Originally posted by KaptonContour:
Ok I just read through most of this thread. here are some of my thoughts.
your prototype looks ok but it is too big for most peps with after market intake parts (pipe, maf, filter). mostly to long.



I agree, hince the reason I needed the measurments that you gave me. Thanks by the way. Like I said before, I will make the next one, taking into consideration the new dimensions for length, to accomidate for the use of an intake pipe. But, like also mentioned earlier, the silicon couplings could possibly be trimed to allow for the extra space, but... that could be hit and miss. I'm not sure if I would want to cut on my couplents just so this sheild will fit.

Originally posted by KaptonContour:

I dont think it needs to extend into the fender so far that you have to notch it for the wire harness. you need as much room as possible at the bottom near the fender to run inlet tubing up from the fender.


Also just a bit of my personal theroy on heat sheilds: They are not ment to block the flow of air (hot or cold). They are ment to block radiant heat from the motor/exhaust from soaking(heating)the eliment of the filter. I sure you have all heard the term heatsoak.

What do you think?





I also agree with both of these points as well. But, the reason I wanted it to reach all the way to the wall and around the wiring harness, was to do exactly what you second states should not be done. (But I still agree with your point? I'm a weird fella ain't I!).

Well not really. The reason I wanted to block off the air that travels in that area, is because the air here is still warm. maybe not as hot as the rest of the engine bay, but warm enough still that if was to enter into the filter space it would raise the air temp. Ok, maybe just a little and maybe all that is just theory, but from what I have seen so far... I really think it is helping a great deal. I have removed the sealing medium from just the front cut-out and drove around for a few hours under different conditions. After this, I would raise the hood and grab the filter with my hand and it would be warm to the touch. Not HOT, but warm. No big deal right? Well, after placing the sealing medium back into the cut-out and making the exact same drive, on the same day and only about 15 minutes apart from the other, it made really big difference! I really didn't think it would, but after reaching an area with 5 four-way stops in a row; followed by a 25mph section that is roughly 150 yards, the high speed fans were working really hard. This is where the filter felt warm to the touch with the sealent removed, but with the sealant there, the filter did not feel warm to the touch. It was not cold, which this sheild does not claim to achieve, but it was not even warm to the touch.

Now! I am able to notice this difference, although not very scientific, and I still have not installed the fresh air tube yet. So I am really siked about what will happen once that it put in. I know that in stop and go traffic, the intake hose really will not do a lot, just because of it's nature. But on the highway and while moving above 25mph, it should help a good bit. Not real sure how much, so right now all that is speculation on my part.

And, why is it so big? Well, you should see the first one I made! Man that thing was big!! But seriously though, since I am blocking off all fresh air sources, other than that from the fender, I want the space around the filter to hold as much air as possible. And if the sheild can keep hot air from the engine bay and the extremely hot air blowen out the radiator, when the fans turn on, from the filter - that's good. And if I can keep all the air that is inside the filter space lower than what is in the engine bay and keep it that way, then I will call the sheild a sucess.

As you can see in the picture below, I have left enough room to run a fresh air tube from the inside the fender well.



Thanks for the questions. That was the whole reason I started this thread to begin with. If anyone else has any other comments or suggestions, I am still totally open.

Phillip Jackson `98 Mystique LS 262K+ and counting... ATX rebuilt @ 151K "This storm has broken me, my only friend!" RIP Dime