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Sealing Airaid Intake, Comparison Modded K&N vs Stock VS Modded Airaid


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As Promised, For those of you that know I have been in the process of trying out a few different intakes. With the mindset than the closer you can get to ambient temp the better. For every 10F cooler you potentially gain 1/10 of a second in the 1/4 mile.

 

I started out with the K&N Typhoon with terrible results. IATs were consistently much higher than ambient. I messed around with it off and on for about a year. Here are the results from that.

 

http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php?topic=3238

 

Summary, its a paper weight. Heat soak is terrible, and it draws in hot air like nobody's business. Up side is sounded kinda cool.

 

I started down the road of the Airaid after seeing some promising results from this discussion.

 

http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/topic,3250.0/topicseen.html

 

The sealed top looked cool and was derived from some of the other higher end intakes available on the market. So I went out and bought one.

 

"After much trial and error I decided that I am done with the K&N typhoon. I loved the sound but it hurt performance so out it came. I got a really good deal on a new Airaid intake. With some of the positive results on here I decided why not. I installed the intake and excited I took it for a drive. I was immediately disappointed, IATs were even higher than the K&N? WTF?? And even worse was that when you got on the throttle IAT went even higher? Again WTF?? So pull the car back into the garage and wanting to take a hammer to the intake I decided to check the seal to the hood with some chalk. Wow it barely touched in 3 locations with major gaps in between. Ok that is a real problem. I had some weather so stripping left over from another project and I did this."

 

14890314913_4f90219506_c.jpgIMG_1357 by sho.boat, on Flickr

 

It did work, but wasn't long term.

 

So now I know what I had to do. And on with the how to.

 

The first thing you should get is some of this weather stripping.

 

14683872998_a5816ae2ae_s.jpgstripping1 by sho.boat, on Flickr

 

If you call Airaid they will sell you some (or maybe even give it to you).

 

Next you will need some of this.

 

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/indoor-expanding-foam-tape-1-4-inch-x-1-inch-x-13-feet/968644

 

It acts like memory foam, and seems to be the best at conforming to the contours of the hood.

 

If you want to do the cool box option you will need this, and some aluminum foil tape.

 

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/reflectix-duct-wrap-12x25/902353

 

Reflectix comes in all shapes and sizes.

 

Tear off the OE blade style stripping.

If you are just doing the sealing then proceed to step 2.

 

Step 1. Carefully cut the reflectix to fit the inside of the of the box. I found that cutting it for the shape of each panel and then sealing with the aluminum tape worked best. I got the idea for this mod from Cold air industries. They line their enclosures with a similar material.

 

Step 2. Measure and cut the new rubber stripping. You want to ensure that it follows the contours of the intake lip all the way around. If you keep going with it on the right side it will also fill in the small gap between the intake and the fender/rad support. Next the foam stripping. This may take a bit of trial and error on your par depending on how your hood fits. What you want to wind up with is a pattern that looks like this. A bit of chalk rubbed on the stripping will give you this impression.

 

14870424525_9ff3e24ce4_c.jpghood seal1 by sho.boat, on Flickr

 

Finished it will look like this.

 

14683743500_eb1d80dedc_c.jpgPrototype by sho.boat, on Flickr

 

Results of the mod. The Reflectix was completed after the track runs. This was in an attempt to help with head soak recovery. On a quick drive today it seemed to help a lot. Temp went from soak 47C (116F) to 27C (80.6F) in about 3 min, ambient today is 26C. Or from my driveway to the main road. It also did not climb nearly as quickly as a stand still. Went from 28 to only 31 in a drive through line for about 10min.

 

DA was 1750. Not the best but just perfect for what I needed to do. So up till now the stock box was the best option for our cars. Well it is no more! Ran 3 runs with the Stock box and 4 with the modded Airaid. I made another improvement on the Airaid, but more on that later. Runs with the Stock box all 12.95 or Slower. Runs with the Modded Airaid, wait for it..... 12.70 to 12.83 baby! a good 2 tenths faster. for comparisons sake I took the 2 times with similar 60 foot times to prove the point.

 

Stock Airbox

 

60' 1.882

330 5.396

1/8 8.339

MPH 84.20

1000 10.860

1/4 12.990

MPH 107.62

 

Modded Airaid

 

60' 1.873

330 5.327

1/8 8.221

MPH 85.37

1000 10.732

1/4 12.803

MPH 110.48

 

And a personal best tonight of 12.703 @ 111 mph. with a 60 of 1.8 flat. At 0 or better DA it should go into the 12.5 with this setup.

 

With the butt dyno I was expecting it to be quicker, but not 2 tenths quicker. Data logging confirmed that the Airaid was able to recover quicker and had a lower IAT throughout the runs (almost ambient after 3 seconds). I also assume that there was less resistance and the cooler IAT resulted in boost being slightly lower with the Airaid then the stock box.

 

The claim that a good CAI adds about 15hp seems to be accurate. At least in this case with the mod. Here is a calculator based on my results.

 

emyvunyb.jpg

 

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Thanks, I heard from Airaid and sent them your photo of the stripping...waiting to hear if they have anything like it. Also referenced them to your threads...hopefully something will come of it and they will come up with a better method of sealing their kit. Will let you know what I hear from Airaid!

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Thanks' date=' I heard from Airaid and sent them your photo of the stripping...waiting to hear if they have anything like it. Also referenced them to your threads...hopefully something will come of it and they will come up with a better method of sealing their kit. Will let you know what I hear from Airaid![/quote'] I did place an order for some stripping from a local guy here. I'll let you know once it comes in. The stuff is for Automotive applications. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Here's the latest e-mail I received from Airaid. They have been very quick at responding and I am very pleased with their customer service. I would recommend the Airaid in a heartbeat!:

 

We have seen the threads on the forums and while the foam type weather strip may seal slightly better for your unique situations at the track unfortunately with the harsh under hood environment we found thru testing that the foam weather strip deteriorates much quicker therefore becoming less effective and requires replacement creating a headache for the customer. The rubber blade type weather strip on the other hand withstands the under hood temps quite well and as it goes thru heat cycles it actually conforms itself to the underside of the hood. While the foam is a great idea unfortunately due to its lack of longevity it is not the most practicable. We do like to hear from customers like yourself with their experiences and customizing as that is part of what makes us who we are. Each time we hear of a customer doing something like you guys are our engineers look at it and other possibilities to make a product better however there are several things that come into play including durability.

 

With that said I would be more than happy to send you either the taller blade or loop style weather strip at no cost, just let me know which one you want. One thing I do need to mention is if you opt for the loop or D style you will obtain the foam yourself as we do not have any to include.

 

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I just did the foam wrap and moved the rubber seal on the hood. Question on the rubber hood seal. Ok which dumb FORD engineer designed it to cover the inlet for the intake. I didn't trim mine' date=' just relocated it back so its off the opening.[/quote'] I believe this secondary port is to prevent large quantities of water being taken in. The ram air comes from the lower port. Hence the weatherstripping in front of the top. It's still open to the outside. If you follow the stripping of the hood it's open to the side of the hood. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I just did the foam wrap and moved the rubber seal on the hood. Question on the rubber hood seal. Ok which dumb FORD engineer designed it to cover the inlet for the intake. I didn't trim mine' date=' just relocated it back so its off the opening.[/quote']

Hmm, sounds great, I can't wait to have a look at it! But I'm not coming to South Williamsport until the Little League World Series craziness is over! LOL

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I am very happy that AirRaid is sending me out a tall blade molding for my Windstorm. We'll see how it molds to the underside hood after a week of heat cycles.
Nice! I just received the new D strip from Airaid. For comparisons. The middle is the one that came with the Airaid. 7b04aaf80e0798cd0a5ffe3e134a0f62.jpg601514fc8856b24cb97bbd8c95c65c5c.jpg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I have been thinking that a gap here or there might not be a problem when moving. When the car is moving there should be positive pressure in the box. On the other hand, standing still is a problem. I'm going to run mine as is with the new blade and see how she does.

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Let us know how you make out, overall performance is better as the seal is better that I have seen. To sum up, you should see IATs drop when you get on the throttle. If they don't then you are getting too much air from the engine bay. Unless you are already at Ambient. 10F cooler is good for about 1/10 in the quarter. The car needs to loose 100lbs of equivalent weight to accomplish the same effect! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I did a chalk test. The two gaps are where the hood liner dips down. So, I am at least sealed fairly well on the two sides facing the engine. For a total seal, I might as well kept the stock box in. Haven't given the molding a few cycles to bed in yet so, it should form better. I am hoping now that the larger cone filter will at least make up for a little hot air, maybe better.

 

IMG_0585_zps83c2153a.jpg

 

I don't think it will draw much engine air from the left front. Like I said, at least when moving there should be positive pressure inside the box.

 

IMG_0573_zps8e6b8496.jpg

 

I love how she looks!

 

IMG_0584_zpsa1f25e1c.jpg

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