My first product: Self cooling turbo heat shield

skoloseven · 31st May 2009, 09:24

Well I finally made my first product, and filed for the patent. It's currently in patent pending status, but I can release images and take pre-orders. It's designed for the Subaru Impreza WRX.

How it works
While driving, forces fresh air directly on to turbo from hood scoop by utilizing a chimney design from the heat shield to the hood scoop. While the vehicle is at idle, the chimney acts as an exit chute for the heat built up, allowing it to directly exit rather than absorb into the engine bay. It weighs less than one pound and is extremely durable and built for sand racing use in Florida's off road paths.

By removing excess heat from the turbo, it reduces the top mount intercooler heat absorption allowing a cooler intake air temperature. Cooler intake equals more horsepower, torque, and better gas mileage. This is a huge improvement over the standard heat shields that only deflect thermal energy into the engine bay rather than out of the engine bay.

Click the link below to see it and let me know what you think! Thanks!

My first official product release: Subaru Impreza WRX self cooling turbo heat shield

I have a second product under development as well, a cold air intake that does not cause check engine lights for the Subaru Impreza WRX. I love engineering products!

Vid6639 · 31st May 2009, 09:57

It looks good, although I'm a noobie at all this, wouldn't a silicon hose shaped like a snorkel look a bit more elegant instead of the metal scoop type thingy, or are the temperatures too hot for that?

skoloseven · 31st May 2009, 10:23

Silicone would work the temps are okay. I thought about using silicone but decided against it because the chimney also acts like a radiator by cooling the heat shield when colder outside air hits the chimney, sucking thermal energy out of it. It's kind of like a CPU cooler. Keeping that metal in the outside flow of air is part of the cooling feature, silicone would not transfer heat as well and allow the heat to stay within the metal shield instead of leaving. Good thinking though, it would look much better with silicone even though the heat transfer would not be as good. Cosmetics vs. practicality was a big issue, but I feel the over all performance is so good that even a little obtrusive design would be okay. Thanks for your input and thank you for checking out my self cooling turbo heat shield.

Sideways · 31st May 2009, 11:32

Congrats, very interesting product. How much difference did you find in the intake temperatures with and without the shield ?

@Vid - Silicone is a poor conductor of heat. It pretty expensive also.

DocG · 31st May 2009, 17:19

Sko I love the ingenuity in finding such a problem and the tenacity shown by you to go get your hands dirty and fix it. It product according to you has great functionality and is improving performance to a noticeable extent.

However I strongly feel that if you're going to market this idea it requires more visual appeal. Agreed that a silicone hose is not functional, but what about something else which will be equally or more functional, but at the same time a lot more visually appealing.

shreyasma · 31st May 2009, 17:52

Congrats friend. A very good start!

pranava999 · 31st May 2009, 18:26

Agree with Shreyas. It's a very good start and wish you all the best as well as success with it. Time to market it to the die hard Subaru WRX fans out there.

skoloseven · 1st June 2009, 08:15

Thanks everyone. I took it for a really hard drive tonight, actually went out into the sand trails with it and did a couple of runs. The ambient temperature was about 75F and humidity around 70%.

The good!
I noticed that the intake temperature data took about three times as long to reach the normal temperatures. After driving it, I took my hand and felt around the shield. It wasn't that hot near the back or anywhere else except the chimney. Putting my hand near the chimney exit was a mistake. Ouch! The heat transfer really works, and my intercooler was still fairly cool. before the shield I couldn't even touch the intercooler over the turbo (even with water spray!), and now I can leave my hand on it permanently. I didn't use the intercooler spray at all either, it's amazing how much that shield really works.

The bad!
Even though the design is engineered perfectly, it is ugly. I agree completely with Doc. The design is not appealing at all, even to me. It looks rather, perverted if I may. It covers up the pretty turbo with an ugly flat piece of metal and a huge "thing" sticking straight up. This design must stay this way in order to direct air on to the turbo bearings to extend turbo life. With the hood closed, it doesn't look "terrible" but it's still rather obtuse. Feedback from most customers so far is that it's ugly, but it works. I have a few on the pre-order list but not enough to start production.

Overall, it's a good product but I honestly don't see a huge future for it. Maybe a few select die hards but that's about it. I'm just happy it works on my car! I have the only Subaru in the world with a "self cooling turbo heat shield". Hopefully I can change that soon!

Video: Self cooling turbo heat shield on Streetfire.net

31st May 2009, 09:24	#1
skoloseven BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai-Tampa Posts: 67 Thanked: 0 Times	My first product: Self cooling turbo heat shield Well I finally made my first product, and filed for the patent. It's currently in patent pending status, but I can release images and take pre-orders. It's designed for the Subaru Impreza WRX. How it works While driving, forces fresh air directly on to turbo from hood scoop by utilizing a chimney design from the heat shield to the hood scoop. While the vehicle is at idle, the chimney acts as an exit chute for the heat built up, allowing it to directly exit rather than absorb into the engine bay. It weighs less than one pound and is extremely durable and built for sand racing use in Florida's off road paths. By removing excess heat from the turbo, it reduces the top mount intercooler heat absorption allowing a cooler intake air temperature. Cooler intake equals more horsepower, torque, and better gas mileage. This is a huge improvement over the standard heat shields that only deflect thermal energy into the engine bay rather than out of the engine bay. Click the link below to see it and let me know what you think! Thanks! My first official product release: Subaru Impreza WRX self cooling turbo heat shield I have a second product under development as well, a cold air intake that does not cause check engine lights for the Subaru Impreza WRX. I love engineering products! Last edited by skoloseven : 31st May 2009 at 09:26.
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 09:57	#2
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,724 Thanked: 43,453 Times View My Garage	It looks good, although I'm a noobie at all this, wouldn't a silicon hose shaped like a snorkel look a bit more elegant instead of the metal scoop type thingy, or are the temperatures too hot for that?
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 10:23	#3
skoloseven BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai-Tampa Posts: 67 Thanked: 0 Times	Silicone would work the temps are okay. I thought about using silicone but decided against it because the chimney also acts like a radiator by cooling the heat shield when colder outside air hits the chimney, sucking thermal energy out of it. It's kind of like a CPU cooler. Keeping that metal in the outside flow of air is part of the cooling feature, silicone would not transfer heat as well and allow the heat to stay within the metal shield instead of leaving. Good thinking though, it would look much better with silicone even though the heat transfer would not be as good. Cosmetics vs. practicality was a big issue, but I feel the over all performance is so good that even a little obtrusive design would be okay. Thanks for your input and thank you for checking out my self cooling turbo heat shield. Last edited by skoloseven : 31st May 2009 at 10:42.
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 11:32	#4
Sideways BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Madras - India Posts: 641 Thanked: 31 Times View My Garage	Congrats, very interesting product. How much difference did you find in the intake temperatures with and without the shield ? @Vid - Silicone is a poor conductor of heat. It pretty expensive also. Last edited by Sideways : 31st May 2009 at 11:34.
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 17:19	#5
DocG BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Mumbai - Singapore - Cali - Sydney - S.Korea Posts: 870 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Sko I love the ingenuity in finding such a problem and the tenacity shown by you to go get your hands dirty and fix it. It product according to you has great functionality and is improving performance to a noticeable extent. However I strongly feel that if you're going to market this idea it requires more visual appeal. Agreed that a silicone hose is not functional, but what about something else which will be equally or more functional, but at the same time a lot more visually appealing.
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 17:52	#6
shreyasma BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bang! Posts: 652 Thanked: 6 Times	Congrats friend. A very good start!
	() Thanks

31st May 2009, 18:26	#7
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Agree with Shreyas. It's a very good start and wish you all the best as well as success with it. Time to market it to the die hard Subaru WRX fans out there.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 08:15	#8
skoloseven BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai-Tampa Posts: 67 Thanked: 0 Times	Thanks everyone. I took it for a really hard drive tonight, actually went out into the sand trails with it and did a couple of runs. The ambient temperature was about 75F and humidity around 70%. The good! I noticed that the intake temperature data took about three times as long to reach the normal temperatures. After driving it, I took my hand and felt around the shield. It wasn't that hot near the back or anywhere else except the chimney. Putting my hand near the chimney exit was a mistake. Ouch! The heat transfer really works, and my intercooler was still fairly cool. before the shield I couldn't even touch the intercooler over the turbo (even with water spray!), and now I can leave my hand on it permanently. I didn't use the intercooler spray at all either, it's amazing how much that shield really works. The bad! Even though the design is engineered perfectly, it is ugly. I agree completely with Doc. The design is not appealing at all, even to me. It looks rather, perverted if I may. It covers up the pretty turbo with an ugly flat piece of metal and a huge "thing" sticking straight up. This design must stay this way in order to direct air on to the turbo bearings to extend turbo life. With the hood closed, it doesn't look "terrible" but it's still rather obtuse. Feedback from most customers so far is that it's ugly, but it works. I have a few on the pre-order list but not enough to start production. Overall, it's a good product but I honestly don't see a huge future for it. Maybe a few select die hards but that's about it. I'm just happy it works on my car! I have the only Subaru in the world with a "self cooling turbo heat shield". Hopefully I can change that soon! Video: Self cooling turbo heat shield on Streetfire.net Last edited by skoloseven : 1st June 2009 at 08:18.
	() Thanks

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