In the fight to clean up my engine bay, and save weight, I was wondering how much of a difference I would have on intake air temps with my cold air intake vs. just having mesh covering up the turbo. There are obvious benefits to both (at least I thought), but the results showed different. I initially figured that having the cold air intake on my car that goes into the fender would provide cooler air, where as the mesh would provide warmer air, but more air flow. So, like most things I ask, no one would have an answer, so I tested it for myself!
Ok, let me start out by stating what I did, and exactly what mods I have again.
Mods that matter:
CF hood with openings to blow cold air from the hood vent onto the turbo
Coolingmist meth kit with 500cc injector
Big MPX intercooler
Only variables:
Mopar Performance cold air intake, K&N filter, PTP water splash box
vs.
only mesh over the turbo opening
Results:
With the normal cold air setup, I drove around data logging intake air temps. Driving slow and parking, they were right around 86 degrees. Cruising around at 40 mph, the temps stayed around 82 degrees. I went WOT through third gear, and the temps dropped to 70 degrees and the car spiked to 24 psi, held 22 psi.
With the mesh over the turbo, no cold air intake, I did the exact same test. Driving around slow, and parked, my temps were between 86 and 89 degrees. Cruising they stayed around 80 - 82 degrees. That is no change at all! Going WOT through third gear, my temps dropped to 68 degrees, and the car spiked to 25 psi, held 24 psi!
What does this mean:
I won’t have track results until tomorrow night, but these above tests were done within 30 minutes of each other tonight, in 76 degree weather. The temperatures at sitting, cruising, and WOT were within 2 degrees of each other, which is negligible, and I made more boost without it.
I am not saying this setup will work for everyone, but preliminary testing shows that with my car, I make more boost, and maintain the same temperature by going to just a mesh covering my turbo, vs. a cold air intake, filter, and temp box.
Very cool :tup:
Tomorrow I am going to the track again. I have changed nothing on the car, and with my cold air intake setup, I went consistent 11.9xx @ 119.xx just 4 days ago. If it is close, or faster, this will confirm my results. If it is slower, then I will know that the cold air intake is better for track use, even though the numbers say different.
–mark
