[mullenc525]

hi
On my 89 na the 45 degree piece of plastic/rubber hose in the intake (attaches to throttle body) is cracked and really brittle. I am removing the resonator as we speak, but having to jerry rig it together because that rubber hose is a pos. I have thought about the whole civic CAI idea, but I know that alum. pipe is a little short, and aluminum is an excellent heat conductor, and I dont want to spend much. Once I jury rig this pos together, I am going to go buy some fiberglass cloth, and make a fiberglass pipe that goes from the AFM to the throttle body. I think it will work well being really light, strong, and not a good heat conductor. Any ideas? If anyone is interested I may be able to make a bunch of these...

 

[mullenc525]

Change of plan?

the jury rig worked out really well, Id show a pic but my dad left with the digicam this morning. I used a 3M rubberized rockerguard rattle can. I may still think about a fiberglass pipe though.

 

[mullenc525]

whoevers reading this must be laughing by now, but back to fiberglass pipe idea. i went for a drive, and the idle turned to shit a minute from home. I knew it must be an air leak. On closer inspection, the infamous 45 degree bend pipe is cracked from one end to the other. Oh well, that will make it easier to make a fiberglass mold from it.

 

[a70]

if its not smooth inside you will have resticted air flow.

 

[a70]

fyi the rubber elbow costs ~$50 new

 

[mullenc525]

have you ever seen a fiberglass boat?? there pretty smooth. Anyway, Ive already done the elbow, it needs to cure while I have lunch then I will sand it. Ill post a pic. also, it weighs next to nothing. Ever feel how much the stock intake from AFM to TB weighs??

 

[Shawndude]

Most fiberglass resins will not be able to withstand the heat from the exhaust manifold. The deform temperatures are fairly low, even with the more expensive heat resistant resins.

Good local supplier is: www.fiber-tek.com

You will really need to insulate the pipes well from the heat. You can use an aluminum/foam insulation wrap available from hardware stores, used for duct insulation.

 

[adjuster]

I like this idea.
When I was 18, I worked as a security gaurd for Rockwell Corp. They were making fiberglass, and other "fiber" based air tubing parts for jet fighter aircraft. (The tigershark was in development at the time.)
The whole plane basicly was composit materials. To keep it brief, it was transparent to radar. The engine and other metal parts were not however, so it still had a radar signature. (The guys at TRW and Lockheed were much better at the stealth stuff.)
At the time I was thinking that a composit intake, valvecovers and other "stuff" would be very light weight, and work very well. Too bad the Tigershark died, and the entire project was scrapped. They still make target drones from what I understand. (they had been making them there for years.)
Let us know how this turns out. My new accordian hose for the turbo feed might be fiberglass.

 

[mullenc525]

tigershark, thats the f-20 correct? I came very close to buying a radio control f-20 but got something different instead.

im done the elbow now, its being painted. i didnt bother finishing it real nice because its just a test run. The elbow will mate up to the 3M rattle can carcass which will mate to the stock accordian for now. If the FG elbow holds up, ill make it FG from AFM to TB. I see your concerns about heat shawn, especially since im using polyester resin not vinylester, but that intake gets some pretty good internal cooling...

 

[mullenc525]

its funny, i was reading another post on removing intake resonators and someone got all pissy-faced about removing the accordian hose, stating why it was there. My accordian hose is so rock hard it might as well be ABS.

shawndude, where in vancouver do you live? Im on the north shore.

 

[Disco Stu]

I think this is an awesome idea, that is if it can withstand the elements. I have seen 3.5 inch intake piping on a Panoz before, however that was made from pre-preg Carbon Fiber. It looked so sweet! The whole intake system used it, even the pressure side after the supercharger. I always wondered how hard it would be to fab up some composite hardpipes the same way...then I think of Duane & all the projects he always has lined up.

 

[mullenc525]

ok, heres the interim version. The fiberglass piece is the black part attached to the TB. I went for a rip around and it hardly got hot at all, although it is 0 degrees celsius (32 f).

 

[Shawndude]

Wow....how the heck did you get it so smooth? Looks great. What did you use as a mold?

I know I can melt ABS pipe over my turbocharger into liquid form, but not sure about the N/a. Hopefully it won't be as bad.

I'm in snowy Metrotown/Burnaby area.

 

[adjuster]

I think the Tigershark might have been the F-20. It lost to the F-16 I think.
That elbow turned out very nice. Hope it works ok, I'd throw some insulation on there just to be sure, but you have your heat shield in place, so that will help some too.

 

[mullenc525]

The stock rubber elbow actually has a larger ID that the TB, so I layed up FG on the inside of the stock elbow. The stock elbow had a 'perfect' split from end to end so when I was done i popped it out. I used zip ties to hold it together while FG'ing. Its not perfect, but it works for now, and I can see if FG will hold up.

I just installed a set of 100/55 watt H4 bulbs too, cant wait to burn the retinas off someone too lazy too turn their high beams off