Intake Tube Heat Shielding
 

I was wondering how may people with the Stillen Gen 3 intake have heat shielding such as the thermo tec sleeves installed.

I went for a 30 min. drive yesterday and came home and parked the Z. About 1 hour later I opened the hood to show a friend the intake and the tubes were still burning hot to the touch after an hour. I can't imagine how hot they get when driving in traffic. I am thinking about heat shielding the tubes and was wondering how much of a difference it might make if anyone has already done it.

Actually the reason it was burning hot was due to the engine being off and sitting in a hot engine bay. Air traveling through the pipes will result in a much cooler pipe, and the speed at which the air travels really doesn't allow for much heat dissipation into the air charge..

Location of the air source can be a consideration on intake temperature for sure. That being said, I believe it's EDIT: wstar who has heat shielded the entire Gen 3 intake path.

Actually that was me: http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...html#post76374

And I agree it's a relatively minor thing, but every little bit helps. Especially when idling around at low speeds, or stopped, a lot of heat builds in the engine bay, and shielding the intakes has gotta help keep the IAT down.

d'oh! I knew I should have looked it up.. my apologies..

Thanks for the response. I knew it probably wouldn't be an issue while moving, I was concerned about the heat build up in stop and go traffic which I deal with alot. I will probably wrap it anyway just for the piece of mind, it can't hurt.

Absolutely can't hurt, and in that situation may definitely help.. although increased performance is generally not the goal in traffic.. a sledgehammer for some might be a better option.. :bowrofl:

But it looks badass (am I the only one who associates it with boxing gloves?).. and intake charge temperatures make a dramatic impact on HP..

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...engine-bay.jpg

Yup...As Josh and others have said things will heat soak quickly when stopped. Here are some real numbers (I have a Scangauge on my car which reads IAT's in real time)

Typically at steady cruise the IAT's (Intake air temps) will run 8-10 degrees above ambient with a stock intake. This is actually pretty good, but remember, the intake is pulling from the front (Just like a Stillen). Ideally you'd like to have that air at ambient, but you'd need some direct forced air feeds to accomplish that (working on this) as well as some insulation to reflect radiant heat in the engine bay.

I parked the car one day in the sun on a 75 degree day. Came out 1/2 hour later and the IAT's read 150 Degrees..:eek: Within one block, and not even up to speed it had dropped to 100 degrees. From that point on it gradually worked it's way down.

IAT temps typically have a direct impact on the cars timing maps (and consequently power). The cooler the better as the car can advance timing without the potential for detonation. It's a protective measure just like the oil overtemp system.

On my last car (an '08 vette) I had a custom insulated set-up where the car would run at ambient as long as it was moving. It would still heat soak a bit in trafic a bit which you can't get around. Timing would start to be pulled at 86 degrees IAT. The quicker you can cool the air though, the quicker you are up to full power. Anything you can do to cool the intake charge is beneficial IMO...

Don't forget our IAT are measured at that MAS sensor. There's a lot of pipe on the Stillen Gen 3 between the MAS and the throttle body, and it's sitting in just the right spot to suck up heat rising off of the exhaust headers. This is the main thing I was trying to shield against, which the scangauge IAT won't show.

Yeah, it will actually be hotter than indicated, but the MAF IAT readings will determine the ECU settings. As I said, Cooler is always better!..:tup:

I was thinking of doing this with that gold intake shielding tape (this) - just because I live in Vegas and usually within 15 minutes of any journey I start feeling that heat-soaked lag, and it's a really significant drop in power. It's not my oil temps because I have the Stillen oil cooler kit which keeps me at around 180-190. But I also have the Stillen G3 intakes and I've noticed those pipes get super hot, so I was thinking it must be the IAT sensor being affected by sheer radiant heat from the hot metal intake pipes. Do you guys think the gold tape will make much difference in keeping those pipes cool?

Any other suggestions welcomed. I'm desperate to sort this out.

Las Vegas, yes very hot, I was in Joshua Tree for a few years and the heat really takes a toll on cars..

Couple of thing we did was Pep-boys has got a thermal sheet 48x60 i think. Nice and thick, lay it out and razor blade strips. There is enough to do 2 layers on both tubes out past the radiator. That should keep intake cool and low cost. Exhaust wrap will work but not as thick as the thermal stuff. :tup:

Also to keep cars & trucks cool you can wrap your headers and exhaust about 1/2 way back. Keeps the gases hot which flows quicker. Cold in, hot out, doesn't make much difference until you start driving hard. Only helps by a few degrees. I did it to my rock buggy, driving 5 mph in 100 degrees you try every trick in the book.

http://www.the370z.com/members/nut_n...3-dscf0661.jpg

Every little helps! Thanks for the advice! And that's fine because I'm not going for more horsepower, I'm just looking to fight off intake heat soak for as long as possible (to retain some of the hp the car already has). Header wrapping could work too, although I read on this forum they're bad because they lock in moisture and could cause rust... :s

Where did you purchase these covers for the intakes. very cool looking..

After researching for hours of which product to use to wrap the G3s in, I decicided to go with this - Heat Shield and Thermal Barriers - Automotive
In the list on the right of which works best for cold air intakes, they list "Cobra Cloth" as the best, along with thermaflect cloth. I bought a roll of 2" x 50' of Cobra Cloth ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o03_s00 )
And as soon as I get my G3s wrapped, I'll post results. I decided against the Gold tape, didn't want anything that would possibly absorb more heat, and according to tested results, the cobra cloth is the best for keeping the air cold through the pipes while being able to withstand up to 1350F of continuous heat, and 2000F of intermittent heat. I called the company to make sure this would work the best, since they also have it listed as a header wrap, they assured me with longer piping like the G3 has, this would keep the air coming in as cold as possible. Bought the Thermaflect tape to seal any spots I can't wrap. I wanted something that where the G3 aluminum pipes go through the metal holes that were cut, would not tear or make noise. Anyone know of someone who sells something that is made to be put where the holes were cut, so that if the G3s get loose, they don't rattle? Something like this - Spectre Performance® - Intake Tube/Duct Mounting Plate - so that I don't just have to sand down the holes, something that looks professional. Any help is appreciated. Thanks