# If you were to build your own cold air intake...



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

What kinda hosing/piping would you use?

silicone radiator hosing --> incredible insulator, looks good, workable.

stainless steel piping --> least efficient insulator, looks the best, workable

ABS piping --> good insulator, looks like shit, very easy to put on, and incredibly inexpensive.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

depends on your funds i guess.
i'm a [email protected] mofo right now.. but doing the same project a second time down the road costs more.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

i'd use aluminum.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

Nismo240 said:


> i'd use aluminum.


so you would use the worst insulator?


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

why is it the worst insulator? i use it for my intercooler piping, and it works just fine. if you didn't want my opinion, you shouldn't have asked for it.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

Nismo240 said:


> why is it the worst insulator? i use it for my intercooler piping, and it works just fine. if you didn't want my opinion, you shouldn't have asked for it.


sorry, didn't mean to offend you. aluminum is used for intercooler piping because it's easy to mold into the right shape, and as you generally are going into tighter spots, you need that. also, it's alot smoother, creating a more frictionless surface inside the piping. also, because it's an intercooler application, and the air is being forced through as cold air and an incredibly higher speed, insulation isn't as much of an issue. 

it's a worse insulator because it's a high heat conductor. metals are always worse insulators than plastics and other non metals.

but, you're right, aluminum should have been an option, its very common, especially for Ram air applications.

as for the cost:

all of these would cost less than $150 to make, with a good filter.

3" silicone hosing would be the most expensive it looks, averaging ~$30/ft, and assuming you'd need about 3 ft, plus 2-3 bends, which are about $10 each.

not sure on stainless/aluminum piping, but FMIC intercooler piping could be adapted to work a well placed CAI, as it generally is aimed down towards the radiator at the bottom of the car.

ABS piping with filter, $50 to finish the entire thing. buy a 6 ft stretch of ABS and then the appropriate bends. use zip-ties to hold to keep it from moving out of place.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

i see what you're saying, but i was only suggesting because most aftermarket intakes are made of aluminum. all of your choices are good, but they have their downsides. aluminum/steel are probably the most used, is easy to come by, and easy to work with. the only problem i can see with aluminum is that its more difficult to find someone that can weld it rather than steel, which isn't difficult to find and do. and like you said before, they conduct the most heat. silicone/rubber intakes have never appealed to me. i know on turbo cars, such as SR's, they have rubber intakes from the factory. the only problem with that is while under boost, the intake collapses under pressure, but you shouldn't have that problem with an N/A motor, so it could be worth a shot. as far as plastic goes, i think it may be your best bet. its cheap, easy to work with, doesn't conduct as much heat as metal, and you can always paint it to make it look nice. the only problem with this is if it gets too hot, i would worry about it melting. 


i should've really thought about it before i suggested aluminum, because now i think the silicone or plastic would work better. but thats just my 2 cents.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

don't worry about it, it's a good two cents.

the CAI market has turned into a sham in my opinion because it's become such a "basic" mod. unfortunately, just going with the basic application produces almost zero results. the only Good intakes are made for super popular tuning cars such as tegs, civics, ludes, 240's, etc. aftermarket intakes have gone from being a mod that provides the engine with cold air, to just being a less restrictive option to factory airboxes. 

aluminum is great for a short ram.

as for melting plastic, PVC can possibly melt at underhood temps.

ABS (the black PVC) is stronger and more heat resistant and won't melt at underhood temperatures. if it's melting, you have overheating issues.

Note: also forgot to add that aluminum piping is a helluva lot lighter than steel. another reason for it's popularity.

it seems to me that the silicone hosing could produce the best application. it looks good, it is easy to use, and it's insulative. the top of the line intakes use silicone/CF hosing, so i guess it's not far off. but they cost $250+. silicone hosing is just expensive in comparison is all.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

i can agree with that, aftermarket intakes have always been a big joke to me. if its just an aluminum pipe, its gonna perform the same as any other brand out there. i get a kick out of people that can't decide which brand to go with, then they flip out when i tell them to get one off ebay. the only intakes that have time and research put in them are the high dollar ones. another reason they are so much is because of the material used. take ARC for example, they have a titanium intake for some cars thats a few hundred bucks. but titanium is extremely strong, lightweight, and doesn't conduct heat as much as other metals. thats where their time and research went into. you're gonna pay more for it, but you're getting more use of your dollar for it.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

i like Cosmo racing and AEM intakes the best because they make them with a carbon fiber silicon compound that's an incredible insulator, lightweight, and super strong. problem is it's not a moldable compound, so it's vehicle specific.

but again, they're a couple to several hundreds of dollars.

would be interesting if this got stickied as some general tech FAQ to help those who were interested in having a good CAI.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

carbon fiber silicon...

gotta be expensive to make.. they just add in silicon flecks with they're molding the carbon fiber or is it silcon fiber.. that's gotta be pricey to manufacture if you don't have a hard market for it.

guess it trully depends on what type of intercooler you use... the tubing is part of it yeah, but when it comes down to it, the air is flowing through the tubing so fast that the real cooling process comes from the intercooler. given there's a lot of friction in the air during the travel...

but here's food for thought...

physics class...

take a welded openended T tube and attach it to a hose coming from an air compressor.

out of one side you will get cool air, out of the other.. hot. then when you attach an intercooler to that.... hhmmmm.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

i have a friend who made a carbon fiber intake on his S/C GT Mustang. he made a molding of the intake and then wrapped the mold with the sheets of carbon. it came out really nice, it looks good and is pretty durable. we've been thinking about making one for SR's, and maybe more if we can get people interested in buying them.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

but does a pure carbon fiber intake tube do the same as what a manufactured tube with silicon integrated would?

how do they do that anyways?

is it internal?

does the silican just graft to the carbon fiber and is only on the inside? or is integrated into the whole casting?


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

OchnofConcrete said:


> but does a pure carbon fiber intake tube do the same as what a manufactured tube with silicon integrated would?
> 
> how do they do that anyways?
> 
> ...


the carbon fiber presents some heatshielding and solid rigidity. the silicone presents awesome heat shielding. not sure how they do it, that's why it's not cheap. also, with the C/F providing shielding and rigidity, and silicon being used instead of steel, this would be very light compared. about as light as aluminum without the heat venerability.

cosmos racing used to build them, but they've gone down to only one style. they only use 4ply silicone tubing. they make theirs more targeted to the beamer crowd now. 

Cosmos Racing Cold Air Intakes

personally, i believe those to just be extended ram airs. their cold airs could be much better. however, they are considerably cheaper than the competitors.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

its been a while since i talked to him about it, he explained the whole process to me but i can't remember it for shit. i know he had at least one layer of some type of resin on the outside, but i can't remember if he put it on the inside. but keep in mind, this is the first intake he made, so its more of a prototype. the only other things he made were a cooling panel and he wrapped other things like his fuse box cover.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

another way to do ot would be to cut a silicone tube in half longitudinally and coat the insides with fiberglass, then re-assemble the two halves together, brace them lightly with tape, and then coat the outside completely with c/f.

that would be a kick-ass intake hose.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

come to think of it, he did have to cut it. but if it was longitudinal or latitudinal, idk. i'll go by and see him some time soon, he lives right up the road from me. i'll ask him some more about how he did it as well.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

it probably would've been longitudinal, because it's already cut latitudinal (at the openings).


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

yea, that would make more sense lol. sorry i can't think, i was in a car wreck the other day and have been kinda out of it.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

no worries. that sucks man, i've only been rear ended, and those suck.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

yea, i think this was my third. first one was when i was a kid, my mom's ex boyfriend hit a car that was stopped for a school bus goin about 50. i was 8 or 9, and was very lucky the airbags didn't come out (great job on safety geo). my second one was when i was 16, someone rear ended me while i was leaving school. i came very close to beating the dudes ass. and this was my third, it was in a 95 miata. we were goin maybe 40 at the most, i was watching out the window and all i hear is the brakes lock up and by the time i turned forward the fuckin airbags deployed. i didn't get hit in the face, my arm just kinda came up as a reaction, and it got scraped up a little bit. my friends car is the only one that was totaled, we hit a jetta and all that happened to it was the rear bumper cover cracked and has paint on it.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

sonicgundam said:


> another way to do ot would be to cut a silicone tube in half longitudinally and coat the insides with fiberglass, then re-assemble the two halves together, brace them lightly with tape, and then coat the outside completely with c/f.
> 
> that would be a kick-ass intake hose.


that's what i was thinking of if it was homemade, but if it was to go into manufactury i think it'd be cool if the silicone was mixed with carbor fiber flecks... it would give it a spacial rigidity and strength better than just silicone but it would still have a bit of flex to it for multiple applications.

that'd freakin rock.



damn... never have had airbags deploy, but been in more than a few accidents. think i've totalled 4 cars. all within reason though. lol.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

it was the first time air bags have deployed on me, i thought for sure that i was going to have a broken nose. it sucks when it comes out, all of the powder that has been sitting for over 10 years makes it hard as hell to breathe.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

don't doubt it. i've heard they can break noses easy. wiplash more often though. a doc give ya any concussion meds?

tell ya the truth, one of my wrecks, it was supposed to deploy but they never did.

was racing a Vette in a Taurus through traffic... ;]... i won.

but mid-late taurus's were notorious for having no brakes after racing the engine for an extended amount of time.

i slowed to take a turn and as i went into the turn (i was street racing so i was braking during the 2nd quarter of the turn before the apex), the damn brake pedal went to the floor...

i freaked and instead of just pulling through the turn and using the curb, i tried to turn back into an alley that paralleled the street... ran out of time and went into the corner of someone's fence..

luckily there was a metal pole in the corner cuz they had a pool. lol.

airbags never went off and the car was pretty well damaged. i hit the fence somewhere between 20 and 40, i can't recall. bumper, hood, radiator support. bags never deployed.

the whole deal was wierd and pissed me off. to this day noone believes me the pedal went to the floor even though the wrecker guy said he's heard of it before.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

i was 16 so i was just inexperienced as far as the distance and turning radius... now i'd have just ripped the wheel to the right.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

OchnofConcrete said:


> that's what i was thinking of if it was homemade, but if it was to go into manufactury i think it'd be cool if the silicone was mixed with carbor fiber flecks... it would give it a spacial rigidity and strength better than just silicone but it would still have a bit of flex to it for multiple applications.
> 
> that'd freakin rock.
> 
> ...


that's how the manufactured stuff is supposed to be.

i had a similar rear-end as you. was picking my brother up from school, and some dickwad in his parent bought mustang comes roaring through the rain soaked parking lot not paying attention at all, tires to break and slides right into me. no airbags in the car, so my brother and i just about smash our faces on the dash/wheel. seatbelts stopped that. i get out of the car, not damage (yay plastic rubber compound) and i'm too pissed to beat the shit out of the kid, so i just drove off.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

lol, that taurus wreck i just told ya aobut was about my worst...

since then i've had a looot of pisspants close calls.

had a funny rearend one time though..

had an 87 318 longbed Dodge P/U and a rainy day like yours... some chick in an accord slid up under my rearbumber and got stuck on my trailerhitch bottom.

lol i just ripped my truck off, laughed and said it was fine with me if you didn't want to pay the insurance.. she had a huge gash in her hood.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

OchnofConcrete said:


> lol, that taurus wreck i just told ya aobut was about my worst...
> 
> since then i've had a looot of pisspants close calls.
> 
> ...


rofl cakes. that's why i'm glad that when it comes to driving, my genitalia are on the outside of my body. not saying woman are bad drivers. i'm saying 95% of women don't pay proper attention to the road. 4% are over cautious and create accident situations as thus. the other 1% are those than can drive.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

that's exactly what it is... 

they oversteer, or they get nervous and don't pay attention to the real danger zones, actually steering into the badpart they didn't see while they were avoiding the rustling leaves. heh heh.

lol (flashback) i taught an ex how to drive stick... i've taught most all my ex's how to drive a stick. but this one i was pissed off at...

so how'd i teach her? LOL

i put her on a 30* incline in an alley and enjoyed watching her inevitably freak out about everything at once.

i couldn't stop laughing about it for weeks. hell, i am right now years later.


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

what gets me is cell phone, lip stick, and starbucks in one hand with other one making speaking gestures at the person on the other end of the phone. at 50 miles an hour.


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## OchnofConcrete (Jan 7, 2008)

lol, right...
makes me want to tap their rear quarter panel with an already messed up fender and back off so they don't know who did it.

or just plan pit them. haha


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

OchnofConcrete said:


> don't doubt it. i've heard they can break noses easy. wiplash more often though. a doc give ya any concussion meds?
> 
> tell ya the truth, one of my wrecks, it was supposed to deploy but they never did.
> 
> ...


i never went to the doctor, the fire dept. showed up first and asked if i was alright, but i didn't feel anything till the next day. my neck was a little sore and i was kinda dazed, but i'm feeling a lot better now.


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