal, you seem defensive, lol.
Nobody is suggesting that this be the ONLY means of putting air into a stock airbox. The *only* reason for this mod is to deliver cool air from under the car into the engine bay/intake area. Neither myself or vasman have stock intakes. There is absolutely no question that the fan/tube deliver a substantial amount of air. That fan is impressive. It blows like a ****. 
Originally I had the Vortech heat shield positioned so the air coming in the from the fan was just blasting the intake filter. I noticed that when I was coasting in like say 4th with my foot off the gas, that the A/F gauge would go wayyyyy lean. If I shut off the fan, it immediately jumped down to about 14.7 where it should be. I guess I was force feeding it. Also if I stepped on the gas (causing the car to start suckin air) the A/F would behave normally and drop into range. If I got into boost, it was normal as well. I guess the car just needs to suck alot of volume in that case. I rotated the shield so that the air isn't going RIGHT into the filter, but just blowing fresh air into the vicinity. I'll drive around tomorrow and see what I can see. I did not see dramatic differences in intake or ambient temp so far. Lets see if maybe blowing air RIGHT into the filter was just the wrong thing to do. I'll watch the AeroForce again tomorrow on the temps.
socal, you seem defensive, lol.
Nobody is suggesting that this be the ONLY means of putting air into a stock airbox. The *only* reason for this mod is to deliver cool air from under the car into the engine bay/intake area. Neither myself or vasman have stock intakes. There is absolutely no question that the fan/tube deliver a substantial amount of air. That fan is impressive. It blows like a ****.
Last edited by Mudflap; 09-19-2009 at 10:11 PM.
09-20-2009, 04:20 PM
#65
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,062
Ok so I drove around for a couple of hours today. It was hot, about 90-95 degrees, sunny, and of course my car is black adding insult to injury. Test conditions were extreme in other words. I did not witness a drastic difference like vasman reports. Some of this may have to do with the location of the IAT sensor. I don't know where it is on the Techco kit, but on the Vortech it was moved to after the blower. This means that there is no way around the fact that theres a big chunk of metal in there heating up that has to suck the air through it before anything reaches the engine.
In city driving up to about 45-50 mph, having the fan on seems to account for perhaps a 4-10 degree reduction in IAT over time. It is not instantaneous when you flip the switch on the fan, but takes some time to average its way down. This makes sense I guess. Probably the most notable behavior is that while idling at stoplights, etc, that the temperature doesn't rise as quickly as it usually does. This also makes sense in that while sitting still the fan is simulating air that would normally be flowing around while moving. I could see the mod possibly helping if you tracked the car and were waiting/idling before making a pass.
The final thing that I noticed is that the spread between "ambient" and "intake" temp on the AeroForce seemed to be tighter with the fan running for a while. Normally I was seeing intake temp about 45-55 degrees higher than ambient, but with the fan on for a while the spread seemed to be more like 32-45 degrees. Not really sure what to make of that one. Does anyone know where the ECU gets its "ambient" reading from? Where is that sensor??
I do not believe the fan makes much of a difference over 50mph, which is logical. I believe the mod could actually make more of a difference in cooler weather since the air being pulled in from the fan will be drastically different in temperature. It was just so damn hot here today, that I'm not sure anything short of driving with hood off would have made a large difference. Still, the slight differences I saw seemed to support the $80 spent on the mod. I'll be curious to see the results when it cools off a bit outside.
All in all, the mod certainly delivers cooler air to the right location, and the volume of air pushed by the fan is substantial and surprising. I was expecting a PC fan level of output, instead I got a hairdryer on high output from it. I think your experience will vary based on your setup. I suspect a car with simply a CAI/tune might see more of a direct benefit. A blower compresses air, and its metallic, so its going to get hot no matter. Thats just physics. I do think the mod over time seemed to net lower temps for me by an average of about 7 degrees.
One note, do not direct the airflow straight into the filter if using the fan method. It causes strange A/F spike at idle and while cruising with your foot off the gas. I'm not sure that is much of a risk, but it does wig out the readings, and its apparent on the gauge. Instead direct the flow to be in the vicinity of the intake filter...
Few Pics:
Heres a pic of the hose output where I secured it underneath the intake filter. The metal ribs in the hose were holding it in place fine, but I added 3 zipties for added support. Once the cone filter & shield is in place, you can't see it. I've since added a little flat piece of plastic that diverts the air to the right towards the normal intake location (I did this because of the A/F thing I mentioned earlier). It looks a little odd being a piece of plastic ziptied in there, but it works, and again you can't see it with the filter on anyway. You can't see the hose with that piece in place either, so I guess visually it cleaned up the hose end a bit, not that I give a $#%&.
Here is the picture of the fan after I attached the hose, and was completing the wiring.
Here is the fan secured in place, attached to available holes. Once I put the lower grille back on, the fan is completely hidden from view. Mine is not plumbed to a hole like vasmans, its just pulling air from that vicinity which is outside the engine bay but protected on pretty much all sides.
Lastly the dash switch (upper left button on center stack). It has a blue led that illuminates when its on. Its wired to trusty switch fuse # 13 along with my A/F gauge. The power wire from the fan itself was brought in via the grommet above the drivers pedals to the left. The ground wire from the fan goes to the ground point below the air intake (you can see that ground point in the first pic, center about 75% of the way down).
In city driving up to about 45-50 mph, having the fan on seems to account for perhaps a 4-10 degree reduction in IAT over time. It is not instantaneous when you flip the switch on the fan, but takes some time to average its way down. This makes sense I guess. Probably the most notable behavior is that while idling at stoplights, etc, that the temperature doesn't rise as quickly as it usually does. This also makes sense in that while sitting still the fan is simulating air that would normally be flowing around while moving. I could see the mod possibly helping if you tracked the car and were waiting/idling before making a pass.
The final thing that I noticed is that the spread between "ambient" and "intake" temp on the AeroForce seemed to be tighter with the fan running for a while. Normally I was seeing intake temp about 45-55 degrees higher than ambient, but with the fan on for a while the spread seemed to be more like 32-45 degrees. Not really sure what to make of that one. Does anyone know where the ECU gets its "ambient" reading from? Where is that sensor??
I do not believe the fan makes much of a difference over 50mph, which is logical. I believe the mod could actually make more of a difference in cooler weather since the air being pulled in from the fan will be drastically different in temperature. It was just so damn hot here today, that I'm not sure anything short of driving with hood off would have made a large difference. Still, the slight differences I saw seemed to support the $80 spent on the mod. I'll be curious to see the results when it cools off a bit outside.
All in all, the mod certainly delivers cooler air to the right location, and the volume of air pushed by the fan is substantial and surprising. I was expecting a PC fan level of output, instead I got a hairdryer on high output from it. I think your experience will vary based on your setup. I suspect a car with simply a CAI/tune might see more of a direct benefit. A blower compresses air, and its metallic, so its going to get hot no matter. Thats just physics. I do think the mod over time seemed to net lower temps for me by an average of about 7 degrees.
One note, do not direct the airflow straight into the filter if using the fan method. It causes strange A/F spike at idle and while cruising with your foot off the gas. I'm not sure that is much of a risk, but it does wig out the readings, and its apparent on the gauge. Instead direct the flow to be in the vicinity of the intake filter...
Few Pics:
Heres a pic of the hose output where I secured it underneath the intake filter. The metal ribs in the hose were holding it in place fine, but I added 3 zipties for added support. Once the cone filter & shield is in place, you can't see it. I've since added a little flat piece of plastic that diverts the air to the right towards the normal intake location (I did this because of the A/F thing I mentioned earlier). It looks a little odd being a piece of plastic ziptied in there, but it works, and again you can't see it with the filter on anyway. You can't see the hose with that piece in place either, so I guess visually it cleaned up the hose end a bit, not that I give a $#%&.
Here is the picture of the fan after I attached the hose, and was completing the wiring.
Here is the fan secured in place, attached to available holes. Once I put the lower grille back on, the fan is completely hidden from view. Mine is not plumbed to a hole like vasmans, its just pulling air from that vicinity which is outside the engine bay but protected on pretty much all sides.
Lastly the dash switch (upper left button on center stack). It has a blue led that illuminates when its on. Its wired to trusty switch fuse # 13 along with my A/F gauge. The power wire from the fan itself was brought in via the grommet above the drivers pedals to the left. The ground wire from the fan goes to the ground point below the air intake (you can see that ground point in the first pic, center about 75% of the way down).
Last edited by Mudflap; 09-20-2009 at 04:34 PM.
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