[imgmeltedintake.jpg][/img]
In March I purchased Road Race's ram air intake. So far, I love the intake, totally worth it, would buy again - except for one small detail I discovered today. I took my intake off to clean it, and discovered part of it had been melted.
Not a total failure or anything close - just a little singed. The way the intake is set up and angled the filter rests on the transmission/engine mount. After cleaning the intake, I decided to try and bent the support so that it raised the filter up off of the mount.
I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas for a more permanent solution? The heat shield that came with it cant be adjusted, and appears to only deflect heat away from the main engine, not the mount and transmission.
Someone suggested cutting off a piece of the original intake and using that as a heat shield, but Im leery of cutting up OEM parts should I ever need them again.
Road Race Intake - problem
Check in your engine bay where it was sitting - I'd almost be prepared to bet that it's actually been rubbing on something and isn't melted. 
(I had the same thing happen to a K&N pod filter many years ago from it hitting/ rubbing with bumps and vibration.)
(I had the same thing happen to a K&N pod filter many years ago from it hitting/ rubbing with bumps and vibration.)
David
I've written about my RRM intake experience at different points and in different topic groups over the last 2 1/2 years so I'll recap here.
1) First model did exactly what you experienced. I noticed this was an issue immediately and I blame it on poor design. All the angles involved were not measured correctly. I finally cut the rubber coupler so that it would allow the edges of the intake to be more parallel with the engine intake. Also closer. This helped but there was still too close of clearance between the filter and the transmission than I would like.
2) Because of the poor design and bad angles, the mounting rod that has the 90 degree bend that mounts to the engine is very susceptible to bounce and this eventually broke.
The break happened about 6 months into the first one. And then RRM sent me a replacement at no cost. The newer version fit a little better and was made of aluminum but still had bounce and broke about a year later.
At this point I have a large worm screw stainless steel hose clamp going around the water pump outlet and then around the intake holding it in place. I know that wont break and offers much more stability. Fortunately it doesn't look bad, otherwise I would have to either replace it again or go back to the original intake system (Which I got rid of LOL)
Bottom line very bad design and reliability. But I think I've got it set up now to last as is. I does do the job of offering that distinctive sound and look under the hood, but I expected much more from RRM.
1) First model did exactly what you experienced. I noticed this was an issue immediately and I blame it on poor design. All the angles involved were not measured correctly. I finally cut the rubber coupler so that it would allow the edges of the intake to be more parallel with the engine intake. Also closer. This helped but there was still too close of clearance between the filter and the transmission than I would like.
2) Because of the poor design and bad angles, the mounting rod that has the 90 degree bend that mounts to the engine is very susceptible to bounce and this eventually broke.
The break happened about 6 months into the first one. And then RRM sent me a replacement at no cost. The newer version fit a little better and was made of aluminum but still had bounce and broke about a year later.
At this point I have a large worm screw stainless steel hose clamp going around the water pump outlet and then around the intake holding it in place. I know that wont break and offers much more stability. Fortunately it doesn't look bad, otherwise I would have to either replace it again or go back to the original intake system (Which I got rid of LOL)
Bottom line very bad design and reliability. But I think I've got it set up now to last as is. I does do the job of offering that distinctive sound and look under the hood, but I expected much more from RRM.
2011 SE AWD PLATINUM SILVER W/RRM INTAKE AND CUSTOM CAT BACK
It was rubbing on the engine/transmission mount. I knew that would either be touching or pretty close to it, but I guess I underestimated just how hot it would get.
I hope mine doesn't follow the same timeline! Although the weld job on it and way the heat shield is positioned would make me agree that the build/design work is shoddy at best.
Someone suggested thermal wrap at work to insulate the filter from the mount. Has anyone else ever used this stuff?
I hope mine doesn't follow the same timeline! Although the weld job on it and way the heat shield is positioned would make me agree that the build/design work is shoddy at best.
Someone suggested thermal wrap at work to insulate the filter from the mount. Has anyone else ever used this stuff?
Twitter: @TStar_x
Function > Form
Function > Form
IMHO it hasn't got hot - that's damage from it rubbing. The engine/ transmission mount wouldn't get hot enough to melt metal; if the damage was from extreme heat melting the stainless (?) steel flywire, then the whole of the oiled cotton section would have gone up in flames!KizStar wrote:It was rubbing on the engine/transmission mount. I knew that would either be touching or pretty close to it, but I guess I underestimated just how hot it would get.
BTW it looks like there are holes worn through it - on the middle and lower pleats. You might want to somehow seal them up. Or contact RRM for a replacement....
David
I'm with Murcod. That's not heat damage, but friction damage. How do I know? I had the exact same issue with my old K&N type filter in my Subaru Impreza. The problem was that the filter rested on a metal part and from the engine/road vibrations, the filter got damaged. The damage on your filter looks identical to the damage I had. The solution was to use the mounting bracket that came with the filter and mount it properly so the filter was suspended and not touching anything. You have to also account for when the vehicle is in motion as engines move quite a bit when running.
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2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)