Homemade CAI - duct to front bar

[Bizmark]

I was looking for an alternative CAI setup to the VS Super6CAI as i hear it has heat soak issues on the VR/VS models.

I've heard of some people running a 90 or 100mm pipe from the airbox to near the bottom of the radiator, some even run it right up to the opening on the front bumper. I'm not entirely sure about how to install something like that on my car, without risking any contact with the radiator or moving parts of the engine, so any advice would be appreciated.

[vr1uz-fe]

you have to drill under the box but watch out for the vac resivior i hit it last time i did one lol

im still tossing up wether to do simalar to my car that i have now but i dont like it due to it put the intake near the road to risk getting water and dirt in the filter i think the mace one is the best as it just is simple and efective but not cheap

[Bizmark]

I am actually considering purchasing a MACE CAI, and adding the duct to the front bar so it has a second source of air, and can have a slight ram air effect when on the highway/freeway. My Theory is that it'll keep the air coming into the engine a bit cooler and get a bit more power and economy.

[jonboy]

yea thats what im planing on doing as well, im relocating the washer bottle (possibly gona use a mazda bounty 1) so i can get a big duct under my cai. super6 heat soak sucks, there no good for towing or moving slow

[padrickz88]

Another thing is, does anyone know where you could actually buy some 90-100mm flexi pipe? Went to bunnings and you have to buy a shitload of it in a roll (like $50+)

Dont want to do pvc to be honest :P Any idea guys?

(assuming this will help the OP aswell as me lol)

[wraith]

This thread is stupid. Why would you want to go get some dodgy bit of plumbing pipe and drill a big hole in the steel under the air box. The easier option would be to just cut the opening on the air box bigger. Won't get defected then nor will the structural integrity of the panel be compromised.

[maldotcom2]

The biggest problem i have with the ducting idea is if you have it facing forward for "ram air" you'll get water flying up into your airbox. I don't really buy into the ram air thing anyway, sure the air flys in but then it hits turbulence as it slams into your air filter and slows down. There's too many curves in the V6 intake anyway, maybe a 5L with a forward facing TB would get some benefit from it.

Personally i'll be going with a closed off pod filter right behind the head light, that way it's shielded from water, no heat soak issues and it gets cool air.

[HamaTime™]

I was thinking of combining the MACE setup whilst connecting the Super 6 CAI To the box.

Thoughts?

[VS 5.0]

I was thinking of combining the MACE setup whilst connecting the Super 6 CAI To the box.

Thoughts?

I would have though that with the heat soak issues of the OTR set up, you would be negating the impact of the MACE set up.

[immortality]

This thread is stupid. Why would you want to go get some dodgy bit of plumbing pipe and drill a big hole in the steel under the air box. The easier option would be to just cut the opening on the air box bigger. Won't get defected then nor will the structural integrity of the panel be compromised.

on VN/VP's you should be able to get away with cutting the guard under the box, VR/VS i think have to meet different ADR's, something to do with crumple zones and therefore may not be legal. HSV cut a hole in the gaurd on VN's so it must be legal if they can do it.

The biggest problem i have with the ducting idea is if you have it facing forward for "ram air" you'll get water flying up into your airbox. I don't really buy into the ram air thing anyway, sure the air flys in but then it hits turbulence as it slams into your air filter and slows down. There's too many curves in the V6 intake anyway, maybe a 5L with a forward facing TB would get some benefit from it.

i wouldn't think so at all. i have a CAI that goes from the side of the pod enclosure and pics up directly from below the radiator. had it for a few years now and haven't hydrauliced my engine from water intake and i've hit standing water a few times since fitting it.

to gain a true ram air affect you need to be going reasonably quickly. faster then you can legaly travel on any major roadway in australia i'd imagine, however any ram air effect that you can use has to reduce some of the work the engine does sucking in that cold air which has to be of some benefit, especially if you do lots of freeway driving

[wana s' charge stock vt]

Another thing is, does anyone know where you could actually buy some 90-100mm flexi pipe? Went to bunnings and you have to buy a shitload of it in a roll (like $50+)

Dont want to do pvc to be honest :P Any idea guys?

(assuming this will help the OP aswell as me lol)

bunnings has it in flexi aluminium tube, its pretty thin but good cause can shape it. its like the aircon ducting but smaller and stronger.. i've had it on mine for 2 years and no issues, go's from air box, down under headlight and into front bar with 2X100mm pickups in the lower cut out of a vt bar.. never had no 'water ram' issues like everyone says, i've hit massive puddles and stays dry as shit. unless ya driving thru a dam i dont think you'll pick up a drip of water..


thats got picks of the flexipipe
bunnings CAI for vt

[glenn l]

[QUOTE=immortality;1638882]on VN/VP's you should be able to get away with cutting the guard under the box, VR/VS i think have to meet different ADR's, something to do with crumple zones and therefore may not be legal. HSV cut a hole in the gaurd on VN's so it must be legal if they can do it.

i herd that they done it on the sv89 and there was water probs.

[wikky]

Just reading back a few posts and want to clarify, you WILL NOT get any ram air effect at legal road speeds. It doesn't matter what kind of CAI you have (OTR or even your 'you beaut' Bunnings intake). The best and most reputable tuners in the country have done all the tests and unless you're hitting several hundred km/h and your car is tuned and fuelled to suit the flow of air, you won't ram air.

[padrickz88]

bunnings has it in flexi aluminium tube, its pretty thin but good cause can shape it. its like the aircon ducting but smaller and stronger.. i've had it on mine for 2 years and no issues, go's from air box, down under headlight and into front bar with 2X100mm pickups in the lower cut out of a vt bar.. never had no 'water ram' issues like everyone says, i've hit massive puddles and stays dry as shit. unless ya driving thru a dam i dont think you'll pick up a drip of water..


thats got picks of the flexipipe
bunnings CAI for vt

Thanks for that I'll go down when i have time and get some

Just reading back a few posts and want to clarify, you WILL NOT get any ram air effect at legal road speeds. It doesn't matter what kind of CAI you have (OTR or even your 'you beaut' Bunnings intake). The best and most reputable tuners in the country have done all the tests and unless you're hitting several hundred km/h and your car is tuned and fuelled to suit the flow of air, you won't ram air.

But its cooler air, YAYYYYYYYYYY =]

[immortality]

i herd that they done it on the sv89 and there was water probs.

HSV only cut the hole through the gaurd and left it at that so any crap thrown up by the wheel would be a issue. running a duct to the front bar would be a different story

[jonboy]

you can buy a flexible alloy tubing from mitre 10 for about $20 it comes in 4 and 6 inch dia

[maldotcom2]

You guys have to remember that when you're following a car in the wet weather, there's a lot of mist trailing onto the front of your car. A forward facing pipe is gonna suck in all that yummy watery goodness. You can dispute it all you want, it's basic physics.

Having said that, a backward or side facing pipe won't suck up the water as readily, but there will be a low pressure system created inside the pipe due to the air flowing across the mouth, obviously you don't want this. For these reasons i think sucking air from behind the headlight is the best of both worlds - Relatively still, cool air, that isn't compromised with water.

[VS 5.0]

I have heard that higher air pressure forms in the area behind the headlight as well.

Urban myth or truth ?

[wana s' charge stock vt]

You guys have to remember that when you're following a car in the wet weather, there's a lot of mist trailing onto the front of your car. A forward facing pipe is gonna suck in all that yummy watery goodness. You can dispute it all you want, it's basic physics.

Having said that, a backward or side facing pipe won't suck up the water as readily, but there will be a low pressure system created inside the pipe due to the air flowing across the mouth, obviously you don't want this. For these reasons i think sucking air from behind the headlight is the best of both worlds - Relatively still, cool air, that isn't compromised with water.

wouldnt the factory cai's cop the same watery goodness from facing front on aswell?????????? not having a dig at ya just wondering

lol, wish someone could scientifically prove all this gar gar about cai's, could go on debating it for years, they work, they dont, better fuel, no difference, more power or not, extra dust, extra water, if they work so well why didnt holden make em bigger, its all in ya head, holden one get heat soak, there fine, just every persons got a different opinion about em ...

[immortality]

You guys have to remember that when you're following a car in the wet weather, there's a lot of mist trailing onto the front of your car. A forward facing pipe is gonna suck in all that yummy watery goodness. You can dispute it all you want, it's basic physics.

don't tail gate. but seriously, i've had a low slung CAI for years in Auckland NZ, a city well known for it's four seasons in one day. i haven't yey stuffed my engine due to water damage.

BTW, a little moisture in the air won't hurt your engine, if anything it actually likes it. my V8 always ran the best on a nice cold foggy morning

lol, wish someone could scientifically prove all this gar gar about cai's, could go on debating it for years, they work, they dont, better fuel, no difference, more power or not, extra dust, extra water, if they work so well why didnt holden make em bigger, its all in ya head, holden one get heat soak, there fine, just every persons got a different opinion about em ...

i did some testing of the super 6 CAI and the MACE CAI and have posted the results in a few threads including the MACE thread for all to see.

I think i proved conclusively that the super6 CAI has heat soak issues.

on the question of Holden design..... Holden doesn't design based on max power..... the super6 CAI was added originally for what it is named for (that being the supercharged engines) only. later models have a CAI of sorts for all models.......

the factory Holden CAI's do work, especially on long trips where it gets nice a cool, however for stop/start driving it's not that great

[maldotcom2]

BTW, a little moisture in the air won't hurt your engine, if anything it actually likes it. my V8 always ran the best on a nice cold foggy morning

...

the factory Holden CAI's do work, especially on long trips where it gets nice a cool, however for stop/start driving it's not that great

No, it doesn't like it. Obviously it ran well because of the cold dense air.

True about the CAI's. Only good once you pick up speed.

[RiCeY]

Engines can in fact "like" water, my old sigma turbo for instance had water injection.

In internal combustion engines, water injection, also known as anti-detonant injection, is a method for cooling the combustion chambers of engines by adding water to the cylinder or incoming fuel-air mixture, allowing for greater compression ratios and largely eliminating the problem of engine knocking (detonation). This effectively increases the octane rating of the fuel, meaning that performance gains can be obtained when used in conjunction with a supercharger or turbocharger, altered spark ignition timing, and other modifications.

Water injection is also used in some turbine engines, when a momentary high-thrust setting is needed.

Obviously too much water is all bad news.

[Andrew426]

You guys have to remember that when you're following a car in the wet weather, there's a lot of mist trailing onto the front of your car. A forward facing pipe is gonna suck in all that yummy watery goodness. You can dispute it all you want, it's basic physics.

Having said that, a backward or side facing pipe won't suck up the water as readily, but there will be a low pressure system created inside the pipe due to the air flowing across the mouth, obviously you don't want this. For these reasons i think sucking air from behind the headlight is the best of both worlds - Relatively still, cool air, that isn't compromised with water.

The water condenses on the inside of the pipe, and your air filter should catch the rest

[Andrew426]

wouldnt the factory cai's cop the same watery goodness from facing front on aswell?????????? not having a dig at ya just wondering

lol, wish someone could scientifically prove all this gar gar about cai's, could go on debating it for years, they work, they dont, better fuel, no difference, more power or not, extra dust, extra water, if they work so well why didnt holden make em bigger, its all in ya head, holden one get heat soak, there fine, just every persons got a different opinion about em ...

Its not hard to prove, and it wouldnt take much effort too either. Most multimeters these days have an inbuilt temperature setting, and it wouldnt be hard to figure out some means of trapping and measuring dust coming into your intake. Results from those two tests alone should be conclusive enough.