Why are aftermarket intakes made of metal?
#1
Why are aftermarket intakes made of metal?
An after-market intake usually made out of metal (the tubing that is)? Is there a reason for this besides looks? It seems that for sheer temperature, plastic would work better because it does not get as hot and does not maintain its temperature as well a metal would.
Sorry if this is a n00b question, but I'm just curious.
Sorry if this is a n00b question, but I'm just curious.
#3
Actually, some aftermarket intakes are made of plastic, but those shiny polished intakes are so much more kewl looking. If you're going to drop a couple of C-notes on a piece of pipe, it had better be shiny!
George
George
#9
i have a question though. say for instance aluminum does disperse heat more quickly then plastic (which it probably does). wouldnt this be a bad thing? i mean, considering the job of a cai is to draw in air from outside of the engine compartment because of the temperature difference, wouldnt the aluminium end up heating up the air in the intake...i mean, heat only travels from hot to cold as i understand. so building an intake out of something that is resistant to the transfer of heat would be ideal...
i dunno, can anyone tell me where the flaw is in my reasoning?
i dunno, can anyone tell me where the flaw is in my reasoning?
#13
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Yeah. . . I thought high heat dispersion meant high conductivity of heat. . . which is bad. . . very bad. Or am I wrong? I made my own intake. I know, it's ghetto, but it's plastic, and it's a short ram.
#15
none of you guys/gals put insulation wrap around your intakes? After driving your car for a while, pop your hood and touch the intake, that thing is going to be hot!. I think putting insulation helps this out
#16
They should make intakes out of the same material that heatsinks are made of. Those things are amazing, you can hold a small torch to one for a few seconds and it will barely get warm and cool off in seconds.
I doubt that would make them cheap though, hehe.
I doubt that would make them cheap though, hehe.
#19
its gonna do the same job, one degree aint gonna affect you, i highly doubt your turboed, running 20 psi, and worried about 1 degree of heat, ive seen an intake made of pvc piping and do just as good as an aem (metal) intake, and the amount of time that the air is in the tube isnt gonna be enough for the air to gain a substantial amount of heat to affect performance, air is going to be rushing into the engine bay any way, its not like puttin a piece of pipe on a heater in a still room, the heat is constantly being pushed.
#20
Originally Posted by solotc
i have a question though. say for instance aluminum does disperse heat more quickly then plastic (which it probably does). wouldnt this be a bad thing? i mean, considering the job of a cai is to draw in air from outside of the engine compartment because of the temperature difference, wouldnt the aluminium end up heating up the air in the intake...i mean, heat only travels from hot to cold as i understand. so building an intake out of something that is resistant to the transfer of heat would be ideal...
i dunno, can anyone tell me where the flaw is in my reasoning?
i dunno, can anyone tell me where the flaw is in my reasoning?