by Bob Gilliam

Many of you have done as I have and modified your car for more power. This is a very good thing, However.. More power means more heat! I have modified my intake, exhaust, ignition, Turbo, fuel, intercooler fan, etc. and currently run 15 psi boost. I noticed that after my engine bay heat-soaked for awhile (4 or 5 miles) in hot weather, I would lose some power. Fans in the engine lid are a good measure, but (IMHO) they do not address the whole issue of dealing with under hood heat, and do not prevent all the hot air from being ingested back into the engine.

Let's address the intake first. Most of you have replaced your stock air-box with an open element type filter. The only draw-back to this is you get more hot air into your engine. The first thing to realize is the lower you locate this filter, the better! you'd be surprised to find a difference of 15 to 20 degrees F difference a few inches makes. I currently use the Monster Flow, but any K&N, Powerflow, GReddy, etc filter will work just fine. I switched to the Monster Flow because it's size permitted it's location to be much lower to the cool-air source (side-vent). 

Parts list: 1 piece of high density packing foam 20 inch square X 3 inch thick. Tool list: 1 hacksaw blade, 1 scale, 1 marker 

The idea here is to fabricate a bulk-head that will form a seal and heat barrier between your filter and the engine bay. The pictures here will give you an idea of how to trim the foam but keep in mind that yours may vary depending on the type of filter you use. The foam should have a cut-out- that locates the the foam between the mass-air sensor and the filter. It should be noted that careful trimming and fitting are essential to give good results. The foam should have an interference fit and be slightly compressed upon install.

Please refer to the enclosed pictures for reference of fabrication & installation. The foam is a bit un-wieldy to work with (install) but you shouldn't have any problems.

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4
• Picture 5

I noticed improved warm-engine power and response upon completion of this simple mod. I admit that this is not very pretty under the hood, but it's effective and basically free. My next installment will address insulating the intake plumbing.

Enjoy!

Bob Gilliam
Turbocanon@aol.com