custom air box help

[rj_conerly]

i want to make a custom airbox to go around my aftermarket airfilter. but i don't know exactly what materials to use to make sure that it stays looking good and will actually sheild the intake from all the heat from the engine. so if someone will please tell me the best things to use and where to get them for the best price that would be great. also any and all pics would be much appreciated.
thanks,
rj_conerly

 

[rj_conerly]

Can anybody out there help me i want to get it done right the first time and i want to do it before it gets warmer.

 

[Clip]

look into aluminum for its properties, most heat sinks, etc are made of aluminum for quick dissipation. you should be able to find aluminum sheet at your hardware store, but if you want to make an actual box you'll have to tig weld it. this will keep temperatures down a little, but wrapping or ceramic coating your exhaust manifold and intake will also keep underhood temperatures down.

note: all this info could have been found by searching on here or google, just a heads up.

 

[aus87nat]

Have you thought about running your air filter outside the engine bay? You can fit one bellow your headlight, and the hole is already cut for the pipe (bout 45 deg i think) to go through. You can also use another 90 deg bend to bring the filter down in front of the radiator, in the opening of your front bar.

 

[Ma70.Ent]

Have you thought about running your air filter outside the engine bay? You can fit one bellow your headlight, and the hole is already cut for the pipe (bout 45 deg i think) to go through. You can also use another 90 deg bend to bring the filter down in front of the radiator, in the opening of your front bar.

The air box idea is a better one

 

[rj_conerly]

I don't like the idea of wet filters thats why i want an airbox i already have a 3 inch hose pullin from under the foglight and i moulded something to direct the air behind the headlight to the filter so that ain't a problem. I'm sorry but i don't like the idea of anything medal as a barrier between hot and cold. And insulating it doesn't sound cheap. So personally i'm going to go with fiberglass. But thanks for repling.

 

[mattsplat72]

I went out and got a roll of aluminum flashing from a roofing suppy store and I made the box out of cardboard the fabbed the aluminum one and just used rivits to hold it together

 

[aus87nat]

The air box idea is a better one

What makes you think it wasn't boxed

....... I'm sorry but i don't like the idea of anything medal as a barrier between hot and cold. ....

Is that why you took the heat shields off your exhaust :sarcasm:

 

[rj_conerly]

That's exacty why. It's kinda hard to insulate the mainifold with the sheilds in the way. If you're gonna quote a sentence, then atleast read the whole thing and try to understand where I'm coming from.

 

[lewis15498]

Do whatever you like, but for the reccord aluminum is a choice material for an airbox or heatshield.

 

[aus87nat]

That's exacty why. It's kinda hard to insulate the mainifold with the sheilds in the way. If you're gonna quote a sentence, then atleast read the whole thing and try to understand where I'm coming from.

hehe, where have you posted about your exhaust heat shields? I was just making a joke about your avatar pic. You put the heat shields back over your manifold didn't you?

 

[suprarx7nut]

Granted, I'm no material sciences expert, but here it goes...

look into aluminum for its properties, most heat sinks, etc are made of aluminum for quick dissipation. you should be able to find aluminum sheet at your hardware store, but if you want to make an actual box you'll have to tig weld it. this will keep temperatures down a little, but wrapping or ceramic coating your exhaust manifold and intake will also keep underhood temperatures down.

note: all this info could have been found by searching on here or google, just a heads up.

Aluminum is a good heat sink because it is horrible at insulating. Heat dissipation and heat insulation are COMPLETE OPPOSITES.

Aluminum is bad for an airbox using principles from any number of classes I've taken. You want to keep the heat OUT of the airbox. With heat sinks, you want the material to be as thermally transparent as possible. Actually, heat sinks are designed to transport MORE heat than if there was no barrier at all via addition of surface area... This is the exact opposite of what you want in an airbox.

I don't like the idea of wet filters thats why i want an airbox i already have a 3 inch hose pullin from under the foglight and i moulded something to direct the air behind the headlight to the filter so that ain't a problem. I'm sorry but i don't like the idea of anything medal as a barrier between hot and cold. And insulating it doesn't sound cheap. So personally i'm going to go with fiberglass. But thanks for repling.

Using metal for [strike]insulation[/strike] heat reflection is [strike]not ideal, but in instances like a heat shield, [/strike] fine. It can work well enough and will last a long time. Insulation does not have to be expensive and can be found in many materials. Fiberglass is a great insulator. Can you guess what home insulation is made out of..... ding, ding, ding!!! Fiberglass.

Do whatever you like, but for the reccord aluminum is a choice material for an airbox or heatshield.

Not in my book. ...Or anybody else's that I've come across.

Fiberglass should work much, much better than sheet aluminum or aluminum foil.

Where does this complete misconception come from?!

 

[rj_conerly]

Thank you suprarx7nut. That is exactly what I was trying to say. But how should I insulate it so that when it gets wet it doesn't mildew or mold?

 

[suprarx7nut]

Thank you suprarx7nut. That is exactly what I was trying to say. But how should I insulate it so that when it gets wet it doesn't mildew or mold?

Honestly, I'm very unfamiliar with working with fiberglass. I would think you could seal it somehow with a liquid sealant or stain of some sort.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

They make a foil covered insulation material. Google heat shields.

 

[rj_conerly]

i mostly started this tread hoping to see pictures or get a step by step but this works too. and yes i put the heat shields back on my exhaust mainifold. i don't think they make a sealant for the fiberglass i was thinking of but then again they might. but i'll explain exactly what i'm looking for.
i want to bild a low budget air box to go around an after market air filter. that being said i want it to actually keep the intake air cooler than the rest of the air under the hood. i also want to be able change the filter without having to disassemble alot of stuff. i also want the insulation to be able to to be water proof or atleast not mildew or mold when wet. i'm also staying away from any kind of metal for personal reasons. also i want a way to achor it so that it doesn't move around under through from heay bouncing or anything like that.
if you have a solution to my problems please tell me.
thanks,
rj_conerly

 

[Clip]

Granted, I'm no material sciences expert, but here it goes...



Aluminum is a good heat sink because it is horrible at insulating. Heat dissipation and heat insulation are COMPLETE OPPOSITES.

Aluminum is bad for an airbox using principles from any number of classes I've taken. You want to keep the heat OUT of the airbox. With heat sinks, you want the material to be as thermally transparent as possible. Actually, heat sinks are designed to transport MORE heat than if there was no barrier at all via addition of surface area... This is the exact opposite of what you want in an airbox.

hey, your reasoning sounds good to me. i was basing my information off of seeing SM's and ARC's aluminum fabrication (intakes, charge pipes, intercoolers, radiators).

however, being so far away from anything producing heat and not in contact, i would think the aluminum should be proficient to shield the intake and direct the cold air right to the filter, also cooling down the aluminum quicker than a similar steel shield.

side note: if it's horrible at insulating, isn't it the same as great at dissipating?

in this case, i do agree that head should be shielded from the intake as much as possible and that i used the wrong analogy (heat sink). how about a ceramic, go buy some pizza stones

 

[aus87nat]

i mostly started this tread hoping to see pictures or get a step by step but this works too. and yes i put the heat shields back on my exhaust mainifold. i don't think they make a sealant for the fiberglass i was thinking of but then again they might. but i'll explain exactly what i'm looking for.
i want to bild a low budget air box to go around an after market air filter. that being said i want it to actually keep the intake air cooler than the rest of the air under the hood. i also want to be able change the filter without having to disassemble alot of stuff. i also want the insulation to be able to to be water proof or atleast not mildew or mold when wet. i'm also staying away from any kind of metal for personal reasons. also i want a way to achor it so that it doesn't move around under through from heay bouncing or anything like that.
if you have a solution to my problems please tell me.
thanks,
rj_conerly

Whether you use fibre or metal, its just a matter of making a box that bolts into the stock locations and is big enough to house your filter. If you are prepared to make it out of fibre, I'd assume you have at least the basic skills for that, so can't really see how you'd need a write up for it. Just get a tape measure, get some dimensions for your box size, make it out of cardboard to test it out, maybe some polystyrene for a proper mold, then glass it. Fibre is low density, so it won't absorb much heat before it starts flowing. Metals are kind of the opposite, can absorb a bit of heat through their high density, but are quite happy to let it off again.

Insulation is everywhere, and it's not as expensive as you'd think. Go to the junk yard and pull apart the wall of a fridge, take out the insulating material and cut it up to suit. Electric blankets are insulated, you might even find some fibre wool inside the wall of an oven. that's what i use. Fibre wool is great, and you can really pack it up hard underneath stuff like heat shields or between two solid (metal) walls, but it does degrade over time.

 

[rj_conerly]

See now thats the kinda info i was looking for. Thanks now if i got some pictures I'll be golden.

 

[SupraRon]

I've drafted one up out of sheet aluminum I purchased from HD. I first used cardboard to test fit and then simply traced that onto the aluminum. It's not finished as I need to assemble the 2 pieces into 1 with rivets. I've designed it so that there is a seal with the hood when it is closed. This way, I have easy access to the filter if needed, but less heat can go over the top of the shield. This is just the first version of it. The next one will seal the heat from the underside of the filter as well. I also purchased a remote thermometer to see what the temperature is before/after the heat shield is installed. I'll see if I can get some pics up to give you an idea.