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So I've been considering making a true cold air intake for my 2014 is350.
Apparently all the test and results from a short ram intake on this platform prove to yield negative results.
So here's the deal:
Use an aftermarket short ram with a heat shield, like such
Then, replace the passenger fog light cover (My F sport doesnt have fog lights so its not a loss) with an aftermarket fog light just for the template
next, remove the fog light and run some sort of tubing from the fog light hole to into the heat shield for the short ram (image just to give an idea of the type of tubing)
The benefits for this would be:
-a clean look
-reduce/prevent water from entering intake if i were to run the cone filter in a compromised location
-actual cold air into the take
-being able to take advantage of larger surface area of the filter.
Despite the humorous description offered by manufacturers, it's not a "ram": there is no tuned length or inertia benefit that increases air delivery.
Other than a good filter, the only feature that adds any power is lower air temperature inside the tube.
This may be obtained by shielding the entry (filter) from the entire engine bay (which is filled with air already heated by the radiator and exhaust system), and ending the entry ahead of the radiator, inside the fender well, etc. so that it is only exposed to ambient (it may not cold, but it's colder) air.
It is also exposed to rain, dirt and exhaust fumes thrown up by traffic ahead of you, etc. A water-soaked filter stops working.
The factory air system not only provides cold air at hard throttle, but during cruising conditions it automatically blends cold and hot air to provide the temperature that gives the best mileage (as does every car built in the last 30 years).
What you describe looks good, let us know how it works.
Don't waste your time. Lexus engineers have access to million dollar super-computers and highly secretive proprietary insider data and flow plots you or no r!cer company will ever have. Everything is carefully designed, considered, and packaged. And is already designed to pull cold air, as most intakes of most premium cars are for the past 15 years or so.
Even if you do make some sort of contraption that happens to pull cooler air, a) it wouldn't be enough to make any meaningful difference and b) you'd be making some sort of huge compromise to do so.
Trust the engineers that went for school for this. You are not building a better Lexus in your basement.
Enjoy the car and worry about more important things in life.
I disagree with the above statement. Sure, the stock airbox yields better results than a "Cold Air Intake" But if youre feeding straight ambient air into the area where the filter is picking it up, youre definitely going to get colder intake temps. WAY cooler intake temps. Heatsoak is a huge issue, especially in hot climates like AZ.
For example, the dodges that have a hole where a projector would usually be that feeds directly into their airbox... Auto companies have done this sort of force feeding before.
Not sure what compromise he would be making by buying fog lights for a car that DOESNT come with them, and using them to make a cold air duct...
Just let people do what they want, why do you care?
Aren't you essentially allow water to enter the engine bay area, eventually causing more issues down the road? To me it might work for dry climates, def. not places that rains a lot and have stagnant water on the road for days.
There are potential benefits to what the OP is attempting to accomplish. I did my own research and datalogging the past year on my 2nd Gen IS350 and confirmed that there are benefits to utilizing the additional airflow from behind the headlight to support an upgraded intake system which will make a noticeable increase in peak air flow (up to 7-10 g/s over the stock intake setup). In my case, the gains were made using the upgraded F-Sport lower intake box which utilizes a secondary intake hole.
After researching, I have decided to remain with the stock intake, reason being that my rev range is usually between 1k-2k like 70% of the time. Any gains from the change of intake occur from the 3k rev range onwards and in fact, changing of intake normally result in the drop in power at the low rev range. Those who are always driving spiritedly or track their cars will definitely benefit from changing intake. Mine is a 2016 IS200t btw...Just my 2c...
TRUE cold air intake
