Phenolic gasket

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Dieselman

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Jul 13, 2003
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Peugeot 403 Convertible
When doing the exhaust the other night I checked a few temperatures around the engine and was surprised to see the intake manifold was the same tempreature as the cylinder head due to thermal conduction through the gasket.
As it seems a shame to cool the charged air down with the intercooler, then heat it back up again with the manifold I wondered about making a manifold gasket from phelonic material as this should reduce conductivity by 200-1000 times depending on thickness, thus reducing the charge air temperature and cylinder filling for the same, or actually slightly less boost pressure.

Does anyone know of a supplier for small pieces of phelonic board (or similar thermal insulant), and even someone to do the machining.?

TIA.
 
lol only you!!

on a serious note though, how much difference would it actually make if the air were that little bit cooler. Does the air actually get heated up that much between the intake and engine by the temperature of the actual manifold?
 
Ha ha. not sure what you mean...:eek: :p
I also measured the exhaust manifold temps for each cylinder and found they were all within 2c of each other at idle and checked the radiator temp against the dashboard temperature gauge, all using my non-contact IR thermometer...:D

Next time anyone goes out in their car place your hand on the intake manifold, you'll be surprised how hot it is.

As far as power gains I'm not sure on the diesel but on petrol engines it seems to be about 7-bhp and 11-Ft/Lbs of torque.
It's also about reducing the charge air to reduce combustion temperatures.

Plenty of intake air is good, but cold air is better...;)
 
Thanks Bobby. Fancy giving it a go.?

On mine? Whilst I'm under warranty I've been keen to keep it standard.

If I keep it beyond the warranty then I've considered doing a few things. Both of those tuners have a whole heap of goodies for the C32 now at remarkable prices.

Compared to say two years ago where it was Kleemann or Brabus and megabucks it's a revelation.

Whilst I've never dealt with either of them, I know their reputations from the US forums and they're a bunch of thoroughly good blokes based on what I've read.
 
Some big power cars use carbon fibre intakes for this very reason, a Norwegian Escort Cosworth producing over 800hp was the first I saw it on.

Dave!
 
You must keep in mind that the exposure time for the incoming air charge is only fractions of a second. The effect of having a cooler manifold would be infinitesimal.
 
You must keep in mind that the exposure time for the incoming air charge is only fractions of a second. The effect of having a cooler manifold would be infinitesimal.

Not true, it will make a surprising difference to the intake temp, air goes through a radiator incredibly quickly but still picks up a lot of heat.

Dave!
 
Try this lot;

http://www.aquariusplastics.co.uk/

they laser cut some plastic for me before, same as steel laser cutting but you need fume extraction, would probably be able to source that material as well, you may need CAD data for them, if you supply me with a new gasket I can transfer it for you, they may be able to do it themselves...
 
How hot is the air leaving the intercooler?

How hot is the coolant / cylinder head / inlet manifold?

How much heating actually takes place in the manifold?
 

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