Which type of piping should I use to make a custom car air intake? I‘m not making it for HP gains but want to do it as a fun project / be unique. My choices of material are: ABS / PVC / Aluminum / Steel Which would take in air at cool temperatures and are more resistant to heat?
Yes,, turbo does not need to be directly fixed to cool air intake but as long as cool air teaches itit will work. Turbo does have to be fitted to exhaust manifold though. It's not uncommon to route pipes to fit engines etc eg marine units.m
There must be an air intake connected to the cool blades (non-exhaust driven side) of the turbocharger.
Coldest air and cheapest would be to cut a hole in the hood and put the filter there. It's unique in it's own way. Lol. All piping has some heat disadvantages. Just try to route it furthest away from any exhaust piping or coolant hoses. Cool air can be found in fender wells and below battery trays. See where the car originally got it's cold air for the factory intake, then make that opening large enough to fit your intake pipe through.
Most piping (aftermarket) is stainless steel.but the best heat resistance is supposedly silicone. I'd go with silicone. Anything metal will heat up, plastic not so much. If you move the MAF you'll get a CEL so be sure to keep it in the same location. PVC as in home depot PVC? Yeah.that would look pretty bad but do the same thing and be cheaper than any of the other stuff.hard to trim if need be though.
Choosing the material you use is only secondary to the design you go ahead with, and the way you incorporate this into your existing setup There are a number of reasons for this; the main reasons include how the system was engineered overall. You should tune the system to each application - the length of the overall tubing, the diameter of the tubing, and the minimal number of bends all work together to make the system create the maximum power from your motor. But to answer directly, I personally would go with Steel for the main pipes and bends and use Silicone adaptors for your hose clamps. Not only will this combination provide the strongest resistance against pressure - it also looks the goods as you can polish the steel and choose the silicone color that best matches your car. I wont get into the whole arguement about pods vs. stock MAF units etc etc, because as you said ' I am not making it for HP gains' which tells me you are 'not an idiot' Have fun and hey - send some pics of the finished product when you're done! My source is my head, but I have listed in there a website that I found that has a really nice writeup on how to setup a cold air induction - AND it supports my answer hee hee!
