intake\AC combo Why not?

[MrJoel]

I was thinking this weekend about modifying the intake and AC system. My thought was since the AC blows cold dry air I should be able to alter the system to direct some of the flow into the intake and really cool down the air before it enters the engine. But I am not sure if it is a good idea. I have never heard of anybody doing this, but I am sure somebody must have.
Can anybody think of any reason this would be a bad idea. Aside from the AC pump taking a bit of power away while its being run.

 

[Racer 5]

Can anybody think of any reason this would be a bad idea. Aside from the AC pump taking a bit of power away while its being run.

I think you answered your own question. The "power" created by the cold air will not be enough to overcome the loss caused by the compessor running. Plus, you will be draning amps caused by AC running and fans running, thereby reducing energy used for sparking the fuel. I could also think of a few other reasons why this would not be a good idea, and why no one else has done this before. Like engine running hotter, thermal soak to the intake. Plus internal temps would cause premature burn of the fuel, gas mileage would be awful, ... AC compressor would most likely burn out relatively fast, and those units aren't cheap.

 

[fastdrvr23]

I agree with Racer 5 on everything he had to say...
You could try what my roomate did at the track a few weeks back... He put his K&N panel filter in the freezer the night before we went to the track, then took it in a cooler to the race. It was definitely cold, and the Oil on the K&N kept the filter from freezing. He said it helped some... I don't know about that, but I would definitely try another route than running AC air into the engine. I knew a guy that threw some dry ice in the filter box, but he said he didn't notice anything. The gains you'll get vs. tearing something up aren't worth it in my opinion. Good luck!

 

[Sir Nuke]

Actually what fastdrvers friend did is a VERY OLD racers trick....its called a COOLCAN...or ICECAN....a long time ago, in order to get more fuel in....you took a can...about a 3 pound coffee can worked nicely....put some insulation on the outside of it....then you ran your fuel line and made a coil INSIDE the can...then on to your CARB.....once you got to the track...you dumped the can full of ICE and you precooled your fuel....just an OLD racers trick.

by freezing your filter like that I am sure it did something similar....guess you could design a CAN to go around the intake pipe....and if it were aluminum and conducted heat well...you could dump in ICE around the intake pipe and make a TRUE CAI....who knows...might just work at the track. :{D

 

[YellowPR5]

Plenty of people will place bags of ice on their intakes between runs. This keeps it from heating up and allows the car to run more consistant instead of heating up the more runs they make.