Insulation in between intake manifold and supercharger?

1FSTBRD

Registered User
I've thought about putting some sort of insulation material in between the intake manifold and supercharger, to keep the sources of heat to themselves and out of each other. Has anyone actually done this, and if so, what have you noticed in terms of temperatures? If anyone has any advice or thoughts on whether it's a good idea or not or how to go about it, feel free to chime in here.
 
I've thought about putting some sort of insulation material in between the intake manifold and supercharger, to keep the sources of heat to themselves and out of each other. Has anyone actually done this, and if so, what have you noticed in terms of temperatures? If anyone has any advice or thoughts on whether it's a good idea or not or how to go about it, feel free to chime in here.

I believe what you are asking about is called a "Phenolic spacer".

Here are some people discussing it for their Bonnevilles which use M90 superchargers as well. One guy has a thermal analysis that purports to support his belief that blocking off the coolant passages from the supercharger can actually increase intake temps during road couse hot-lapping or summer driving.
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/performance-brainstorming/topic13443.html

Personally, I've always thought of this as being a very minimal bang for the buck.
Apparently the thick ones that actually do shield the temp but block off the coolant as discussed above.
The thin spacers (1/4") let you re-use the existing fuel rails but offer very minimal impact overall (except to your wallet since you are spending $100 for a piece of plastic).
-g
 
I'm not talking about phenolic spacers......just a layer of insulation (maybe with foil) in the air space in between the supercharger and the intake manifold. Literally, the area right on top of the manifold. I was just wondering if anyone knew if it kept enough engine temperatures out of the supercharger, or whether the supercharger still just ends up being really heat soaked, anyways.
 
I stuffed some insulation in the valley of my dads Marauder. Didn't do much. And there is a lot more space there than on a SC. I also put a dynamat type insulation on the lower intake manifold. The super charger setup is like the terminator cobras.
 
Maybe it helps a little but its definitely not alot. The swap to E85 was way more impresive.

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I would be concerned about heat build-up in the supercharger case. Not to mention, the heads are going to be pretty dang warm too. I don't think it would even be worth trying out, personally.
 
I would be concerned about heat build-up in the supercharger case. Not to mention, the heads are going to be pretty dang warm too. I don't think it would even be worth trying out, personally.

That's what I was thinking, as a possible negative.......that the heat will stay where it is, but that it won't dissipate enough, as a consequence.
 
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