I went to the D1 GP this past weekend to check out the drifting and my car was in the K&N vendor area. James, our K&N rep was there waiting for me with the first production carbon fiber heat shield to go with the Typhoon intake. While I polished up the car he instaled the heat shield. Total install time was about 15 min.

Yes, they were supposed to be released already but as you probably know, K&N doesn't specialize in carbon fiber and therefore took longer to produce the piece and it took a few prototypes before the desired shape and fit was created. They are currently still working on these and should be available for purchase by April. It's taking some time and I'm sure some of you will hate me because last time I said it was supposed to be out around mid Feb. Well what can I say. They are planning the price to retail at about $90-100 but that could change as well.

James and I talked about this for a while and he explained the tooling issues and mold making process. We agreed that if they used a less expensive weave of carbon it would keep the cost down and that's what will help sell them. I will do my very best to keep members in the loop on this product.

So far what I've noticed is at idle when the engine is hot or has been running for a while, the hesitation has become less apparent and isn't noticable. The heat shield also uses stock hardware to allow the engine cover to be reused. i will try to get some better pics when the sun shines agian here in Phx. The sides are going to be reinforced so that they are more square instead of bowing in like they are here. Since this is the firs production piece I'm not to worried about that and I'll just pin the sides back to the plastic tray.

 

Here's a nother one.

 

and one with out the engine cover so you can see that it holds the cover like the stock air box and uses the same ruber gromets from the stock airbox.

 

Last but not least, just showing a little love for my sponsor before I peel it off. And yes, that's rain water on the car. Proof that it does rain in Phx a few times a year.

 

Looks good!

 

Thanks for posting these up, Huff. A lot of people are interested.

But, it seems to me that this is carbon fiber just for the sake of carbon fiber. Why not just make the thing out of plastic, and include it with the K&N Typhoon kit? I mean, why spend another $100 on this heat shield, bringing the cost of the Typhoon up to $175 + $100 = $275 when one can get the Rotary Extreme one for $230 including a shield with a top cover. It can't be they're using CF for weight savings, as we're only talking a couple of ounces difference between CF and plastic, and it can't be for better thermal insulating properties, because I believe plastic is a better insulator than CF.

Ah well, at least it looks cool. :D

 

Looking good Huff!! If it takes longer to make a better product, then I'm willing to wait. Keep us all posted as to when its avaliable to the public.

Thanks!

 

my auto doesn't seem to get the same rough idle you guys are taking about

 

i noticed only the people with manuals are complaining while i hear no complaints from automatics

 

The K&N intakes do come with that shield. Its made of aluminum and sits in the same location as the carbonfiber in the pics above.

Jason

 

hey huff, is there anyway we can get dyno reslults of intake w/o the heat shield and intake w/ the heatshield?

 

I would love to but right now budjet money is a little tight. I do plan to do so soon.

 

hey Huff,

it looks like the heat shield is pretty close to the intake pipe. Can you let us know in a few weeks if you are getting any engine vibrations that result in the pipe tapping or rubbing up against the heat shield?

 

Haven't noticed any rubbing or vibration. The carbon may look thin but it's pretty stout.

 

Looks great Huff, thanks for keeping us updated. I am looking forward to this.