Sponsored

Some observations fighting IAT's with JLT CAI

OP
OP
pgonza2723

pgonza2723

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Threads
16
Messages
104
Reaction score
43
Location
Round Rock, TX
First Name
Phil
Vehicle(s)
2016 PP GT
Vehicle Showcase
1
Plus those honeycombs serve a purpose. Removing a few ok but removing all probably wasn't the best idea. Now that you sealed the top of the box you can get rid of the heat tape everywhere. The lack of seal was your issue. I have the jlt plus e54r tune in phoenix. Once your box is in place and adjusted so it seals against the hood iats are fine. 111° yesterday and I was 2-5° above ambient when moving, even crawling thru traffic. I never rose above 125° when sitting at stops either.
Not sure if bad, but haven't seen any detrimental effects such as hood flutter, etc etc. Usually the closing off of grills from an OEM standpoint is done for decrease in drag which helps MPG standards. My observation was that was a good first step in introducing more air and at the very least helped with IATs. In regards to more power from it.... Undecided but doubtful, but more air movement can never hurt.

Good info on top of.hox sealing. Did you do anything to adjust/help seal your box? Tape there to stay till adhesive dries out and comes off. Don't think it's hurting anything at this point.
Sponsored

 

Zrussian13

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2018
Threads
24
Messages
1,984
Reaction score
1,789
Location
Phoenix
First Name
Chris
Vehicle(s)
2019 Mustang GT, 2018 Acura MDX
No it stays in place on it's own. When I installed mine last winter I noticed my iats were Higher than I thought they should be so I adjusted the box to sit higher and seal better around the intake tube and hood. I just loosened the coupling at the tb and everything moved pretty easily. I thought it would work it's way back down over time but so far so good.
 

Geo

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Threads
0
Messages
19
Reaction score
33
Location
North Carolina
First Name
George
Vehicle(s)
2018 Mustang GT PP2 Race Red
So like everyone else I've been looking at ways of combating some of the crazy high IATs I've see after getting my JLT CAI. Before I started playing around with different options I would see traffic IATs in Texas summers as high as 165* slowly moving through traffic at sub-10mph or at a standstill. I had looked at different options such as Velossa big mouth and upon inspection, saw that is wasn't solving any airlfow issues due to the JLT snorkel provided in the kit solving the airflow issue to begin with. First thing I tried was opening up the honeycomb areas in the front grill feeding that inlet. This tremendously helped drop IATs when I started moving...but key word when moving. With this alone I would see IATs when moving with 8-10* of ambient outside temps. Not ideal, but same time much better than before.

Second project was to try and shield the inlet pipe and JLT surround from radiant heat. I figured heat soak from within the engine bay while idling etc etc was worth a few degrees. For this I tried DEI's reflective high temp tape. Shortly after this is when I hit the road course at MSR-Houston and found temps to go towards 3-6* of ambient, but idling/slow traffic would still get me to the 140-150s. Once got moving, the temps dropped quickly to the 3-6* within a minute of driving. This made me figure some air from the engine bay was still getting into the intake somehow. The other observation of this is that the CAI components were no longer too hot to touch after a track session. I could pop the hood, and put my hand on all parts covered and it would for sure be warm, but not get burned by it. So looking around I saw that there seemed to be minimal compression of the JLT hood seal or even rub marks on the hood liner. This got me thinking their might be a gap, which would make this is the source of high temp air leaking into the CAI causing higher IATs. Easy, got some insulation strips to test the theory and wow what a difference. So far on consistent 95*+ days I haven't seen IATs go higher than 140*, usually hovering high 120s-135*. This also translates to IATs dropping even at slower speeds closer to ambient.

Pictured is after driving around to varies destinations for a few hours with temps coming down off of 98*. N-Gauge shows 95* air temp and the car's onboard shows 97*, so hot nonetheless. As you can see even after a few hours of moving around, and sitting at one of the longest red lights ever it seemed... the IATs started at 125* and dropped down to 107* with 200 yards of the light.

So is this by any means a one all be all type solution. Absolutely not, but putting my observations and trials out there for anyone looking to combat the higher IATs that come with a JLT type system.
IMG_5630.png
IMG_5639.png
IMG_5640.png
IMG_5641.png
IMG_5642.png
 

Geo

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Threads
0
Messages
19
Reaction score
33
Location
North Carolina
First Name
George
Vehicle(s)
2018 Mustang GT PP2 Race Red
I also noticed high IAT’s when I installed my JLT intake last year. It’s a good design concept but very cheap thin wall plastic tubing. Like you I wrapped the tube but went a step further in adding two layers. The first was high heat header wrap and the second was adhesive back aluminum tape. Results where great, temps took much longer to rise when in traffic but would not exceed 120-125. IAT’s drop fast when moving and remained 2-3 degrees higher than outside temps.

Most of my driving is done during fall, winter and spring. Summer is spent modding my mustang.
056C6AF8-D218-4DD9-8FC0-1960D2658C5B.jpeg
 

Sponsored

armykyle1 [HACKED ACCOUNT

Banned
Banned
Banned
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Threads
74
Messages
1,849
Reaction score
620
Location
Gulf Coast
Vehicle(s)
2018 GTPP premium
Pmas on my 18. It's foam window units supposedly. Definitely helps and the temps drop quickly.
20190601_170103.jpg
 

18GTmustang

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2019
Threads
6
Messages
77
Reaction score
41
Location
Houston tx
First Name
Eduardo Perez
Vehicle(s)
2018 ford mustang GT
this is a good idea ... What if stock 18 box gets wrapped for colder iat?
 

cmxPPL219

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
575
Reaction score
560
Location
Toronto, Canada
First Name
Eric
Vehicle(s)
2019 Mustang GT PP2
this is a good idea ... What if stock 18 box gets wrapped for colder iat?
Could be worth a try.

As some have hinted at in this thread, for the Non-GT350 stock air boxes, they are very good. Ford has to balance a lot of different factors when designing it, including cost (as any other OEM) but for a stock airbox on a more performance oriented car, it is very good - it is designed to perform in many scenarios, hot, cold, humidity, dust, etc. Hence the closed design, like most other cars, to battle a lot of variables - Heat soak primarily one of them.

Now, in GT350/R, the stock air box is replaced with open element, as this version was obviously designed to be stretched out on a track, with constant forward movement at speed, thus airflow, thus heat soak is less of a concern. Of course, any time this open element setup is driven in heat, in traffic etc., IATs will go up.

Like anything more hard-core performance related, there is some price to pay.

So, generally, barring tunes or other factors. Aftermarket CAIs (or, really, WAIs or “Short Ram Intakes,” as some others would call these, since the filter still sits in the engine bay itself) will suffer the same fate as a stock GT350/R open element.
 

NastyPumpkin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
300
Reaction score
258
Location
Michigan
Vehicle(s)
2018 Boosted Mustang GT
I fully insulated the outer box with heavy duty heat reflector Ford insulation and top. Also I did the air inlet box which sits against the side of the radiator. My IAT’s are now only 2 degrees higher than outside temp. And does a great job at idle keeping it cooler at around 10 to 15 degrees higher in 93 degree heat outside. Which has helped me greatly with drag racing every Sunday, at the staging lanes and burn out box.
96A65F3E-6388-4A72-B0A5-572A910B3E18.jpeg
DD000C62-CDC7-4E1F-80E8-AE5BDF58BD85.jpeg
60BFCEEA-333E-47CE-A8A1-5C849355FE8E.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Bluemustang

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2015
Threads
149
Messages
3,897
Reaction score
2,263
Location
Maryland
First Name
Ryan
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang Base GT
At what point do you just admit to yourself that you should have stuck with the stock intake...?
Maybe because the JLT can bring in more air to make more hp at higher rpms so naturally people want to try to reduce its weakness. In many cases aftermarket CAIs can be a bad thing, yet beneficial for other applications.

For instance I was watching TV the other day and an Porsche 996 owner had a JLT style CAI, but the intake tube/filter was just sitting right in the middle of the engine bay. The stock intake has a special snorkel and airbox to funnel cold air from outside the car. So needless to say this is bad because all it's doing is breathing in hot air from around the engine. In the GT the airbox is at least somewhat sealed to the hood with the aftermarket CAIs and has a snorkel that feeds through the grille openings to the outside air. Is the JLT ideal in all situations? No. But if it could be sealed pretty well keeping IAT down I imagine it could be fairly versatile. Hell even the stock intake will heat soak at some point.
 

Sponsored

cib24

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Threads
26
Messages
424
Reaction score
175
Location
UK
Vehicle(s)
1999 Mazda RX-7 Type RS
The thing is, if you are on the street stuck in NYC traffic or whatever, you will heatsoak. Every car will. An enclosed box like the OEM system will do better than an open element like the JLT in this situation.

If you are drag racing and waiting in the queue with your engine on you will heatsoak, so keep your bonnet open until you stage. Additionally, add some minor water injection as I mentioned earlier of only about 150-250cc/min and your temps will be managed so that you get full power from the launch to the end of your run.

If you run on a road course or backroads then you won't heatsoak because the car is moving and tons of air is flowing through the bumpers and engine bay.

Has anyone dyno'd the JLT or another aftermarket intake without a tune to see if there is actually any difference in power on the OEM tune? The OEM intake design doesn't look like it is restrictive on a N/A motor so do these aftermarket units do anything at all even if their pipework is larger? I have only been able to find before and after dyno results of a stock car, and then a stock car + intake + tune. Obviously, if the car is tuned it's going to make more power. Even a stock car tuned specifically for 93 makes more power than the OEM tune.
 

Zelek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Threads
101
Messages
4,763
Reaction score
4,621
Location
Round Rock / Hutto, TX
First Name
Matt
Vehicle(s)
2021 Mustang Mach 1
The thing is, if you are on the street stuck in NYC traffic or whatever, you will heatsoak. Every car will. An enclosed box like the OEM system will do better than an open element like the JLT in this situation.

If you are drag racing and waiting in the queue with your engine on you will heatsoak, so keep your bonnet open until you stage. Additionally, add some minor water injection as I mentioned earlier of only about 150-250cc/min and your temps will be managed so that you get full power from the launch to the end of your run.

If you run on a road course or backroads then you won't heatsoak because the car is moving and tons of air is flowing through the bumpers and engine bay.

Has anyone dyno'd the JLT or another aftermarket intake without a tune to see if there is actually any difference in power on the OEM tune? The OEM intake design doesn't look like it is restrictive on a N/A motor so do these aftermarket units do anything at all even if their pipework is larger? I have only been able to find before and after dyno results of a stock car, and then a stock car + intake + tune. Obviously, if the car is tuned it's going to make more power. Even a stock car tuned specifically for 93 makes more power than the OEM tune.
All JLT intakes require a tune so it's not possible. You'd have to tune for both then compare. The main difference you'll see is more power in the upper rpms over the stock intake. It's not a lot though. There is a pretty big difference with forced induction though.
 

cib24

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Threads
26
Messages
424
Reaction score
175
Location
UK
Vehicle(s)
1999 Mazda RX-7 Type RS
Yeah, with FI I can obviously see the benefit since you are trying to shove more air into the cylinders, but N/A the manifold and heads are already well optimised to flow about as good as you can expect so I'm struggling to see how an aftermarket intake on a stock GT makes any difference at all that's worth spending money over. I do see how replacing the manifold, throttle body and intake with, say GT350 components, can open things up a bit but that is committing to 3 modifications that all benefit from one another as a complete unit.

Otherwise, you probably get the most bang for your buck N/A from a high octane or E85 (if it's available to you) tune on a stock car and a higher final drive in the rear end like 4.09s or 4.56s.
 

smoke_wagon_6g

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
212
Reaction score
112
Location
New York
Vehicle(s)
18 GT
At what point do you just admit to yourself that you should have stuck with the stock intake...?
It's called good throwing money after bad, in other words the "sunk cost fallacy" is on full display in this man.

He's already spent hundreds of dollars for the CAI (hot air intake really), a tune, and plenty of valuable time. It just HAS to work!

Remember the 80's cars that actually had exposed paper filters under the hood? Big round paper filter in the air cleaner right on top of the carburetor? Then we plumbed hoses to the wheel well or grille to get some cool air in there. Or used ram air hoods, or heat extractors.

This hot air intake trend is completely backwards! The factory airbox delivers cold air right to the throttle body already. Power gains for a "CAI", if any, are due to the tune they tell you to get when you install one. Calling then CAIs with a straight face is a marketing slam dunk. The lie is in the name of the product.

Look OP, if the intake air temps bother you this much go back to the stock airbox. Why reinvent the wheel? Maybe you can keep your tune anyway.
 

Zelek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Threads
101
Messages
4,763
Reaction score
4,621
Location
Round Rock / Hutto, TX
First Name
Matt
Vehicle(s)
2021 Mustang Mach 1
Yeah, with FI I can obviously see the benefit since you are trying to shove more air into the cylinders, but N/A the manifold and heads are already well optimised to flow about as good as you can expect so I'm struggling to see how an aftermarket intake on a stock GT makes any difference at all that's worth spending money over. I do see how replacing the manifold, throttle body and intake with, say GT350 components, can open things up a bit but that is committing to 3 modifications that all benefit from one another as a complete unit.

Otherwise, you probably get the most bang for your buck N/A from a high octane or E85 (if it's available to you) tune on a stock car and a higher final drive in the rear end like 4.09s or 4.56s.
Yeah, you at least need a 2018 manifold and taking your rpm's above 7500+ to really see any small difference between stock and the aftermarket cone style filters. Even then, we're not talking a lot of power. The cost per performance just really isn't there.
Sponsored

 
 




Top