Turbo_punkn
Well-Known Member
It’s nice to see you guys really taking your time to do it right instead of just slapping something together just to get something out on the market.Hey everybody,
We have another big update on this intake to share! Check it out below and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
-Steve
Sometimes the long road is the path we take when we want to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the view. Sometimes the long road is the path we take when we want to do something well. While we love watching the development process unfold, we’re taking the long road to our 2018+ Jeep Wrangler JL 2.0T performance intake for the latter reason.
“Quality over speed” is our motto for many of our projects, but in developing complex intakes like the one found on our JL’s 2.0L Hurricane engine, it’s a requirement. Rushing through a project like this often means fighting check engine lights and poor performance. In the end, rushing takes longer than doing it right the first time.
We’ve spent the last four months analyzing every detail of the stock Hurricane intake. Our engineer looked at what was important to keep and what we could improve upon. We learned how the stock intake flows and which components affect that flow the most. In our last post, our engineer, Ye, took that data and added some creativity to render a 3D model of our high-flowing intake.
We’ve taken the best of the stock intake system and removed the resonators and corrugated couplers that hinder flow. Our intake will keep the lower airbox to help draw in cold air while maintaining the JL’s water-fording ability. A custom-designed upper airbox, filter, and tube will replace the stock components for better flow.
A 3D model is a great start to any product design, but the next steps are where things get exciting. To test fitment and performance, we need physical prototypes.
For cooler prototypes, we often call on the skills of our fabricator, Mike, to create an aluminum core then add 3D-printed components to finish it off. But this intake would be a little different. The complex shapes and need for precision made our 3D printers the only tools for the job. Mike may be a master of all things metal, but our drafter, Josh, is an artisan when it comes to 3D printing.
While it may look like a click-it-and-forget-it process, 3D printing functional prototypes requires a knowledge of materials and processes that many never realize. After receiving the part designs from Ye, Josh carefully selected the best materials for each component and tweaked the printer settings for the best prints. After many, many hours of printing, our prototype intakes were ready for assembly.
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