Post by Aurora40 on Jun 29, 2004 16:53:54 GMT -6
So, I wrapped it all up in reflectix and cleaned and re-oiled my K&N. It looks pretty nice, though obviously reflectix isn't as pretty as the black plastic.
You need to remove your airbox from the car. The top comes off with butterfly screws to change the filter, then there are phillips screws to remove the second cover from the lower box. Inside the lower box are two torx bit screws that hold it in, along with a plastic retaining clip on the edge near the body. Then you can just pull the lower box out, setting the PCM aside in the engine bay.
I first cut a large sheet that would be big enough to cover the whole bottom piece. I covered one piece at a time for a nicer flush look rather than trying to cover the entire box. Plus, I can remove the filter now with no problems. Then, I slowly trimmed away to fit the sheet to the box.
Gradually the sheet started to fit very well over the piece.
Then I put the bottom airbox piece back in the car, bolted it back in, and put the PCM back in place. I think this shielding is what will help the most as it is the bottom that is so close to the tranny.
Then I did the same for the next two pieces one at a time. I also wrapped the flexible intake duct to help a little more (and I think it makes the use of reflectix look less strange since more stuff has it).
And tada, that's it. It's all done. The stuff is fairly rigid, and the hood should hold it in place. If not, I may just run a piece of string over the top of it. The stuff is incredibly light. It's like wrapping the airbox in bubblewrap. In fact, it is bubble wrap with aluminum foil on both sides. The reflective face of the aluminum reflects heat, and the bubble wrap forms an air barrier between reflective sheets. It claims to reflect up to 97% of radiant heat. I suspect most of the heat into the box is radiant, since it only has a few small contact points with the body.
I also used the reflectix tape. It is foil tape and is maintains the reflective surface of the wrap.
I guess we'll see if it really does anything. It would have been good to have an AutoTap or something to compare intake air temps (does this car even have an IAT sensor? There is no IAT in the airbox or duct). I imagine the difference would only be less degradation of performance after long operation, not anything that would be noticeable in a quick drive. So who knows. But it was easy, cheap (about $25 total), and has virtually no downside (maybe 1 lb of weight added to the car)
You need to remove your airbox from the car. The top comes off with butterfly screws to change the filter, then there are phillips screws to remove the second cover from the lower box. Inside the lower box are two torx bit screws that hold it in, along with a plastic retaining clip on the edge near the body. Then you can just pull the lower box out, setting the PCM aside in the engine bay.
I first cut a large sheet that would be big enough to cover the whole bottom piece. I covered one piece at a time for a nicer flush look rather than trying to cover the entire box. Plus, I can remove the filter now with no problems. Then, I slowly trimmed away to fit the sheet to the box.
Gradually the sheet started to fit very well over the piece.
Then I put the bottom airbox piece back in the car, bolted it back in, and put the PCM back in place. I think this shielding is what will help the most as it is the bottom that is so close to the tranny.
Then I did the same for the next two pieces one at a time. I also wrapped the flexible intake duct to help a little more (and I think it makes the use of reflectix look less strange since more stuff has it).
And tada, that's it. It's all done. The stuff is fairly rigid, and the hood should hold it in place. If not, I may just run a piece of string over the top of it. The stuff is incredibly light. It's like wrapping the airbox in bubblewrap. In fact, it is bubble wrap with aluminum foil on both sides. The reflective face of the aluminum reflects heat, and the bubble wrap forms an air barrier between reflective sheets. It claims to reflect up to 97% of radiant heat. I suspect most of the heat into the box is radiant, since it only has a few small contact points with the body.
I also used the reflectix tape. It is foil tape and is maintains the reflective surface of the wrap.
I guess we'll see if it really does anything. It would have been good to have an AutoTap or something to compare intake air temps (does this car even have an IAT sensor? There is no IAT in the airbox or duct). I imagine the difference would only be less degradation of performance after long operation, not anything that would be noticeable in a quick drive. So who knows. But it was easy, cheap (about $25 total), and has virtually no downside (maybe 1 lb of weight added to the car)
