Just wanted to get an idea how many Vortech owners would be interested in a bolt-on kit that would allow the supercharger to pull cool air from the grille area instead of from the hot engine bay.

The shop that sponsors my Z and I have been discussing this since last summer when we noted how unbelievably hot the engine bay gets with a Vortech supercharged motor. This is further exasperated if you also run aftermarket headers. It creates a condition some refer to as “heat soak” and impacts the power output of the motor. Clearly, this is a bigger issue in warm weather than in the middle of winter.

In any case, what we are looking into is something a few have explored individually as a garage modification. The difference here is we will R&D and produce a bolt-on kit from high quality materials. We already have 2, possibly 3, local Vortech 350Z owners who are interested in this. I’m only presenting it here to see if there is wider spread interest.

While I cannot reveal all the details at this time, I can tell you the Cold Air Intake tube would be constructed of high grade stainless pipe that could be ordered unfinished, polished, or color keyed . The kit would include a new, larger area filter element (K&N) that would ultimately be located just behind the grille. It would include all mounting hardware and instructions for installation. This is meant for Vortech kits only, but if there is sufficient interest, we could explore a similar CAI for ATI Procharger owners.

If you are interested in this, send me an email at mcduckz@earthlink.net. Give me your name, contact email address, and the price you’d be willing to pay for this item (be reasonable… it cost money to make a good product). At this time, we don’t have a perfect estimate of the final price, but our best guess is that it would be within the $150-$250 range (basic kit… polished or colored pipe would be an additional amount)

Development is underway now. We hope to have a finished design on the initial cars by early March.

In the meantime, I’ll answer what questions I can on this thread.

 

possibly interested, wish i could see pics

 

currently in development, but I hope to get some pics as we go. We're waiting on a set of red pipes to come back now for another Vortech owner.

So far, I've heard from 3 more people since posting this thread!

 

I'm interested also, all depends on price.

 

Definately interested in that, you have email.

 

Very interested, this has been on the agenda. I've got 346 rwhp, looking for 410ish.

 

Jet hot coating aftermarket exhaust manifolds would probably help the heat issue as well, to an extent, although not as much as with a turbo setup.

 

What about the g35 vortech kit?

 

i got the ATI procharger...interested to see what u can do for us procharger guys...and what the gains would be, cause us procharger guys already have a CAI intake setup out of the box....just interested to see what u guys could do for us...let me know though im interested definatley, put me down!

Ben Yavari
Altered Atmosphere
BenY@alteredatmosphere.com

 

Cant say much fairer than that, good response so far.
Make us happy, mcduck!

 

Quick items...

• If you're interested, you need to email me at... mcduckz@earthlink.net. I cannot add your name to our list through forum responses. Send me your name, contact email address and whether you feel the proposed $150-$250 is reasonable
• someone asked me about Hydro-loc. This should not be an issue with our design due to tube length and angle. As such, the basic kit will not come with a catch can of any sort. We will explore adding one as an option if someone feels they just have to have one, but the mechanic I am working with has done many custom fabricated CAIs and has never had an issue with this.
• We won't know what sort of power increase, if any, until we can get a prototype ready and do some dyno testing. My feeling is that this mod would do more to prevent a drop in power during very warm weather rather than significantly increase peak power. My Z car feels noticeably weaker on 85-90+ degree days and I can't believe I'm the only one who has experience that. Also, it will make servicing the filter much easier than the stock Vortech design.
• We already have significant interest after just one day so this most likely will become a reality. Time table is design and development through February and functional prototype on 2 Zs by early March.

 

You've got mail.

 

Yeah, count me in also.

 

You've got more mail!

 

would definitely be interested if it can be modified to work on G35. Moving filter location would also make it easier to change/clean filter as currently there is no room to do so without loosening other components and plumbing.

 

again... interested parties need to email me at the address provided. Currently, I don't have emails for all the replies on this thread that say they are interested. I'll senda reply letting you know I've received you're email so if you haven't heard back from me within 24hrs, it probably didn't make it to me for some reason.

Also, if you have a G35 instead of a Z, please indicate so when you email me.

 

Bump to keep this moving.

mcduck - Where else have you posted this?

 

other than here, only on **********

 

Interesting how the link came out...

 

We still haven't finalized the CAI design, but I wanted to provide a quick update so everyone knows we're still working...

The pic below shows one of the options that will be available for the CAI piping being created at CHL Motorsports. This is an example of a color coated pipe done in a very bright red. I can't begin to tell you how much better this looks in person than it even appears in the pic. The color is sharp, glossy, and smooth! The process used to coat it should be very heat resistant and difficult to chip.

In addition, for those interested, we will be able not only to color coat the CAI pipes, but we can also color coat your existing Vortech pipes to match the CAI pipes! The only drawback to this is that we do require the pipes for coating. So your Z or G would have to be down a few days while you shipped the pipes to us, they are coated, then shipped back to you. If there is enough interest in this service, I will be talking to my partner about ordering an extra set or two of pipes so we can cut down the turnaround time on this.

The final CAI kit will be available raw (unfinished stainless), polished, or color coated.

If you have any questions, email me at mcduckz@earthlink.net