DIY ram air CAI temp testing

[lefty]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!

Aim: to test whether a DIY CAI is of any benefit using a thermometer

test car: 2008 Accord 2.4 Auto

modifications:
Intake resonators removed - both the main one and the small one on intake arm.
Foglight cover removed.
Replaced with a PVC CAI from the foglight hole feeding the stock airbox and stock filter.
Small intake resonator replaced with a retic. 3/8inch cap from Bunnings.








pic of the small resonator replaced with retic plug. This is where I put the thermometer probe.



Results:

For a base reading: cold car, ambient temp reading 20.2C car thermometer reads 19C

car idling and warmed to operating temp. I did not start testing until the car had warmed up.
This simulates car waiting at traffic lights.
Time in minutes Temp degrees Celsius
0 ....................... 19.8
2 ....................... 20.5
4 ....................... 22.0
6 ....................... 22.8
8 ....................... 23.9

then I took the car for a drive. Back streets , no faster than 50km/h. Time adds on to before.
Time Temp
9...........23.2
10.........22.1
11.........21.3

Next I parked the car and turned off the engine. Reset time to zero
Time Temp
2...........24.7
3...........26.8
4...........29.2
5...........32.7

Now that there is a bit of heat soak happening, I went for another short drive.
Time continues from above.
Time Temp
6.........29.1
7.........25.5
8.........23.1
9.........21.9

The results show that the CAI is very effective in keeping intake temps close to ambient. Even at idle the temp rose only very slowly.
Unfortunately I did not test the stock setup with resonators in place so if someone is willing, it would be interesting to compare results.

[aimre]

+ rep

[Gio]

Yeah well done, proved that DIY does work well.

[dougie_504]

Also +1 rep. Nice to see somebody going to the effort for the benefit of our whole community

[eNGee]

nice DIY.

just wondering how's the sound of the car now?

and also general feel when driving... obviously no mega kw gains but how does it feel now.

[JJprelude]

Very nice diy.

+ rep

[lefty]

nice DIY.

just wondering how's the sound of the car now?

and also general feel when driving... obviously no mega kw gains but how does it feel now.

car sounds gruntier once you hit vtec band which is what I want. At low revs didn't sound any different to stock.
Just removing the resonator is the loudest. i.e my setup but without the PVC. the PVC pipes dampen the sound a bit.
My setup is also effective for feeding cold air to a pod filter in the engine bay with a few mods.

Driving wise, stuff all difference in top end but I can certainly feel the improved throttle response especially from a standing start.

[Chris S15]

+ rep

Nice!

[dougie_504]

My mechanic has told me that this type of intake is less effective in the summer months when you have a lot of residual heat rising up off the road.

Any chance of a repeat test on a 30-40 degree day?