Acura RSX, ILX and Honda EP3 Forum banner

heat shields, do they actually work ?!

30K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  nperkins 
#1 ·
do heat shields actually make a difference on short ram intakes?
 
#5 ·
Heat shields DO block SOME heat from reaching your SRI, but you will always have more heat entering the intake with an SRI compared to a CAI which is routed away from the engine bay. I would use a heat shield plus wrap the intake tube with heat wrap if you are that anal about heat.
 
#8 ·
Any blocked heat is still blocked heat... Any reduction is something... Dropping your intake temps 10 degrees makes a difference... So if you can build a good shield, and wrap the metal intake tube to prevent heat soak, you WILL make a difference... Alot? Probably not.. Also depends on your driving... More important on a road race car where it gets driven hard for longer periods of time...
 
#10 ·
Then why do they make phenolic spacers? To cool the intake manifold by separating it from the motor, therefore reducing its heat... The intake is nothing more than an extension of the intake manifold..

The air moves just as fast through the manifold as it does the intake...

The same reason that people thermal coat their intake & exhaust manifolds...

To keep the air temps inside of the item inside, and the air temps outside the item outside..
 
G
#11 ·
1.) Phenolic spacers only work when you are not inhaling heated engine bay air.

2.) Nobody thermal-coats an intake manifold. At least nobody who cares about performance.

3.) Exhaust manifolds and turbines are coated to reduce radiant heat. Radiant heat is not as big a factor for short ram intakes as the fact that, as mentioned many, many times already, you are breathing in heated engine bay air.

Your logic is flawed. Don't really know what else to say about it.
 
#12 ·
1. Seriously?? Explain... Because last I knew, reducing from 130 degrees to 110 degrees is about the same thing as reducing from 110 degrees to 90 degrees..

2. Really?? Tell that to Subaru, who coats the manifolds on all STis to keep temps down some.. Also tell that to Hondata, who says to thermal coat the inside of the intake manifold to get better gains..

3. ) Thats right. They are coated to reduce radiant heat. To keep the hot air in the tubes... Exactly what I said... To keep the hot air in the pipes and moving... And as it keeps hot air in the pipes, it will also keep hot air OUT of pipes... So therefore, shielding the intake filter to prevent radiant heat, along with coating of the pipes/manifolds WILL help.
 
G
#16 ·
nperkins, since you are so insistent on being right, here is what you should do:

1.) Replace your Honda IAT sensor with a GM "open"-style unit. They are abundant and cheap. Can't use the Honda unit here, since it doesn't read fast enough.

2.) Datalog a mix of freeway and stop-and-go city driving, then note the IAT's of your wrapped (or whatever...) short ram.

3.) Then, make a jumper and hang the IAT sensor down in the fenderwell, where the CAI element normally sits and record the same mix of driving.

I already know what the results will be but in case I am wrong, you can be the first in line to tell me that. Remember, I'm not the one with anything to prove, since every manufacturer pulls intake air from outside the engine bay with their OEM airboxes.
 
#20 ·
A friend I actually did testings using thermocouples about 9-10 years ago when we were still big into hondas... We tested AEM CAIs, Iceman Intakes (It was that long ago), DC Sports, HondaSports, and a few others.. And while YES, a CAI would typically have colder IATS than a short ram (Even a wrapped one), THAT IS NOT WHAT THE OP ASKED.. He asked if a shield/wrap would make a difference on a SRI, and the answer is YES IT WILL. It was only 10 years ago, and on an EM1 chassis, but I actually recall an ARC style airbox having the lowest IATs of any of the intakes we tested... And I also recall the iceman giving better IAT's because it was plastic, not metal, so it didn't absorb the heat (But didn't make as much power because of its design)..

And how would measuring air inside an intake in the engine bay in one setup, and in a fenderwell on another test be anywhere near accurate? You have eliminating the soak of the pipe, regardless of if its an SRI or CAI..
 
#18 ·
oh my god.

the temperature change from wrapping a sri would be so minimal. it would make an unnoticeable amount of difference.

heat shields wont do much once your engine is a normal temperature.
 
#19 ·
Buy CAI.

/thread.

I don't know why manufacturers make SRI's where the filter is 2 inches away from the header. You'd have a much more efficient SRI if the filter was towards the edge of the bay (like behind the headlight).
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top