Enclosed AirBox GT350

[Phoenix]

No one makes one. Why? in traffic/drive thru at bank i can regularly see AIT of 140+ in this heat. With Shelbys getting cheaper and more and more people daily driving them, this feels like an untapped market.

Honeybadger has seen an appreciable benefit on his track-only car as well.

Who wants to help me make one? could one from Steeda/others be adapted to work with the GT350? As long as the original maf tube is used, does it matter whats before it?

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[nordique14]

I saw a Roush has this for the 5.0. Not sure about fit in a GT350

 

[johnny1]

When the hood is closed the top is sealed by the hood therefore there wouldn't be much if any difference as far as heat as the one in that picture. And of course the air comes into it directly from outside.

 

[Phoenix]

When the hood is closed the top is sealed by the hood therefore there wouldn't be much if any difference as far as heat as the one in that picture. And of course the air comes into it directly from outside.

its not a very good seal. i saw temps of 130 today at lunch.

 

[imbadatthis]

Throw some thermal protection under the IM and drive those temps down.

 

[Demonic]

its not a very good seal. i saw temps of 130 today at lunch.

I suspect that temp is less likely to do with the seal against the hood and more to do with the whole air box sitting in a hot engine bay and not being a very good insulator. If you really wanted to you could try lining the box with insulation, but I’d be surprised if there were noticeable gains from it on a street car.

 

[honeybadger]

Couple considerations here:

1. The box needs a good seal to work properly. When we dyno'd my car, I tried it with my airbox cover on and open. Made 6hp more with it sealed.
2. Air intake temps. When sealing against the hood, you do have an non-insulated heat conductor acting as part of the seal. My air temps regularly are only 10 or so more than ambient temps.
3. Damage to the hood. Not sure of others, but my airbox rubbed the paint off my hood where it seals.

 

[OneFordGT]

Couple considerations here:

1. The box needs a good seal to work properly. When we dyno'd my car, I tried it with my airbox cover on and open. Made 6hp more with it sealed.
2. Air intake temps. When sealing against the hood, you do have an non-insulated heat conductor acting as part of the seal. My air temps regularly are only 10 or so more than ambient temps.
3. Damage to the hood. Not sure of others, but my airbox rubbed the paint off my hood where it seals.

This might be worth trying if you want a better seal. It's cheap and works for me and a few others. Doesn't look bad if you make nice cuts and take your time.

 

[mmakam2]

I used gold reflective tape on my stock airbox and that's it. In 95F ambient IATs are under 108 after driving for 30min.

JLT and PMAS intakes both had significantly higher IATs so I switched back to stock airbox.

 

[Greg35]

I used gold reflective tape on my stock airbox and that's it. In 95F ambient IATs are under 108 after driving for 30min.

JLT and PMAS intakes both had significantly higher IATs so I switched back to stock airbox.

I have heard this from several others who track their IAT's.....aftermarket will run higher temps.

 

[Tractor Junk]

I used gold reflective tape on my stock airbox and that's it. In 95F ambient IATs are under 108 after driving for 30min.

JLT and PMAS intakes both had significantly higher IATs so I switched back to stock airbox.

This is what I did. I removed the OEM air box and wrapped it in DEI gold reflective tape. The glue on the tape isn’t very reliable on the plastic air box, so I used 3M spray adhesive to make it secure. No peeling after 10+ days on track this year.

 

[BoomBoy]

Drive at a high speed and the temperature drops. Mine is only 3 degrees higher than the ambient temperature while driving on the highway. The temperature climbs when sitting at the lights, idling etc while the heat traps inside the engine bay. No aftermarket air box will help with this.

 

[pbrmeasap]

Data loggers confirm that at higher track speeds, the aluminum hood flaps a bit, causing the air box seal to be compromised. This allows hot air to entire, resulting in a drop in power. I can also confirm that my underside hood paint is worn where the seal is being compromised, so is clearly occurring regularly on track.
I went ahead and sealed mine off using lexan from home depot, cut to fit and set in place with screws and nylon nuts. The entire top fitment comes off so can still access for filter change/cleaning.
I believe the 500 has a closed air box so is possible that version can be used on the 350.

 

[TechnicalLimitation]

I’ve noticed mine get very high in-town driving. I do hit a lot of street lights though, and sit idling. It’ll easily climb north of 120F/130F with 95F ambient temps. Prior to reading this thread I thought there may have been a leak.

For those who have tried taping the box, do you see a drop in IAT when street driving and hitting stop lights, or is that primarily for track and you’ve seen some improvement there?

Thanks

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