OK so I have the TypeS throttle body on my 99 and I really should get the TypeS CAI to take full advantage of it. Going to port match the intake manifold opening to match the TB very soon.

So I was thinking the other day, I really don't feel like wasting another $200+ on another CAI. I mean it's only a freakin piece of aluminum.

So I was looking on JC Whitney and they sell mandrel-bent tubing, basically it's steel that's coated so it won't corrode. It's slightly heavier than aluminum but it will block heat much better. The amount of tubing I'd need is negligible in terms of weight added.

The CAI design for the 99 TL is pretty simple. One 90 degree bend up top and a 45 at the end where the filter connects.

So I could buy two pieces of tubing and connect them with a rubber boot and it's done.

A little paint and I'm in business. I think I'm gonna order some tomorrow and play around with it.

 

Ive thought about doing that myself but welding them together. Should be very simple to do. You will need to put in something for the breather hoses for the valve covers, unless you go with some small "mini" filters???

 

Yeah I'm thinking of just drilling the appropriate sized hole and putting a rubber grommet to hold the tubing in.

 

it would work, I'm doing it on my type-s in the next few months...

The fun thing aboutmaking one is that you get to experiment with the diameter of the piping, 4"? 3 3/4"? 3 1/2"? 3 1/4"? 3"?

What size are you going to do? I was thinking about 4" from the filter then reducing it to proper size entering the TB after the 90.

 

wouldnt better performances come from plastic tubing?

 

Plastic is not a good insulator. I believe Iceman intakes use thermoplastic which is better.

 

Probably just 3" straight through. I figure AEM made the V2 which goes from 3" to 2.75 for the TLP owners, why didn't they do something similiar for the TypeS owners? My thought is anything larger than 3" and you loose low-end power.

 

Just about any plastic is a much better thermal insulator than aluminum or steel. I've often wondered why they don't make these intakes out of the same type of rubberized hose that they use for lower radiator hoses. Maybe some type of insulating wrap would help too. It wouldn't look as glam as a polished or anodized aluminum tube, but it sure would keep your intake charge cooler in a hot engine compartment.

Making the intake manifold out of some exotic ceramic with a really low coefficient of thermal conductivity would probably help too. Maybe someday we'll see something like this on a high end car like the NSX.

 

i actually went to a few places, autozone or pepboys, and tried putting different tubes together and seeing if it'll fit my car. plus all you have to do is give them your ID and you can take it to your car and see if it'll work.. nice way to experiment without spending money on it and returning it.

 

I believe the rubber material tubing will create turbulent and rough in the air flow. The less rubber being used is better.

 

OK so I resolved the issue about connecting the breather hoses.

This is part of the stock airbox from a 2003 CL TypeS 6-speed (Thanks Shawn S)




Other nice thing is it'll reduce the amount of tubing I have to purchase.
All I figure I need is a 90 degree piece and a 45 for the bend where it goes down under the engine.

Probably gonna order everything this weekend.

I also think I'm gonna order this piece (part #8). It fits inside the hole in the sheetmetal where the intake goes through.



Hopefully it'll hold it in there tight.

 

Awesome. Let us know how it turns out.

 

part 8 would not be pactical, it is a hard plastic coupling that connects the stock air box to the stock air resinator, it wouldn't be a universal fit, nor would it act any better that a large rubber coupling. Plus a coupling would be cheaper aswell

 

you can drill a hole and put an airline fitting in just make the hole a little smaller then the fitting and let the fitting tap the hole

 

The end of the tube looks like its Oval. will you be able to make it round enough to seal?

 

Have you looked into silicone joints ? Like the ones they use in turbo applications ?...I found them pretty easy to work with.

 

I didn't realize it was hard plastic. I was hoping it would hold the intake in place where it went through the sheetmetal.

 

This just seems easier.

 

I am definitely going to use silicone joints to connect the pieces. I just needed an easy way to connect the breather hoses. Doesn't get much easier than that.

 

No it's round.

 

the other end looks oval. well atleast in the pic above it does

 

It does go through that hole but it is not close to a tight fit nor does it mount onto the sheet metal anywhere.. It is held in place by the air filter box and the air resinator, it slides into both of them and they are mounted to teh car, so the part is "floating" .

 

exactly what I was about to say...that hole in between the stock airbox bottom and resonator is pretty big - that little tube piece wont support anything on its own

 

I realize it won't "hold it in place. I was hoping it would keep it from rattling around. Still going to fabricate a bracket that holds the tubing to the frame.

 

anyone think of using pvc??

 

Well progress has been made (between dealing with 4 week-old and 2yr old sons). The AEM filter came in yesterday. So now I need to spend some time under the hood fitting the piping.

I hope to have it installed and pictures by this weekend.

 

Suite! Keep us updated.

 

I was considering it, I'll probably make a template in pvc then make the real one in thin walled aluminum or steel at a friends metalshop.

I've used PVC in a couple of viechles simply because we had it layign around with a couple cone ractiv filters.. the total cost brand new would be about 30 bucks for a home made CAI, 25 for the filter at crappy tire and 5 bucks for the PVC.