[b]Interesting info on Intake temps[/b]

[scotttisha]

I have owned a ScanGuage II for a couple years now.
I bought it to monitor a few things on my 2005 Mercedes C230, since I had put well over 100k miles on it a few short years.....I had purchased two cables for it so I could also use it in the wife's car if needed...

since i had the extra cable, I went ahead and installed it semi-permanently in my Genesis...more out of curiosity than necessity.

I have noticed something that may sway a few minds regarding cold air intakes for our cars....

in the following picture you can see (bottom right) that the intake temp is 60.
according to the outside temp, it was 55 degrees...that's only a difference of 5 degrees which is actually pretty impressive...
this picture was taken while i was cruising down the interstate and the intake temp was staying pretty constant...it would lower a couple of degrees if I floored it and sucked in air at a higher rate.

that pic was taken yesterday...this morning it was 32 degrees outside and the intake temps stayed between 33-35. they only went up slightly when stopped at a red light.

when it was warmer outside (75-90) the intake temps ran about 10 degrees warmer...still pretty impressive.

my mercedes would hit temps 30 to 40 degrees higher because it is forced fed (supercharger). even with the intercooler, it only cooled down after driving steadily for a good mile or so.


here's a pic showing my valentine one and scanguage II. both hardwired and hidden from site if anyone happens to look in the windows.

so, I have no interest in a cold air intake, but i do want to order the K&N drop in filter. (these tests were all done with stock filter and flapper removed)

 

[scottdk]

I have owned a ScanGuage II for a couple years now.
I bought it to monitor a few things on my 2005 Mercedes C230, since I had put well over 100k miles on it a few short years.....I had purchased two cables for it so I could also use it in the wife's car if needed...

since i had the extra cable, I went ahead and installed it semi-permanently in my Genesis...more out of curiosity than necessity.

I have noticed something that may sway a few minds regarding cold air intakes for our cars....

in the following picture you can see (bottom right) that the intake temp is 60.
according to the outside temp, it was 55 degrees...that's only a difference of 5 degrees which is actually pretty impressive...
this picture was taken while i was cruising down the interstate and the intake temp was staying pretty constant...it would lower a couple of degrees if I floored it and sucked in air at a higher rate.

that pic was taken yesterday...this morning it was 32 degrees outside and the intake temps stayed between 33-35. they only went up slightly when stopped at a red light.

when it was warmer outside (75-90) the intake temps ran about 10 degrees warmer...still pretty impressive.

my mercedes would hit temps 30 to 40 degrees higher because it is forced fed (supercharger). even with the intercooler, it only cooled down after driving steadily for a good mile or so.


here's a pic showing my valentine one and scanguage II. both hardwired and hidden from site if anyone happens to look in the windows.

so, I have no interest in a cold air intake, but i do want to order the K&N drop in filter. (these tests were all done with stock filter and flapper removed)

Glad you posted this Scott!! I had a ScanGauge II and loved it! The only reason I sold it (on Amazon) was there was just no great spot for it in the Genesis. So it would look terrible. I admit, your setup is much better, but I still would the unit not to be visible for anyone but the driver.

I miss my scangauge and would like another one. Talk about a gadget that tells you everything and anything you want to know about what's going on with your car. It's crazy.

 

[ASHDUMP]

GREAT Post!!! What is your assumption if you were to put the flapper back on? Warmer temps?

I've got my V1 hardwired to the rain sensor and is mounted on the right side of my rear view mirror. How do you like it mounted one the left side?

 

[scotttisha]

GREAT Post!!! What is your assumption if you were to put the flapper back on? Warmer temps?

I've got my V1 hardwired to the rain sensor and is mounted on the right side of my rear view mirror. How do you like it mounted one the left side?

It's fine right there..It's actually right at the edge of the headliner, so it's out of the way...I also have a mute switch installed on my turn-signal stalk, so I don't have to reach up and push the button to mute it..

The way the air box is designed, air from the top of thr grill is channeled into the air box and the flapper is designed to open up once the vacuum inside the box is great enough to demand more air.... Not sure, because I forgot what it looked like when I took it apart, where the air is coming from as it goes through the flapper. I know it's plumbed in, and I assume from the front of the car, so I imagine it's pretty well designed to get the coldest possible air into the engine.

I was concerned about the Scanguage looking kinda ghetto too. This was the best solution I could come up with that didn't require any permanent cutting, drilling, etc...

The biggest reason I wanted it in the car is because of the "instant MPG" feature....The one from Hyundai sux. I want it to be accurate to the tenth and what Hyundai gave us is about as useful as BMW's old MPG guage.

Scott

 

[ASHDUMP]

Does the scan guage tell you gallons used? I used to love that feature in my old car. It used to be the most accurate out of all the settings.

 

[scotttisha]

I know it will tell me Gallons per hour (or average gallons per hour) being used.. Not sure about gallons used.


Speaking of fuel mileage; The car's own "miles left to empty" reading has been a little off. In the sense that it will go from 35 miles till empty to "---" till empty.
My Mercedes counts it down to the last mile, before hitting "0" miles till empty..

The first time this happened I freaked out, since I was a good 15 miles from the nearest gas station. The car's computer was telling me I had 55 miles till empty, I was on the highway with the cruise set at 75mph, so I figured it was safe to drive the last 25 miles of my commute...Then next thing I know, I look down and see no miles left...I just happened to be on a stretch of toll road with no close exit for gas...

Now, I treat 30 to 50 miles till empty as ZERO, just to be safe...
I must have been riding on fumes that day too...It took 19.1 gallons to top off my tank.

Here's the link for the Scangauge 2
http://www.scangauge.com/

 

[scottdk]

I'm now regretting selling mine on Amazon. I sold it for $92 I belive. I paid $185. Now I see it's $165 on the home page.

I did find it on Amazon new WITH shipping for a little bit less.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/ScanGauge-Compact-Multifunction-Computer-Customizable/dp/B000AAMY86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1262932847&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display: Automotive[/ame]

 

[Sayantsi]

This is a good post, but this is what you'd expect in an intake as the air is moving through it so quickly. I would be interested in seeing how quickly the temps rise at idle, and just how high they can get.

As for the K&N filter - its great because you can wash it and replace it rather than buying paper filters every year, but don't expect a power gain. Maybe a sound difference.

 

[scotttisha]

This is a good post, but this is what you'd expect in an intake as the air is moving through it so quickly. I would be interested in seeing how quickly the temps rise at idle, and just how high they can get.

As for the K&N filter - its great because you can wash it and replace it rather than buying paper filters every year, but don't expect a power gain. Maybe a sound difference.

I'll get some more data for you regarding the temps at idle. I've seen a 30 degree difference after I've turned the car off and let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes, then get back in to go somewhere. You have to figure the intake manifold and airbox will absorb a lot of the engine bay's heat when sitting still.

That in mind, the intake manifold is going to absorb the same heat whether you have an aftermarket intake on the car or not. I guess the difference would be in how quickly an aftermarket intake would cool the temps back down, compared to the stock set up.

If I remember correctly, for every 10 degree drop in temp, you see a 1% gain in hp.
with a 40 degree drop in temp, you're looking at 15.2 hp gain. That's significant. definitely why cars feel faster in the cold weather...Especially forced induction cars. My old, big turbo, GTI was a beast in 30-40 degree weather.

I'll try and take some notes today and post back up by Monday.

 

[Rey]

I also have a ScanGauge. I mounted mine on Velcro on the upper left corner of the dash using the standard cord.
My temp findings are similar to Scottisha's.
My conclusion is that the air box temperature managment is very good, but like all cars it is subject to heat soak in stop and go city driving. I have found with other vehicles that when heat soaked the temperature diferential can be more than 40 degrees; and that it takes mabe ten miles or so of highway motoring to drive the temperature differntial back to "norm".
With other cars I have removed the air filter box and covered its exterior with reflective tape aluminum metallic tape. - this is another form of "duct tape". That reflective tape adheres well and does seem to reduce heat soak. By just doing the base of the filter box it is unobtrusive.

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[Sayantsi]

That in mind, the intake manifold is going to absorb the same heat whether you have an aftermarket intake on the car or not. I guess the difference would be in how quickly an aftermarket intake would cool the temps back down, compared to the stock set up.

If I remember correctly, for every 10 degree drop in temp, you see a 1% gain in hp.
with a 40 degree drop in temp, you're looking at 15.2 hp gain. That's significant. definitely why cars feel faster in the cold weather...Especially forced induction cars. My old, big turbo, GTI was a beast in 30-40 degree weather.

I'll try and take some notes today and post back up by Monday.

Here's a question - does Hyundai run coolant through the intake? Some automakers do this to help keep it cool since its a large conductor directly bolted to the engine.

I'd be mainly interested in knowing how quickly the air temps increase in the intake or intake ducts at 1 min, 2 min and 3 min, and at like 5-10-15 min, to get an idea of heat soak while idling at a red light. Once you're moving though, air temps in the intake will quickly fall back to near-ambient as the air passes quickly enough not to absorb much heat from the intake.

 

[Nabber]

...Some automakers do this to help keep it cool since its a large conductor directly bolted to the engine.

I thought they did this to warm it up quickly for emissions purposes. I guess I figured the intake charge would transfer the heat away from the manifold since the gasket would somewhat isolate the IM from the heads.