[Richard Crofts]

The lid is just an added extra. It in theory (I'm not that sold on it personally) means the seal to stop warm air from the engine is even better than just using a rubber seal against and uneven surface like the heat/noise shielding material under he bonnet. I think you'll find that any box in an engine will let some warm air in thats almost impossible to stop but its the rate at which cold air can be forced into the area near to the filter thats importnat.

[DaFlake]

In my opinion they are all about the same. I don't think there is very much difference between the ones available. They all have their nuances, but they all also perform about the same for what most people use them for.

[alski]

so any opinions on these ideas?

more air to scuttle side via vents, orciari?

manifold wrap or similar to air box skin? [as well as manifold]

vented side panels as on e-bay

anything else to assist cooling, [not evo style please]

or are these ideas more cosmetic than practical, and poor value for cost/effort involved

[DaFlake]

I seriously doubt that is going to make that big of a difference. Not noticeable anyway.

[Richard Crofts]

Not for the cost

[MINIMANIAUK]

The scuttle vents rely on low pressure at the base of the windscreen , the orciari vents are ram air so of little use unless reversed, more form than function.
1 bonnet louvre on the left side of the bonnet would help removing hot air from under bonnet, or raising the rear of the bonnet by an inch would assist but look a bit odd,
the gains from keeping the intake air cool are not that great, flow wise they are better.

If you have a dirty car and drive on a wet day,you can see the airflow across the bonnet,left by dirt lines, it moves rearwards either side of the scoop and moves outwards and over the wings wherever you try to capture that flow aint going to look pretty!!
there is much debate about the intercoolers relative merits,but little little mention of where the heated air goes after passing thru the intercooler underbonnet. the underbonnet hot air needs sucking out, but not so as it also sucks out the colder air around the air filter,hence 1 louvre on the bonnet , A ducted louvre could also work well with a duct leading to the rear lower side of the intercooler but the shape and space make this harder to do or make .

[minigolf]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

The lid is just an added extra. It in theory (I'm not that sold on it personally) means the seal to stop warm air from the engine is even better than just using a rubber seal against and uneven surface like the heat/noise shielding material under he bonnet. I think you'll find that any box in an engine will let some warm air in thats almost impossible to stop but its the rate at which cold air can be forced into the area near to the filter thats importnat.

One benefit of my recent front strut brace install is that after a drive you can pop the bonnet and feel the temp difference on the brace where it is nice and cool over the CAI and warm on the other side of the engine bay. Mind, that's in our current cool climate where even the intercooler seems to work properly. Once the warmer months come around it will be worth seeing how well the CAI works.

[Richard Crofts]

M7 are working on a luvered reversed scoop to work with thier (IMO dubious) DFIC. This would work if moved further back (so it doesn't rob air off the top mount intercooler) and was over the manifold area to allow rising heat to escape before it spreads through the engine bay (plus unused air from off the top mount IC would help channel warm air back and up towards the luveres

[Bhozar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

M7 are working on a luvered reversed scoop to work with thier (IMO dubious) DFIC. This would work if moved further back (so it doesn't rob air off the top mount intercooler) and was over the manifold area to allow rising heat to escape before it spreads through the engine bay (plus unused air from off the top mount IC would help channel warm air back and up towards the luveres

I also thought it might work well as a 3rd scuttle vent on the panel in the middle, That would allow heat out of the engine bay from the manifold, as well as possibly pulling some of the other hot air out of the front. It would need testing properly to see if it really does though. anyone got a spare skuttle panel to try this on?

[k-huevo]

As far as engine bay cooling, the current exit path around the exhaust manifold performs adequately once the vehicle is moving (the lower air dam creates a negative pressure area and the positive pressure in the engine bay from air passing through the radiator forces the heated air to exit behind the engine and under the vehicle); underhood air temps drop dramatically, and temperatures measured within the air box drop close to ambient within a few seconds because of the intake charge. The heat soak experienced by the intercooler is different than conventional CAI exposures.

The Alta box without the lid does not fully seal; there is a gap on one corner, but that point does not mean much since there are other gaps around that intake.

Roland made a good point about directing flow towards the intake hose/bellows. There is a Nanofiber filter replacement for the JCW intake that has an interesting design feature within that appears to act as a flow director; no photos of the cone but some info can be found here MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Consensus on JCW airbox vs other CAI's .