PTuning intake location?
 

I am choosing between supercharger and turbo. Leaning heavy towards turbo for a couple of reasons.

One of the models I am looking at is PTuning. Their site shows the intake located here:
http://www.ptuning.com/graphics/ptun...kit-andrew.jpg

Here is a really basic question - is there a reason why their intake is in one of the hottest points under the hood? In theory, this is probably not optimal. In practice, it might not make much difference with our engines.

Can someone explain to me the logic behind the Ptuning intake placement? I am guessing this might have been discussed ad nauseum. If so - a pointer to the thread or info will suffice!

Thanks in advance.

It pulls in air just like where the stock air filter does, just on the other side of the radiator. A small section of the plastic air guide is cut to allow flow to the passenger side.

It doesn't matter all too much if you're pulling in hot air. It will be hot when it touches the turbo no matter what. The intercooler is there to cool down the hot air from the compressor.

Oh and there is no turbo in front of the engine heat soaking your engine bay so you're good there too.

:thumbsup:

The temperature of the air going into the turbo DOES matter. The lower the temperature, the more dense it is. The more dense it is, the turbo has to work less to achieve the desired manifold pressure, and the less heat the turbo adds to the intake charge that the intercooler has to remove later. However, if you're adding extra restrictions to the intake system in order to draw cool air, then you may lose more than you gain. Getting cool, atmospheric pressure (or higher) air to the turbo inlet is never a bad thing if you can manage it.

But yes, PTUNING has a heat shield around the air intake.

hot air into cooler turbo, or cooler air into hotter turbo? either way for a street car its not a big enough difference to sway me one way or another on a kit. plenty of sage 2 fullblown guys have to run the filter inside the bay and they make insane power.


hopefully an efficient intercooler will aid in keeping the temps down. Also at least there isn't much hot air stuck in the engine bay since its all being sucked out!

you could probably run a pipe from the pass side foglight vent up to that filter much like the fbm kits intercooler piping.

FWIW, I typically see intake temps of about 5F over ambient when running off the wastegate spring and with the car moving.

Same here. As long as car is moving my intake temps sometimes even match ambient.

Ptuning turbo owner

As other owners have already mentioned, you will notice very little difference in inlet temps vs ambient temps with our intake set-up. Once the car is moving, the intake will draw air predominantly from the cut-out above the radiator. This cut-out gets fed fresh air from the same front bumper opening as the factory airbox.

What impacts performance much more than turbo inlet temps is using a necked down turbo inlet tube. You will probably lose a lot more power feeding a turbo with a lengthy 2.5" or 3" cold air intake tube. On a turbo system, like ours, that uses a 4" inlet, you're much better off using a 4" intake with a slight compromise in inlet temps than feeding the turbo with a 2.5" tube from the fender well.

- Toan

Thanks for the very informative responses! Always nice to see vendor supplied info as well. Great point about the volume of air vs the temp with reduced flow.

Just curious - what about in bumper-to-bumper? You know, on an average day? Any issues? Didn't catch where you are located but what about a hot day?

Manassas, VA. Not only does it get humid and hot, but 66 is a parking lot all day long.

With mild ambient temps (60-70), I might see intake temps shoot up to 80+ when coming to a stop in traffic.

I was at the track this past weekend with ambient temps in the low 100s. Intake temps, while moving, were around +5. I'll have to check my videos to see what the temps were when stopped, but I wouldn't be surprised to see 115-120. :iono:

CA. They increase of course. But You don't care about high intake temps in traffic. As soon as you get moving (acceleration) the temps will plummet immediately.