dont forget teh rubber flaps on the sides of the rad that help direct air towards rad

 

OK, you guys made me curious about something. So tonight I went outside and did an experiment. I took 2 rolls of toilet paper and a bowl of water and sorta made a mold of the area between the core support and the hood on just the passenger side. The driver side is very similar, and I didn't want to waste more TP just yet.

Those that suggested I extend the side pipes out more are right. There is a bigger gap just outside where the filter is now. This isn't my final product though

I also took 16 pictures, and I am in the process of uploading them to my photobucket account.
Here is the link: link

My birthday was last month, and I was given a little cash. I'm trying to decide between painting my hood or moving along with this intake. Next time around I'll spend a bit more time and use better materials that should hold up better to make a mold. I might also get a local muffler shop to make up a new Y-pipe, or I might just use PVC.

The next time I hit the dyno, I'll be sure to test the stock intake (with a smoothed out airbox and K&N drop-in) to this design and compared with just an open MAF right in front of the TB.

 

And for those who think this is a really bad idea, consider this. My truck has the flaps on both sides of the radiator and the flap that directs air from the bumper holes up toward the AC condenser, oil and tranny coolers and the radiator. Without the beauty cover that goes between the core support and the grille, cool air is most definitely getting to the filters. When at speed or when the fan(s) are on, air comes in from the grille, but it does not just flow straight through and heat soak the filters. In order for hot air to get to my filters, it would have to go through the tranny cooler, the AC condenser, the radiator, and then the electric fan shroud, then straight up to the filters. Normally, after hot air leaves the fans, where does it go? Back, down, and under the truck since the back of the hood is sealed to the cowl.

If you look at the pictures I took tonight, you can see a few that show where the wet paper left residue on the hood liner. Behind that you can see where water has been hitting the hood mat. If water is getting up there, then air MUST be since it is much lighter. Only so much air can get through the condenser and radiator at a time. What doesn't go through there must go up over the core support and straight to the filters, then back, down, and under the truck. Of course at idle, it is sucking hot air, but who cares while it is sitting still?

I do intend on increasing the efficiency of this design though. I don't really like how the 3.5" pipe is smaller than the MAF, so I'll probably get a similar Y made with 4" pipe. That means the filters won't fit, so I might as well go with 2 longer cone filters. I will paint the outside of the 4" pipe with a thick heat insulating rubberized undercoat paint. I will add a heat shield behind the filters, but I'm not sure if I will make it seal to the hood or not. I sorta want to put flaps or scoops above the radiator that go down to the center bar of the grille so that most of the air coming in the top of the grille is directed to the filters. I could make this a true ram air design. I've never used fiberglass before, but it is a good insulating material that is relatively easy to form, so I might try it with this. However, I do have some thin sheetmetal that would do 99% of what the fiberglass would.

 

i think it looks badass

 

i had something similar!! didnt have the y pipe just a filter in its place and i went to a S&B CAI and picked up .3 at the track just from that. I was pulling 8-9* of timming which cost me dearly. Heatsoak in the MAF isnt a pretty sight

 

hmm, maybe I should try to do something to help insulate the MAF also? It might help if I do the TB bypass eventhough that is after the MAF.

 

a K&N drop in filter would be better than what you have honestly

 

why not find why to pipe it down below bumper just like an intercooler? I liked the look of it but agree with it creating more problems that solving. Would be a nice home made ram air build tho. What size is the pipe. Looks like it is polished aluminum. Is it somewhat flimsy?

 

sweet setup

 

bump, I've started looking into something similar and was wondering if you got any more updates.