I Pm'ed Isdunique for a bit more info on the plenums and he wrote back some very interesting information which I am posting below. He even said that "I might leak out some info" so I hope he does not mind that I cut and paste his PM here on this thread.

ALL THE INFO BELOW IS DIRECTLY FROM LSDunique:

Heres the low down.

the version that will most likely be coming first will be the N/A plenum.

This will use the same concept as the crawford plenum, but an improved version. It will be a molded one piece design that offers a completely smooth and seamless interior for incresed flow characteristics. It will also allow the front strut bar to still be utilized but still increasing the flow to the front chambers.

The technique we are trying to perfect is...... plastic molding. This allows us to offer an incredibly durable, lightweight, and production quality piece. The piece will come in a finely textured matte black finish with the "Z" logo embossed in the middle as well as our new "kinetix" logo. This process allows us to basically offer the plenum at an incredible price!! - around $350 with no core!! It also allows us to have the inside walls be completely smooth for high flow.

*** if we cannot get the process to work the way we need it to, then there will be no plenum of this design.**

This is one of our top priorities now!!!

- if we can get the process down, expect other products shortly after using the same technique.... like a kick *** 3 gauge pillar pod!! (we already have a fiberglassed prototype)


The other version is not really a dedicated F/I version (the one that I had posted pics of many months ago)

This all aluminum construction is something we are completely capable of currently, we are simply working on another prototype trying to get more NA gains out of it.

This unit will also still use the factory strut bar, and you get to keep all your factory parts. This unit also saves 25lbs off the car which is a nice added bonus...plus it looks like the meanest upgrade yet for a Z. We are lowering the overall intake volume, as well as lengthening the runners a bit and decreasing their volume. We have sent out for more aluminum mandrel bends for these new runners and are waiting on them before we proceed.

This is also a big priority, but we thought coming out with a more universally affordable plenum first would be best. This plenum will most likely cost around $680, which actually is pretty good considering yyou get to keep your factory plenum and you dont need a strut bar replacement.

I assume you will spill some of this information. so let me give you some info on possible timeframes

plastic plenum - best case scenario - 5 weeks - prototype on car - with release 2 weeks later

aluminum manifold
- prototype in 9 weeks with release 2 weeks later

These are all estimates, so please take that into consideration.

END OF PM

I wrote back and asked him about the plastic and if it could pose a problem and he said, no way. He even said that some manufacturers are incorporating them into new cars! So that should not be a worry to anyone.

If all goes well we should hopefully have version 1 soon and then the really hot one in a few more months.

I am definitely excited now.

 

Cool, I pmed him the other day begging for info and got nada

 

Interesting. I love it when new stuff is being developed. Lets all hope that gains are notable and the price sticks.

 

holy moly! This is awasome news.. hopefully his "plastic molding" will come through, sounds like a great idea!

just another 5 weeks of waiting. . . . . .

 

Hell ya! Plastic!.....equals less "heat soak". I was thinking about this when comparing the plenum to my '01 Camaro SS (LS1/LS6) intake. I know it's apples to oranges, but the same concept. The LS1/LS6 intake is plastic for less heat soak. When guys over at LS1 were changing their sock intake (plastic) to the Holley intake (aluminum)....there was more noticable heat soak as verified by AUTOTAP. I for one can't wait for something like this to come out for our G35/Z!

 

thanks all_bark for posting that great info.

 

They probably are doing some sort of injection molded plastic like the LS1/LS6 motors use. This is awesome news. I had a 2000 Camaro SS and you could run the car hard for an hour and still put your bare hand right on the intake manifold. It really disapates heat well.

 

Sounds like a great idea.

 

This info makes me very happy the idea of plastic sounds great I just hope its big enough to give that high RPM power the Z needs

 

I told you that it was okay to let some info slip, but ALL the info!!?? haha

Well, hopefully everything goes well, we have been working on this technique for awhile and done a lot of testing with strength, flex, impact resistance, etc.

We are very hopeful and think we have a good blend of material....but there is a small chance that it won't work, but I don't see any problems so far.

Thanks for the pic of the other plastic intake manifold as I knew some cars had them, but didn't know exact models off the top of my head.

We are also definately NOT giving up on the all aluminum manifold!! as I have gotten SOOO much interest in that piece that we would be stupid not to bring it out to market.

 

This sounds promising, but '... saves25 lbs...'!? I've had the manifold off my car and I'm not sure all three pieces weigh 25 lbs now, so... ?

 

can't wait!!!!
wonder what are the gains??

 

LSD- If you need someone to develop a 3d cad model and get a vendor to create parts, give me a heads up. Im a design engineer for yamaha and have oodles of vendors who can pop these parts out. They can also suggest a great deal of materials that would suit your needs. I have a few in mind.

 

OMG this is great, I cant wait. What about for the G35? We dont have a strut bar and probably would'nt want the Z logo???

 

Sorry, such great info could not be kept quiet! If you ever need things kept hush/hush let me know and not a word will get out. But I also have to say that if its ok by you to leak a few things then I'm barkin at every Zcar that goes by ...........................hence the screen name!

Well, if all goes well, and I really cannot make any promises, its strickly up to LSDunique, I might get a sneak peak at one so I can take it out for our so-cal, san diego dyno day on 1/31/04. If it happens I promise to do a couple runs before installing the plenum (with everything I currently have) then put on the NEW LSDunique plenum and go back in for a few more runs. I will then return and post results (if it is ok by LSDunique! )

I bet after that they sell like wildfire!

 

Let's "steal" ideas from these guys and find out which material they use :
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/phr_0309_fast/

 

Can we get a picture of the said plastic Plenum?? Is it similiar to the old LSD plenum shown before????

 

I have seen no pictures of it yet but if he sends me one (for dyno day) I promise to post pic's of it. (with his permission) The old picture is similiar in design to the 2nd one he has said he will come out with later (2-3 months). hope that helps.

 

Excuse the stupid question guys, but what is heat soak?

 

A materials ability to retain heat, and thus transfer it to another substance. For example, aluminum soaks up heat faster and easier than say plastic. So your aluminum plenum soaks up the heat, and transfers it to the incoming air.