chrome tube filters?

[4207henri]

Is there any advantages/disadvantages of these filters or is it just for looks and personal prefrence???

 

[Jerry Dobson]

Are you talking about the filters that hang down. They have no airbox?

 

[EA6BPilot]

I bought a set of the West Coast Viper chrome tubes (from JonB at partsrack.com) and they work just fine. They were a little hard to fit at first, but a little oil on the silicon collectors makes it work better. They function the same as silicon smooth tubes, but are a little more of a poser mod (they look nice, and are more expensive). I have heard of theories that they will retain heat more than the silicon tubes, which in theory will rob horsepower, but I am not sure. I gained about 14 RWHP from K&Ns and these tubes, so it was worth it.

 

[IEATVETS]

Hey Frank, are you sure you gained 14hp? Did you dyno your car to find out? Or are you just going by what the manufactuer claims? I bought the same filters cause I thought they looked cool well, I then started hearing things so I dyno'd my car with the stock air box and the cone type filters which the manufactuer claims 14hp gain. Guess what.....no difference! I paid a lot of money for these cheesy things and now they sit on a shelf in my garage. Live and learn.

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

My understanding of this is that you will reduce your HP numbers because you are sucking hot air from the engine compartment and the chrome tubes absorb the heat generated by the engine (which will warm the incoming air even more and further reducing it's density). I cannot see any performance gain in ricer mods like this.

Save your money.

 

[Ulysses]

Think about it. The IAT adjusts fuel (and timing?) parameters based on what it senses is the air temperature. If you are sucking in hot air or the air is heated in the tubes (metal is a great conductor), you're going to lose performance.

Experiment: Get a hold of an OBDII scanner, if your car is so equipped. Read the air temp with the OE tubes and air box while driving. Then do the same with the metal tubes and cone filter. Is it hotter?

I haven't done this with the Viper, but I have with another vehicle. The diffence in temps was significant.

 

[FLX109]

My understanding of this is that you will reduce your HP numbers because you are sucking hot air from the engine compartment and the chrome tubes absorb the heat generated by the engine (which will warm the incoming air even more and further reducing it's density).

I am not saying you are wrong, I am maybe just asking a question but my thoughts are when the car is traveling at a high rate of speed, not idling, with all the air flow flowing into the engine compartment and intake how could that be hot air?

FLX109

 

[EA6BPilot]

Duane (IEATVETS),

I dynoed my car AFTER I installed the filters/tubes. I didn't use the cone type....I went with the stock airbox, chrome tubes with silicon collectors, and standard K&Ns. I dynoed at 413RWHP/450RWTQ to the wheels with those mods. I have a higher mileage car (40k at dyno time) and went with the "average" stock GTS numbers of around 399-400 RWHP (on a Dynojet) to come up with what I assume was a 14 HP gain. I only did 2 runs, with the second one being higher. I think if I would have done 1 or 2 more, it might have been slightly higher yet (PCM learning, car warming up, etc.....I don't know). Having said that, I am going with both the manufacturer's claim as well as generic stock Viper numbers to come up with a 14 RWHP gain. I didn't have the time, money, or knowledge at the time to do multiple runs both with and without. EVERY mod I do from now on will come with a before/after dyno to see EXACTLY what I gained (if anything). I figure that the $200 or so that I spent on the chrome tubes and K&Ns was worth the effort, not to mention it looks cool with the hood up (and will look even BETTER with the polished Roe SC I want to eventually get!).

Brad,

The system I have ***** air from the factory airbox, so the only heat would come from the tubes themselves. The price difference was only about $30 from standard silicon tubes, so I figured why not (kind of a poser mod, I agree). Also, should I need to upgrade to 70mm throttle bodies (with a supercharger), then I can use these tubes since they are a full 3". The system I believe you are talking about is the cone type that ***** its air from behind the radiator and in front of the engine. I can see with that sytem that the intake temps would be very different.

Frank

 

[JonB]

My understanding of this is that you will reduce your HP numbers because you are sucking hot air from the engine compartment and the chrome tubes absorb the heat generated by the engine (which will warm the incoming air even more and further reducing it's density). I cannot see any performance gain in ricer mods like this. Save your money.

DO NOT BE CONFUSED !

The droop-snoot polished or chrome tubes that hang down at 70-degree angles BEHIND the 200-degree hot radiator are **** LOOKIN amd COOL LOOKING, but **** HOT AIR. Bending airflow is also a bad thing. We call them "HOT AIR INDUCTION KITS". They sell for big bucks, as much as $395. On G2, they defeat your NACA airbox, causing lift and drag and Dirty-Dirt inside the hood. "170mph bug scoops." They trick your motor into believeing it is running HOT and that richens the mix and nets less HP.

HOWEVER: Using STOCk airboxes and ducts, the ACR-kink, polished 3" tubes w/ color silicone reducers at only $119 run just as cool as black rubber, and make the same HP net as ACR tubes/filters: 15HP Gen 1, 10-12HP Gen 2; 96-98 15HP Proved over and over. The reducer/tube/reducer allows 2.5-3.0-2.5" expansion/compression [modified venturi effect] during the flow, and probably improves air density. And, if you go to larger TBs or NOS, you can keep the same tubes ! Use with confidence.