Well i installed my Trick Flow elbow a few days ago. It was a pain to install because i had to cut the elbow to make it fit. But it does look good. The only thing is i don't know if i should of installed it. I went to get dinner tonight after driving the car for about 30 min. I was inside eating and talking to my friends for about 30 to 45 min. When i went outside to show my friend my new elbow i touched it, and, damn that thing was hot. I couldn't even put my hand on it for more then 2 sec. without burning my hand. That was after it sitting for awhile. Do you think this can hurt performance? If so i will just buy the 1LE elbow instead. It looks nice but if its gonna hurt my performance then its not worth it to me.

 

Heat soak can be a problem, I think your elbow should cool down when the car is running cause the airflowing through it.
But then again your manifold gets hot enough so why add more metal to soak up heat and transfer it to your intake charge?
I have not liked these metal elbows from the beginning, if your running a blower then yes cause the SC is gonna heat the air up when compressing it anyway but I see no need to put a metal elbow on a naturally aspirated engine.
My 1LE elbow works fine and if you keep it clean looks great so thats what I am stickin with.
Show car= flashy intake elbow
Race car= rubber intake elbow
Just my opinions so take it for what its worth.

 

Well if your like me, a metal elbow is the only way to go. Becuase i have managed to rip the stock one and the 1le, its hard to get that bottom lip to fit over the TB. If i manage to rip the metal one, there is a problem

 

So where do I get a 1LE Elbow???

 

Yep, it will get as hot as the engine it's connected to. I would only buy one if I get it coated or something like that from JETHOT. Even then I dunno if it will work very well.
I like the idea of a smooth inlet, but the heat soak just isn't worth it...

-Shannon

 

Cost me about $45 from Sam Taylor.
Toll Free: 1-877-726-8295
Main: 1-850-244-5165
Ask for Jason Cromer in service

Part number in the link.
www.97ta.com/misc_pic/misc42.jpg

 

Try touching the elbow immediately after driving it instead of after it has sat. It might not be hot while the car is running. I know my SLP CAI (metal) stays cool while driving.

 

It stays cool while driving because the heat is being transfered to your intake charge.

 

Mine never gets hot. Did you ever do the throttle body bypass mod? I would think the metal from the elbow would lower the overall temp of the intake track because there is more surface area for the heat to soak into instead of just the intake but I really do not think it matters at all. I got one for the sole purpose of having a solid place to mount my NX fogger nozzle.

Later
Matt

 

gimme a break. how long is the air actually in the intake elbow at WOT? exactly. The air is going to be in the intake manifold longer, and that ****er gets hot.

 

No, i haven't done the TB bypass mod because i'm not sure if its a worthwhile mod or not. I will drive the car around and then touch the elbow to see how hot it is while driving.

 

If you are worried about keeping intake temps down, then i would think the TB bypass is definately a worthwhile mod, beacuse its free. You don't need anything that isn't already on your car to do the mod. I was very impressed with how simple it was when i did my car.

 

Mine is blown and it gets pretty hot... Once i go intercooled it won't matter though.

I agree that with more surface area you are distributing the heat thinner across the intake tract which will result in lower temps but the increase surface area will make contact with the air for a longer period of time. Whatever =)