Yeah, I'm thinking of a snorkel more to direct air up towards the cooling plate and not completely into the airbox horn (sealed all the way). I've always thought he Spoon snorkel is a bad design because of how it pinches without widening to prevent backpressure.

Think of something like a cooling plate that connects to the airbox intake horn to prevent engine heat from spilling over top, a 2x6 or 3x6 hole in the passenger side stock plate with a fully open L-shape or slight S-shape snorkel that gets incoming air up through the stock plate and towards the horn by bisecting the stock plate - like what you did in that link, but instead of going around with the extra tubing, just straight up.

 

Look at the link again. The tubing went out to the Pax side fender well. Inside the gutted stock air box, there is a flapper valve to close this air path off when the front air scoops go into "ram air" due to the speed of the car.

The link describes what has become known on this board as the "Dolebludger mod", as I came up with it. It was the best way I could figure out to get some pressure-driven cool air into a sealed and gutted stock air box, while still allowing the intake to be able to draw in more cool air passively at lower speeds.

The "Dolebludger mod" was never intended to be an ultimate solution, but was intended to be a living being -- to be improved upon by the suggestions of others.

Our common problem is that the stock intake horn draws only hot air from right above the radiator -- the hottest part of the engine bay. Because of the way our engine bays are stet up, there are only very limited ways to access cool air for our intakes -- let alone speed pressurized "ram air" into our stock air boxes. Those who are willing to cut big openings in our hoods or risk hydrolocking from scoops below the engine bay could come up with something better -- provided they never wanted to easily convert to stock or wanted risk of engine distruction. But as I am not in this category, the mod in the link is the best I could come up with.

I'm sure others could improve on it. When they do, PLEASE let me know.

 

I know about the tubing, I'm suggesting something a little more direct for getting air into the stock intake opening.



I like your idea, and its great for low speeds imo. I'm just thinking of something a little different for getting air in at speed. A snorkel that grabs air from in front of the radiator and channels it above (through) the stock plate, then an open area where the cooling plate and stock horn keep out hot air from above and grab the greater cool air channeled above the stock plate.

The open area keeps pressure from building up the way a Spoon snorkel does... The Spoon snorkel just pinches way too much for me - without getting wider where its pinched, it seems to really restrict air flow, where a cooling plate has teh width, but no channeling to get air up into it....

fwiw, I love the idea of an open bumper a la Spoon, but the rest of the Spoon design is hideous imo. A stock nose with an air hole for direct intake (and recessed foglights in the sides) would be a great design.

 

Great drawing! I wish I could do the same on this board. Sorry, I don't know how to do so. So I just have to describe. What I did was to run a fabricated "air scoop" from the bottom grill bar to the rad brace at the intake of the AUT. I felt that, by doing so, I would capture more air at speed than with a design such as yours. I did try several designs with a 200 mph leaf blower fixed in front of the pax side of the grill in deciding on my method. Your snorkel is much better than a Spoon, which has an air restriction point which (IMO) is unacceptable,. But another problem I had with the Spoon design was the relatively small square inches of cross-section it presented to the air entering the grill at speed. And the angles of air travel are another thing.

Your design calls for the air to make a 90 degree angle right after entering your snorkel. Then, it must make virtually another 90 degree angle to enter the intake of the AUT or similar device. And the intake of your snorkel as it presents itself to the grilll would appear to be about 12 sq. in. On the other hand, my "air scoop" presents about 63 sq. in. to the air entering the grill, and requires a turn angle of about 60 degrees to enter the scoop to the intake of the AUT. This, or course, means that the air must make another 60 degree turn when it reaches the intake of the AUT. But, IMO, that's better than the 90 degrees in your drawing.

So, bottom line, it would appear that 63 sq. in. of cross sectional air capture that had to make two 60 degree turns would be better than 12 sq. in. of cross sectional air capture that had to make two 90 degree turns.

As to fear of removing the stock rad plate, I'll point out again that NOBODY has reported more than three bars on the engine heat guage using the AUT with the stock rad plate removed

 

I was thinkng of this in addition to your side air scoop - more of a way to get the air up into the stock airbox opening than normally exists. I think a cooling plate that closes the airbox opening and a snorkel that directs air up is better than nothing...

 

mmm.. I dont have it yet. But If you removed the plate to iinstall the AUT. Wouldnt that make it easier for theif to pop the hood?

 

hmmm so verdict of keeping the panel in or out?

 

I took mine out. I think the radiator will still be sufficient air. There has been no reports from anyone running the AUT plate saying otherwise, it's in the instructions to remove it. I would remove it if I were you.

 

There's a thread floating around now that discusses air pressure between the front of the car and and inside the engine bay and how altering things like the nose, hood, and undertray can adversely effect air pressure under the hood. I think part of the OEM piece's duty is keeping air pressure up so it travels through the enine bay better, so I'd keep as much of it as I could, but that was just me.

 

yea i read about that.. interesting read btw

as for the AUT cooling plate, i own one.. i can personally vouch for it that it works.. i tested it once when i drove at city and highway driving.. after i got to my destinations, i popped the hood open asap and felt that the filter was cool to the touch while everything else around the engine bay was warm.. you can see that the filter is right on the opening of the cooling plate..


so there ya go!