Has anyone just not bothered to attach the coolant block to the bottom of the neck? I doubt that much heat is transferred even with it attached, given the materials used, but with the block being separate to begin with, it just seems like you'd want to leave it unattached, especially if you live in a warmer climate. Thoughts?

 

yup

 

You just let it hang or is there a good place to secure it with zip ties or something?

 

Couldn't you just forgoe (sp) the block altogether and put in a length of hose with some 3/8" to 3/8" connectors?

 

It would probably be better to connect the hoses with a double eneded fitting rather than have the block hanging or attached.

 

Hmm, good point. So would I even need to really worry about that coolant running through to warm the neck of the plenum even if it did get below freezing? Is that freezing throttle body thing BS and it's just a start-up emissions measure?

 

Anybody?

 

No, it can really happen. The throttle body section undergoes the venturi effect- as air moves from the smaller cross section in the intake tube to the larger in the plenum, the temperature will drop. So much that icing could start to build in areas of stagnated flow, like around the posts that the butterfly rotates on or the inside of the plenum on the driver's side where that curve is.

This happens in light aircraft carburetors and is why they have "carb heat" available. In jet aircraft, the compressor inlets may also experience induction icing more so than the rest of the aircraft. Our Beechjets have dedicated engine anti-ice/de-ice in addition to all the other ice control systems.

Now, having said all that, you live in Houston and it just doesn't get that cold there. I bypassed the TB heat on my 300zx in Colorado Springs and had no problems ever with it. And as of this weekend, I just ported both intake manifolds, the TB, and installed a spacer in the 350. Along with all that, I ran a 5/16" to 5/16" fitting between the two lines to bypass the TB heat. Being in Del Rio, I'm not worried about icing. I believe it could happen, just not in most of America.

 

Cool. I got the plenum installed this weekend and didn't have a connector on hand, so just used the Kinetix block and a couple of longer bolts and nylon spacers to separate it from the underside of the plenum neck. I installed a Popcharger and grounding kit at the same time. No probs at all. The thing sounds MEAN and pulls like crazy. Car feels more responsive and lighter. The shot of 40-50 deg morning temps we just got might have something to do with it as well. So far, I'm very happy with the Kinetix plenum; it looks great under the hood with the stock strut bar, sounds good and gives a nice kick in the upper RPMs.

 

Cool Steve, I am really glad that it all worked out for you.