Let me first just say I don't know much about automobile aftermarket technology besides PV=nRT. Colder air = more dense = more oxygen = more power.

1) Anyone ever thought about running an AC piping around the stock intake tube? That would cool the air going into the intake tromendously, right? Not very efficient, but should give you some power gain. How about some thermo insulating material that circulates with AC coolant?

2) How about opening a hood opening and stick a radiator on top of the stock plenum to cool the plenum down? I mean... what's the point of a CAI if the air is gonna be heated by the plenum before going into the engine?

3) How about reroute the intake to the space right behind the grill? There is certainly enough space for a mushroom.




CPV35 G35C Maliblue

 

1) Keep in mind that it takes power to run A/C. And to top that off the process is not 100% efficient. And add to that that the surface area to volume ratio of a pipe is terrible. The result will be a marginal decrease in temp at best while increasing the load on the motor and taking away some of the cooler air that the radiator can use.

2) Again, how effective will it be. The surface area to volume ratio of the plenum is still relatively low. Sticking an effective heat exchanger inside would probably decrease flow to the point that less power would be made overall.

3) I see no reason why this wouldn't work. But there are plenty of CAI's already out on the market that draw cool fresh air. There is no significant advantage of locating the filter behind the grill. If you are going to argue about water ingestion, keep in mind almost all of the opening to the intake tube will have to be submerged before it actually starts sucking water up. To do this, you'ld already be in some very deep water. The level would probably be enough that it could enter the passenger compartment. If you are driving though water this high you deserve to wreck your motor. My opinion anyways.

 

2) The aluminum plenum does not retain heat very well. So as long as you're moving and drawing in fresh air, the plenum stays relatively cool. Sit around at a traffic light for a while or the staging lanes at the dragstrip with the engine running, then you'll see some benefit of cooling down the plenum just for that quick burst of acceleration. But once you get going, you're not going to see much benefit of external cooling.

You can see for yourself by popping the hood right after driving around for a bit to bring the engine to operating temperature. Feel the surface temperature of the plenum right after stopping. Wait 5-10 minutes and feel the temperature again. Then drive around for a minute and check the temperature once more.

2003 G35 Sedan 6MT - Crawford plenum/Borla exhaust/Z-tube/K&N panel filter

 

Remember the air flow is so low at idle [5-7 grams per second] vs 20 grams at cruise vs 220 grams per second WOT at redine.
At peak ~~ 300 CFM + so to be feel-able [create 10 HP] you need to drop TOTAL air temp by 40F. AC system total capacity could only drop air by 30F and consume 4-5HP in the process!

Ford has a nice patent on using an extra small AC system to chill a large quanity of water/alcohol then using an intercooler to stop detonation on supercharged system.......enough capacity for a 15 second WOT run.

Remember a 3 ton [36,000 BTU/hr] is only 600 BTU per minute or 150 BTU per 15 seconds.

The other problem is how much air flow resistance will the interchanger create?...........1.0 psi is 6.8% power loss.

All in all it is not really suitable to try to cool outside air to gain HP[ice the intake ?], now when you supercharge and add 100-200F to outside air, intercoolers become much more feasable.

 

yup that AC cooled supercharger is supposed to be in the new Lightning.