The unrestricted path to the stock air intake is mainly through the front grilles around the edge of the radiator. The higher pressure air coming into the grilles will reach the intake in preference to flow from the stagnant air in the engine compartment.
There are also 2 significant problems with the air intake in this thread:
- With the restricted throat size to get around the edge of the radiator, the minimum intake area will be smaller than stock. With a turbo engine providing significant suction on the intake, this may restrict flow. As previously stated, air ram effect and any venturi effect from the restricted throat have little to no benefit on a turbo engine compared with a naturally aspirated one.
- At lower speeds the significant area of the radiator that this aftermarket intake blocks may cause cooling issues
Overall there doesn’t seem to have been much thought or engineering or testing that has gone into the product. I would rate it “snake oil” without some appropriate test results.
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