Ran the engine before adding the the heat shield to establish a baselineOutside temperature was 77-78F. On average it seemed like a 40 degree difference.

Also covered the air box. Will do the air tube tomorrow.





Cold idle

Warm idle

Highway

 

Only marginal temperature improvements after adding reflective barrier to the air intake system. Not sure 10-15 degree difference will make any noticeable difference in fuel economy or power. I'll keep an eye on if and see if anything else comes of it.

Tested at 79 F ambient.

Cold idle - before and after

Hot idle - before and after

Highway speeds - before and after

 

Not sure I could handle the C3PO look myself but colder air bears more oxygen so it will help at some level.

 

Thanks for the info plus the before and after temp pics.
I’ve been wanting to cover the air intake tube (never thought about the air filter box) with some kind of exhaust header wrap or aluminum tape. I lol’d the C3PO comment .

Watching this with interest...

 

yeah there was actually a gold version of this that was more reflective but I just couldn’t do it.

 

Yeah I wasn’t going to do the hold system until I shot the temps and found the temps of the airbox and upstream tubing was reading about 150 degrees so I thought I better do the whole thing to get any benefit.

 

Ever drive around on a really hot day, then the temperature later drops 10-15 degrees and the car doesn't seem as sluggish?
Maybe you gained 3-4hp and .2 mpg...but it was free, and you got real world data.
I'de call it a win.

 

Thanks @Sixpack577 for the comment! It prompted me to do a bit more research. I found this posting which seemed like a good explanation of the relationship between temperature & horsepower. https://www.superchargerforums.com/t...orsepower.597/

 

Yeah, that's good info, and I am of the belife that every little bit helps, and all the little things add up.
Kinda like 212 degrees f is boiling...where as 211 degrees f is just really hot.
Thanks for posting pictures and your results too, good stuff!

 

I noticed in the RAVE that there is a Gulf package for the middle east that has heat shields for the intake system. It looks like it is a radiant barrier with space between it and the intake hose. I'm wondering if that is more efficient than a radiant barrier applied directly to the intake components. I was testing my intake temps last night and could only get them down to 10 degrees above ambient after running about 80 mph for about 30 mins. It looks like there is a lot of residual heat that has to be blown out. I think this is a good argument for both the radiant barrier and a snorkel.

CVHyatt, what kind of radiant barrier did you use on the roof?