I recently read a fantastic article on a project called "Project M-P-G". A group took a 1 ton Ford truck with a 460 and made quite a few modifications documenting before, during, and after results. The one modification that really threw me were the results of the cold air/fipk intake mod. The numbers actually decreased with this mod. The best results were with a K&N replacement filter and completely insulating the intake box with insulation tape. I never considered this but it makes sense. Most cold air intae systems actually draw air from under the hood, which is considerably warmer than air outside teh engine compartment. There were several other low cost modifications that resulted in significant power increases. Anyways, enough of my ramblings, check the link below and check out this great project.

http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/results.html

 

Cold air intakes are not overrated, just unavailable.

The FIPK systems for the pre-97 trucks are not cold air intakes. A cold air intake by definition draws in cold air. They do not. Unrestricted cold air will add some performance to a stock engine and quite a lot to a modified one. The FIPK kits mostly use up money, unless you rig up your own cold air ducting to feed them

 

Bruno,
Thanks for the article, but I wanted to note that the best HP was achieved with a FIPK, 219 compared to 211 with the insulated, the Insulated did have 4 ft-lbs more torque. Where the insulated one shined was in air temperature, but the FIPK was able to make that up in the amount of air that it flowed. As far as mileage though, yes the Insulated was better. And no, most cold air systems don't draw from under the hood, to be considered a cold air kit it must be boxed off in some way so that it doesn't, otherwise it is just a free flowing kit. Insulating is the best bang for the buck though and would be a great idea for anyone with a stock air box.

 

Where can you buy insulated tape like that used in the test and how much is it. The test said $120 but that seems like a lot to me. With the 460 they had they estimated almost 33k miles needed to pay for itself in mileage. If you were starting with a more economical motor than the 460, which is just about every motor, it would be even more miles. They increased from 9.9 to 10.5 mpg on the highway, seems the wifes Olds 4.0 that already gets over double that would have to go twice as far to pay for itself, around 66k miles. That's 5 years for me. The performance gains seem worth it though since I can't seem to find a intake for it. Any other good idea's on how to insulate an airbox.

 

That does seem a bit expensive but it's cheaper than a FIPK or cold air system. There are a lot of different types of insulation materials to choose from. You may want to check with your home improvement centers or heating and cooling stores.
Since I have a van the tape will only work for part of the intake system. Since I work in a boiler plant I will be able to get some prices and alternative insulation methods from our vendors. I will keep you posted.

 

I read the same article a few months ago. I have a 86 302fi 4wd.
My truck came with a factory cold air intake. I put in a k&n filter and insulated the air cleaner box and insulated the rubber hoses to the throttle body. And insulated the hose that comes from the core support to the air filter housing. I used 1/4 inch aluminum faced foam insulating tape. 2 inches wide by 6 foot long. Available at home depot for 3 bucks. You need a couple of rolls.
After i used the foam tape, I used aluminum tape and wrapped the foam tape from core support to throttle body. And I wrapped the filter box with it. This fills in the gap between the foam tape wraps and makes it more durable. That tape costs about 6 bucks.
The aluminum tape reflects the radiant heat in the engine compartment.
I did one other mod. I relocated my intake air charge tempature sensor.
And according to the butt dyno, what a difference.
zanny

 

You can get that foam tape in 1/8" thickness also. Just be real carefull when you put it on to avoid wrinkling the foil and crushing the insulation.

The plastic parts of course don't transfer the heat as bad as metal parts. The cloth/plastic flex hoses seem to do better than the metal also.

On older vehicles with carbs I run a big Motorcraft filter in a bigger airbox and also make two insulated cold air intakes. The Motorcraft filters are the least restrictive of the paper types. If I remember right there is some test data somewhere on FTE for this.

 

Is that foam tape you're talking about just weatherstripping stuff for doors and windows?

 

No, its made for pipe insulating. It's in the heating,ventilating and air condition department at home depot.
zanny

 

Thanks,
It seemed like weatherstripping was a bit light duty for under the hood.