aluminum intakes are here!!!!

Gearbanger 101 said:

Really.......I disagree. Go take a car with an aluminum manifold around the block a few times or through stop and go traffic in summer weather (which oddly enough is very similar to the line ups you face on a busy weekend at the track) and see how it feels to put your hand on it. Now, go do the same with your Mustang running it’s stock PI manifold and place your hand on one of the intake runners. The fact that it's not searing off your fingerprints should tell you that there's a huge temperature between the two. I’d bet a couple of hundred degree difference at minimum. This is going to make a difference, however small to the temperature of the incoming air charge. And by your admission for the need for one to place bags of ice on the aluminum manifold to keep intake temperatures at bay also confirms this. Doing this same trick to a plastic manifold will net better results still.

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I have a better test for you. Take some plastic and Al and and subject it to say 200F temperature for 20 minutes, which is hotter? Answer, they are both at 200 degrees. No matter what material you use, in less it is a highly insulating material, heat transfer will occur it just occurs at different rates. This being said, using ice on either plastic or an Al intake at the track will work the same, but the Al. will loose its heat faster. The reason companies use plastic is b/c of cost. They can get a smooth finish and the same performance at a cheaper price than using metal, especially considering the rising price of metal in the past 10 or so years. Since Al has a higher heat transfer rate compared to plastic than the Al intake will allow more heat to be transfered to the air inside of the intake resulting in slightly higher intake temps, but considering the slight temp difference(a 100 degree differnence is slight when talking heat transfer) of inside the intake and outside the intake and the volume of air flowing inside the intake, it won't make that much of a difference, like I said before maybe a couple HP difference if everything is equal. If you are not convinced than leave your hand on the plastic intake a little longer and see if it doesn't start hurting.

One last comment. Of course plastic is better than Al for heat transfer reasons, but it will not cost you that much in power. The reason aftermarket companies make them out of metal is b/c they usually don't have the resources to make them out of plastic, therefore metal is there only choice. Plastic has to be done in volume to decrease the cost of production

hotmustang331 said:

Shoot, I would LOVE to have it, but I dont want on the mailing list till I find out HOW much lol. If its say around $500 then I can swing it...but if its like in the bullitts price range, then forget it. If they make another 1000+ dollar intake its not going to mean anything to most of us...we want an affordable intake...not just more options . But maybe aI will Email them and explain my position, that I will buy it solely on price. Maybe the group buy thing will net a REALLY good discount lol

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Give Bob a call at HPS and talk it over with him. He's very responsive to questioning, and will go over all the details with you.

As for the price on this intake, I'm not sure what it is going to be. Originally, the price was going to be 600 for the aluminum lower intake and 125 for the upper intake piece seperately. Together, the upper intake would have only been 100 dollars and I I'm not sure about the bottom piece. What the price is going to be now, I have no clue, and I don't think really anyone else does either. That is why many of us are trying to get a group purchase up to bring down the final cost.

Believe me, I would have already purchased the Accufab upper intake and 75mm throttle body combo, however, I don't want to invest in anymore throttle bodies, as I have a FRPP 70mm throttle body I've polished the inside of on my car now, and since the upper intake piece HPS is going to be selling will only be about another 100 dollars with the purchase of the lower intake, then I might as well wait until then and get both their upper and lower intakes together.

BTW, I am going to do some major sanding and polishing to the inside of the upper intake I get from HPS, and I'll probably do some serious polishing of the runners as well.