14010-AM615 ?

russ, which thermal tape did you use for Z-tube, I like to wrap mine also. Thanks

 

Part # is at the house. I will get it for you tonight.

 

G35_TX, can you just post it on this forum? I have also been looking to wrap the z-tube in an effort to reduce heat soak. I think a wrapped z-tube and this mod (if it is indeed a new lower plenum and a spacer) with an isothermal spacer should be a great combo.

 

If you used the Thermo-Tec Adhesive Backed Thermal Insulation we talked about, it's available from many sources including Summit Racing. They get $17.88 for a 12" X 24" piece. Summit's part number is THE-13575.

 

As someone who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I seriously doubt you will obtain any gain at all from wrapping your Z Tube with insulation. A N/A engine sucks in the air it needs. This air gets sucked in pretty fast, fast enough that trying to eliminate heat soak during that 18" (or however long path it is) of travel is a lost cause. The heat transfer from the Z-tube to the intake air is practically 0. This is why CAI can be good. Bringing in air from a cooler source than your engine bay can be a beneficial. However, if the air was so easily affected by the engine bay temperature the CAI effect would be ruined by heatsoak, which is not the case. And think how much longer the CAI tubes are, there is a lot more surface area for thermal conduction to take place. And even with the extra surface area, the effect of heat soak is so minimal that it doesnt matter.

I always read about people doing this kind of stuff and I really don't think it's justified unless you like the look of it. Just my 2 cents...

 

Ivory is right.

What would truly be beneficial is to isolate the Inatke air temperature (IAT)sensor from heat soak. Generally speaking, you can gain up to 1% more power by every 10 degree drop in temperature (normal operating conditions). What is less obvious is that the stock computer becomes more and more conservative on ignition timing as temps go up. Therefore, that 1% gain goes way up as the computer puts more ignition timing back into the equation.

Does anyone know where the IAT sensor is located? Is it built into the MAF sensor?

 

so there's no way it can be done on 05 AT...
man...;

 

Well I won't say any names, but a person who has done a lot of testing on this product is much older than you or I is also a engineer. He also did extensive testing and saw a temperature drop by doing the thermowrap like I did. He did a before and after in the same conditions with a device that reads the ECU intake temps.

 

I agree with Ivory but only to an extent. I also have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I personally own a CF Z-Tube. Did I do this for performance gains over the original Z-Tube? no. but my point is that even if the air is sucked in quickly, there will be some air that stays in the tube longer than other.

If you feel your tube after driving for a while, you will know it gets hot. I can actually grab my CF Tube after driving (though marginally warm). I know its not affecting inlet temp by much at all, but I do believe that if propper testing were ran that there would be a miniscule delta in temperature between Z-Tubes, aluminum tubing, or CF. I forgot to throw the insulated Z-Tube in there as well.

Though pointless, to continue on a tad more, at WOT, this is where the tube temp will count even less due to the rate at which the motor needs air and is sucking it in.

Of course these are only my educated opinions.

 

What kinda temp differences did he see in terms of degrees? I couldnt imagine it being that drastic, but then again, I am not the one who did the testing.

 

That you mention that the tube is hot after driving only seems to reaffirm my point. Regardless of what the tube is made out of, after some time period of driving the tube WILL heat up to the temperature of the engine bay unless some kind of active cooling system is used. If you wrap it in insulation it will keep the tube cooler for a brief period, but the tube will eventually heat up insulation or not. And in any event, the heat transfer from the tube to the air will still be insignificant.

*I have done no tests on this subject, but based on my general thermodynamics knowledge I don't see that any benefit will be obtained by wrapping your tube.

Yes there will be some air that stays in the tube longer than other parts of the air do to the nature of pipe flow (in an indeal flow the air at the boundries of the tube does not move at all, or in other words the air in the center of the tube flows the fastest). This slower air still is not affected in a meaningful way for many reasons which can be discussed later if you would like, but I have class now...

 

good topic of discussion (not argument just so this doesnt get outta hand)

Though the engine bay does warm up to a semi-steady temp after it has ran for a while, the tubing material can make a difference. I can actually touch my tube after a hard running. I doubt you can do that with either of the other options. That being said, it does resist heat very very well to a point where I wold have to drive the car for a very very very long time before it MAY heat up to the engine bays temp.

 

What about wrapping the ztube in combination with the isothermal spacer that keeps the upper part of the plenum cool? I think that would make a pretty big difference because right now, I can't even touch the plenum after just parking and popping the hood.

 

Please provide copies of your underhood heat soak test data, dyno results, etc. I'd like to compare yours with mine and other's results. I'm very interested in reviewing your 90 to 100F ambient, first 15-20 second off idle to full open throttle air flow temperature data at the throttle body. If you could also include your high gear 3k rpm flat road cruise results it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

On the topic of heat. Do any of you folks remove the plastic engine cover over the plenum? The big plastic piece looks like it could keep in allot of heat. Does it make sense to drive around without it and only use it when you bring it to the dealer?