My take on a proper air induction box:

[ZeroDrift]

So many of us have some desire to improve our car's performance and make use of the factory hood scoop. I too have been toying around with the idea of using the hood scoop as an intake on my car as well as the Mrs' car. I was toying around with many ideas and liked the concept of the gravel sport intake but wasn't fond of some of the design concepts. Seeing that there was nothing available on the market I decided to design one and have it made for me.

Criteria of what I wanted:
1-Function was first and foremost.
2-Fresh air should be provided via the hood scoop which had plenty of fresh air that had not passed through the radiator or came from below the car.
3-I wanted something that was compatible with both turbo setups from my car and the Mrs' car w/ minimal modifications. I also figured I could make this so that should I take the turbo out the induction box would still be useful.
4-I wanted this to be a better solution than everything else that I have seen as many intakes either take in hot air from the engine bay, or if using the scoop would take on water.

Solution:

Pictures below:










Again, the plan was to have this as something that is easily adaptable to turbo cars as well as NA cars w/ or w/o a maf. On my better half's car (pictured above) I was immediately able to notice a benefit, despite not having a gasket or seal between the 2 components. Specifically I noticed that the turbo spooled faster and was much more responsive, especially at freeway speeds. It does seem to heat soak when stopped, but while moving its quite nice to have. I have a solution for this but have yet to use it: thermal gold insulation. I'm not sure its needed at this point in time as the engine is always drawing in fresh air while operating.

All in all, I feel it meets all of my criteria and am quite happy with the results so far. Rain has not been an issue as there are a few holes in the very bottom that allow water to exit. I need to test this more as I may need to make a rain splash/shield for the filter for the torrential downpours one may encounter.

This is my first version and some changes will be made before another is made for my car.

I'd appreciate your thoughts!

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[teiva-boy]

I think you should point your alarm siren downwards as per the best practice installs for most car alarms.

But your intake is nifty.

[arisking]

That's definitely interesting for sure, nothing I would ever do, but is a neat concept.

LOLZ at the alarm comment.

[fan boy]

awesome! great job. did you have to cut the hood at all? what did you use to attach it?

[ZeroDrift]

Originally Posted by fan boy

awesome! great job. did you have to cut the hood at all? what did you use to attach it?

No modifications to the hood. It mounts using existing holes with stainless screws and a single bolt.

[2gnt2wrx]

Thats sweet, I noticed you are from the north west... what about rain?

[ZeroDrift]

Originally Posted by 2gnt2wrx

Thats sweet, I noticed you are from the north west... what about rain?

Just moved to Colorado a few weeks ago. Rain wasn't an issue as water would drip past the filter and would exit promptly out of a few drain holes. I need to test this during a torrential downpour though.

[Gonzo_TFTD]

Maybe cut the lower left corner of the duct area to allow a turbo snorkel. That would help with the heat soak when you stop, along with the heat insulation.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1617104

This through yours, insulated. Just a thought.

[speedyHAM]

Very nice.

[yarrgh]

You can create a torrential downpour with a hose.

[ZeroDrift]

It rained fairly hard here today so I've done some preliminary water testing.

I have tested this cruising in ~80mph speeds and several full throttle runs to 80mph and have found no issues with water collecting in the lower air box. No issues with the filter getting anything more than slightly damp from anything other than the humidity. Further testing needs to be preformed as the top section has yet to be fully sealed to the underside of the hood, as well as the 2 halves of the system. I will be working on further tests as I have time to finish the design.

Anyone have a good source for quality gaskets or seals?

[97OBLimited]

I have been thinking of somehow making my hood scoop functional but have been debating whether it's worth it. This looks like a great fabrication job, just needs a few tweaks.
Long before i knew really anything about how my car's intake worked, i devised a plan to retrofit an SLP Intake from a Camaro.
http://www.jegs.com/i/SLP/847/21046/10002/-1
My idea was to take the intake, turn it 180 degrees so that the intake port was matched with the throttle body on my car. I would then make a gasket to seal the scoop cowling to the intake.

Can anyone visualize what i'm trying to achieve here?

Then i learned about that dang MAF sensor and how finicky it is, and my idea was brutally shot down.

[ZeroDrift]

^That't not a bad idea, but the MAF would cause issues.

On a side note, does anyone have any sources for automotive gaskets and seals?

[anothernord]

This is exactly what I think the ideal intake setup should be using a hood scoop. I'm betting a lot of the MAF-based N/A guys would love this, as an alternative to a gravelsports-style intake.

[quazimoto]

Originally Posted by ZeroDrift

Anyone have a good source for quality gaskets or seals?

Hardware store. Just buy the weather striping of choice! Weather striping works great because it comes in such a variety of materials and configurations.

[JesseL]

I have thought of this aswell, I was looking into sweeping the intake/filter up and around to just under the scoop, but this looks like a much better idea!

[OrbitalEllipses]

It's a shame this isn't adaptable to those of us who wish to keep a top-mount. I'd say you achieved your goals, but my primary concern as with any intake is water.

[ZeroDrift]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

It's a shame this isn't adaptable to those of us who wish to keep a top-mount. I'd say you achieved your goals, but my primary concern as with any intake is water.

I'm not sure how you could make this work with a top mount. The only way I could see it would be to take fresh air from just above the intercooler which would allow a fair amount of airflow to bypass the intercooler or take in hot air from behind it which defeats the purpose altogether.

Update:
I've since sealed the air box to the hood, as well as the 2 halves, and no issues period! Just drove through a torrential downpour this weekend and everything worked like a charm!

What I'm noticing is that during freeway speeds, water just drips down and misses the filter. Due to my design, water and air would have to backtrack towards the front of the car several inches and I believe this allows enough time for gravity/inertia to gather water on the 'floor' and promptly drip down as opposed to spraying the filter.

I still worry about it and have a plan to ensure water stays clear of the filter in the absolute worse case scenario. I'll post up my solution in the near future. I've got another project in the works that is taking a higher priority than this.

[meat_WRX]

pretty damn good design. not send it to asia and get it mass produced. where is you turbo? **** sits low.

[ZeroDrift]

Originally Posted by meat_WRX

pretty damn good design. not send it to asia and get it mass produced. where is you turbo? **** sits low.

Yeah, the turbo sits pretty low in the Mrs' car (blue RS in the pictures). I've got a friend starting a fab shop and may consider selling these. The fitment though was a major pain and I can't imagine this bolting onto any newer cars w/o major changes. There was a great deal of test fitting with this design and a fair # of prototypes.

[RS drifter]

pretty neat

[Aaron'z 2.5RS]

You just need nice cool air, not a "scoop"...

Why not just build it up to the side hood vent?? not complicated hood attachment, no welding really.. just getting the contours of the underside of the hood..

Check JC Whitney for gasket type rubber products (to seal to the hood)

[mikeydrives1]

Very VERY nice! Ive never seen such a setup before. Def very clever and original (as far as i know, ive never seen such a creation) Just imagine if you could use your current setup as a tablet of some sort to make a fiberglass or even Carbon Fiber setup? Would prob deal with heat a little more effectively. Just some food for thought tho, its still an amazing thing there that you have created.

[krauser2]

This idea is good, I am curious though...when you wash your car wouldn't the water from the hose fall on the intake?

other than that I really enjoy it....wish I could rock it with my tmic

[ZeroDrift]

Originally Posted by krauser2

This idea is good, I am curious though...when you wash your car wouldn't the water from the hose fall on the intake?

other than that I really enjoy it....wish I could rock it with my tmic

We've not had any issues with it do date. Had a shop do a mini detail on it and only a few drops went inside. Most of the water slides down the hood as opposed to into the scoop.


I am thinking of making one out of fiberglass, and possibly out of carbon if I like how it comes out in glass.


Aaron'z 2.5RS: The side hood vent air flow come out of the hood when I did test. It doesn't make much sense to have that as an air intake. Of course I could have made a mini scoop, but I am honestly not very good a making fiberglass look pretty, and I figured the main scoop would do a better job.


The car was much more responsive and turbo lag was reduced a fair amount once I finished the top scoop piece. Suffice to say my butt dyno took immediate notice of the difference. Once I finish overhauling my car we are going to clean up the design and get it powder coated for protection against the elements, and the underside will get a layer of reflective gold wrap to keep heat soak at bay.