Bumper air inlet - 5KCSTQ

["Graydon D. Stuckey" <graydon@apollo.kettering.edu>]

On Thu, 18 Feb 1999, Scott Fisher wrote:

> headlamps and take air in from behind the grille of the car (which was
> also in front of the radiator on the Lo-Cort and GTA).  Of course,
> there's a ton of stuff up there under the hood of an Audi -- pumps and
> pulleys and brackets that would make it very difficult to package
> something effectively.  

I did it on my 5KCSTQ last summer.  I had just put in a new hybrid 
turbo, and with the larger inlet to the compressor, I couldn't fit a nice 
elbow to feed air into the compressor inlet.

So, I popped a 2.5" dia hole through the front crossmember just ahead of 
the turbo inlet, an dwelded a 2.5" dia steel 90 deg elbow in there.  The 
first leg points at the turbo inlet and the other leg points towards the 
driver side of the car, just ahead of the crossmember, and just behind 
the bumper.  I put a 2.5" ID rubber hose between the elbow and the turbo, 
and a nice K&N clamp on filter on the other end of the elbow.  This works 
like a charm.  I had no trouble with water ingestion, and I got nice cool 
air into the turbo.  It is also a much gentler path for the air to travel 
than the stock setup, so it probably made a few hps.

> I haven't given up, either.  One thought I've had is to duct air from
> below the bumper, and then hope I always remember to come to a full and
> complete stop before driving through standing water any deeper than, oh,
> three-quarters of an inch.   I knew several people who experienced
> hydraulic lock, and I'd rather not encounter it myself.

I used to have the K&N filter just behind and below the right headlight, 
and deep puddles occasionally would allow too much water into the intake, 
and the engine would stumble a little.

I sold the car, so ask Eric how well it works now.

Later,
Graydon D. Stuckey
'91 V8 Quattro 5-speed
a tad slow, but nice nonetheless.