more on heat effects of replacing the oem RT Airbox....
Uh, this is a tough one with me.
I have the Kewl Metal intake on both of our RTs.
There are those who have temperature gauges mounted so they can monitor temperatures.
Except that it impossible to monitor the same conditions with the mod installed and not ]]installed at the same time.
I have too much respect for some to argue the point.
However the original air intake runs close to the hot asphalt where the intake from the modified version is above that in, what I believe, is cooler surroundings.
I've run in 100+ F and have neither felt nor heard any signs of an engine running too lean.
Your choice.
Another unfounded observation -It is my belief based on decades involved with electronics that the throttle body failure is due to the high heat conditions (with stock airbox) that they are asked to operate in.
Roger, Guess I am one of those you mentioned as
those who have temperature gauges mounted so they can monitor temperatures...
since I have been doing just that since I installed the Kewl kit in January. I have found it is possible to get a close comparison on the temp of the air going into the engine (not exact) of the two approaches and I have been doing this for months. First I had my VDO temp sensor mounted right beside the Kewl air filter, then recently I moved it to the area where the original Intake horn was located. Watching the VDO guage on the dash through a lot of different driving conditions and outside temps, I have observed the Intake temps to be regularly 5 to 15 degrees higher with the Kewl kit.
The Kewl filter Intake resides in a big open space now and, yes away from highway heat, but there is No airflow through that area. This can be clearly seen by watching my VDO temp gauge go through the roof when sitting idling and then take a while (3-5 min) before temp in that area drops down to its normal level which is still higher than the original Intake.
As I have mentioned before, this flow of hotter air into the Intake concerns me but I have to say I have yet to see my RT running any more bars on the dash Gauge and my plugs look good with no sign of running lean. I do occasionally get the feeling that I need a fuel tuner to adjust the mixture in certain throttle/rpm ranges during acceleration, but after the experience I had with a Juice Box on my first RT, I'll pass on that.
Roger, I am not trying to give you or anyone else a hard time about the air temp and the Kewl kit conversion, but I have spent a lot of time watching this closely and know what I am seeing and it is not an unfounded conclusion. I also believe that the areas where you and I live and ride are not likely to give problems with a little warmer Intake air but if I was regularly dealing with very high temps or riding high performance competitions I would be more concerned. In that case, a fuel tuner could be important. Whether there are any longer term implications of the Kewl kit and the hotter intake air is way beyond me. My RT is unlikely to ever get close to the kind of heat experienced by spyder engines in Nevada, Florida, etc.
Some carefully planned baffles or vents to route more cool airflow upwards in the RT engine compartment could make a huge difference. I talked to one RS owner who had done exactly this when using the Kewl Kit.
Jack