Here's the one I was reffering to, and the link is also included.
http://www.g35parts.com/9083/osc/pro...roducts_id=355

 

Do any cars come from the factory with this polished Z tube? If so, then yes you could consider it OEM... but I think you know the answer is no.

 

That's not an oem part.

It says right in the description it is the Unlimited Tuning (UTR) part.

 

im looking into buying a polished z-tube. But i have read about the negitives about polished z-tube, it losses power because of heat. is this true?

 

cold air is dense and has more O2 molecules = better combustion and more power... that’s why you will notice your car feel peppier is cold whether and sluggish when it real hot... metal is a good conductor of heat, the intake is positioned where it gets a bunch of residual engine heat... plastic is a better thermal insulation than metal... thermal coated plastic is even better.

So to answer your question, if you are concerned about performance a polished Z tube is not a good idea (and no it’s not OEM)... if you aren’t so concerned about performance but like the look then go for it.

If you want performance and looks, paint an OEM Z tube.

 

OK, about the conductivity of an 8 inch (or so) piece of 3" diameter stainless steel with a high mass flow rate....it's going to be a drop in the ocean compared to the upper and lower plenums. Those two pieces are heat sinks and take forever to dissipate...unless you get the Iso-Thermal MREV

A polished upper Z tube is a much better choice IMHO than a "cold air system".

 

A polished Z tube is rice. Just get a black OEM

 

Wow, man their calling anything rice, I respect your opinion, but having a polished part under your hood does not make it rice, I mean polished parts and tubes under a hood are a great look, an engine bay chromed out is loved on american muscle, and imports, I must disagree.
And may I say, sometimes G driver's Riceaphobia goes a bit far.

ahaaha, I'm coining that term, "Riceaphobia"

 

and a thermal insulated Z tube is even better... You can take and portion of just about any NA mod and determine it to be a "drop in the bucket" in the scheme of things... but when all combined, ever bit helps... I've done several small tweaks (as well as typical bolt-ons) and any one of them alone wouldn’t amount to much... however the combination has had decent results

 

I would love to see the delta in inlet air temperature at the throttle body with a regular polished z-tube and your thermal wrapped z tube. Same airbox of course. I don't think it would be significant. I'm not doubting your mod but I don't think it's doing that much. The big temperature delta is going to be realized at the intake plenum (Isothermal MREV vs. Stock). My point is, the polished z-tube acting as a heat sink is not a big issue, now the "CAI" that runs from the TB down to the front bumper...that extra length will compound the problem. Go with the polished z tube, you won't be dissapointed. And no, the polished z-tube is not rice (IMHO of course). Again, OCG35, I'm not dissing your mod, but I think it's overkill unless you have the extra $$$ money you are willing to put into the car...or you are FI.

 

mines not wrapped, its sprayed and it wasn’t expensive. I never claimed that it "did that much"... in fact I made it pretty clear that ever bit helps... FYI, Iso Thermal gasket is minuscule in the whole of things as well (and yes I use one)...

For someone that seems to be real big on Iso Thermal gasket I'm perplexed that you don’t see value in other area of thermal management...

It's apparent that you chose a polished intake and that's fine... IMO it's good for looks but not optimal for performance.

There are much worse choices for sure though.

This can go around in circle for pages and pages... I'm not going to change my view - and you're not going to agree... so continue if you wish, but it's pointless.

 

This is the statement I was arguing. I would love to see dyno-backed data that supports this statement.....I doubt anyone will find it. So to Jin22GT, no, with this N/A engine I am confident in saying you will not lose power with the polished z-tube vs. a plastic z-tube....or at least, no you will not notice a power decrease between the two. If you do then your butt dyno is much more sensitive than mine is!

My reference to the plenum has to do with not only the location of the plenum to the engine (very hot) but the size of it compared to the z-tube. You and I know that it's not even close. This is where the heat build up will become an issue, not the z-tube. And I think everyone with the Isothermal MREV can vouch for this, the intake plenum is considerably cooler after spirited drives than the stock one.

 

indeed it is