Just wanted to update you guys on what I did last night for some modifications to keep the intake charge a bit colder. I was able to cut open the plastic insert where air normally draws straight up and fold it down to create a ramp effect of incoming fresh air. The stock air intake feed goes right to the airfilter after that and into the engine if under boost, or flows past it and out the fender well while at cruise.

I was able to get the aluminum shielding within a 1/4" or so of the Hood and took up the remaining slack with some split edged foam. I may go with something more durable but it will work for now.

I also applied some DEI Cooltape that should hopefully reflect some of the exhaust manifold radiant heat away from the turbo compressor housing. I even applied it to some of the oil and coolant lines in the area, but it wasn't exactly easy being that the turbo was still on the car. Not sure if it will make a ton of difference but already after a drive I can put my hand on the turbo outlet pipe and it's actually cool to the touch thanks to the incoming air from the hood vent that I slightly enlarged.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

Engine Bay view and some DEI Cooltape shots:

 

Nice man! i really like the setup...i had a very similar one on my 97 GSX...i like how yours works with the front plastic air duct....good job!

 

looks pretty good, how much was all the dei cool tape.

 

I saw a forge WGA there. Nice setup overall.

 

I think it was a 15' roll I grabbed at the local Autozone that cost around $16, figured I would try it out and see if it helps. While it may be minimal at the drag strip, I think for road racing any little bit helps.

I did visit the drag strip Wednesday night, just got back. I can't say these mods necessarily gave me an edge although I'm sure they didn't hurt:

60' = 1.740
1/8 = 7.952 @ 88.32 mph
1/4 = 12.416 @ 110.51 mph

I ended up launching with the ASC only turned off with a single push so the power cut was turned off but the brake assist was still on. This seemed to help excessive wheelspin like I had last trip when I held it for 5 seconds. They were running a heads up Street Car Challenge of sorts with a Pro Tree and I had a 12.8 sec Impala SS racing against me. Odd how having to rush a launch ended up netting me my best time, sadly it was heads up within the bracket of 12.50 to 13.49 so I went too fast, LOL. I also managed a 1.760 short time launch later in the night but then it seemed to get too slick to improve my times.

I think that's about all the stock turbo is going to do for me this year without some Xtreme type of modifications. I was really impressed how my 1/8 mile trap speeds came up 3-4 mph from last trip, 88.32 mph is crazy! I changed my shifting to include about 25% throttle between shifts which kept the turbo spooled faster. Overall I think the car is coming along quite well, I can't wait to get something in this car that will get me to the 120+ mph trap speed range.

 

I think the Forge does a really good job of holding solid boost right up to 6k before the stock turbo just overrides what it can flow. I set my boost at 5th gear around 3500 rpms and it used to be that I would get 1-2 ps less in the lower gears but now it's about the same PSI for whatever reason. 26 PSI in 2nd just hauls on this car now, tons of fun on the street for sure.

 

The turbo is gonna get hot from the exhaust running through it, and there's nothing you can do about that. You obviously can run a bigger IC, to cool the charge that's intake-bound, but being exhuast gas spins the turbo, and combustion makes the exhaust, your turbo will always have hot gasses running through it...very hot

 

Well yes, the exhaust side of the turbo is very hot, bot the compressor side of the turbo doesn't have 1500 F air flowing through it and mainly gets it's heat from touching the center section of the turbo which has oil and water flowing through it and radiant heat off the exhaust manifold. The hood vent is also sending cooler air over the compressor side of the turbo when at speed which helps quite a bit as well. While I agree it will always be hot there is no reason why you can't make the compressor side cooler with a few tricks.

I'm also considering making a top for my air box and as it still climbs 15-20F above ambient sitting at idle since the back side is open. Once I get moving again it's back down to less than 5 F above ambient but that means the filter is starting to get slightly heat soaked.

 

Closing your air box would be the best way to go. I'm thinking of cutting a 3" hole on the side of my AEM box and running a duct to the fender well to collect some cool air. You should try that when you fully encolse your filter. Also, the main culprit of heat on the compressor side is the fact that air is being compressed, not really what's around it. Great job though and I see that your mods have a positive effect on your drag times.

 

looks clean!

 

I see you are running a MBC, are you having any issues with limp mode?

 

Yeah.. never understood why people run open-element filters. Sure the IC cools the charge, but if you start with cooler air, it'll be cooler after the IC gets a hold of it.

 

So far haven't had any issue with Limp Mode. I have my MBC's set for 22/24 for road racing and 24/26 for street/strip.

 

i love DIY, soo jaydemm