I want to build a custom intake using spectre performance parts and a K&N filter. Has anyone tried making a custom heat shield? i was thinking i could use aluminum, but i dont have a milling machine so it would mean alot of work and possibly a bad out come. anyone have any ideas for making one? or know where i could get just the heat shield without the intake?

 

if you were to make one, i would use stainless steel, has much better thermal properties than aluminum, also you could get it in sheet metal and bend it your self/drill what ever holes you need

 

how difficult would it be to shape it though? i don't want to put some wrinkly piece of crap in there. But building my own would save me about $100

 

Most of the "Alta" clones are made with gutter flashing or other thin home depot sheet metal..... Bent to shape... Maybe a few pop rivits ...then painted....
Ease comes down to skill.... A metal brake (bending unit )is not needed, but the basic idea of how it works to make clean bends is useful....same for tin snips, a drip, and pop rivit gun vs sheet metal screw's and nuts and bolts..
Have them in your garage... Easy afternoon project. Need to buy them and learn how to use them....then might not be $$$ feasablr...but will be adding to your tools and knowhow!!

 

getting 1/8th or 1/16th in thick stainless wouldnt be terribly hard, you would have to bend it over a radius not a corner

the difficulty to looking good ratio all depends on how much time you have and how creative you are... give me it for a few weeks, im sure i would have somehting that looks better than anything out there that isnt machine stamped

 

One thought....
If you think you require a "milling machine" to make a CAI, I think you might need to look at existing designs....
A basic CAI is usually metal due to ease of construction....
Some, like dinian and JCW used molded plastic to make use of it heat rejection ability...and Ease of production....metal is a conductor... But easy to make items in small production runs...and the heat should be OK due to airflow when the car is moving...
Having seen the nicer units like ddm, great sheet metal units are possible....as are junky hai..hot air intakes....

 

i didnt really know what i needed. I dont usualy work with metal, but another question i have is whatis the small hose coming off of the hose going to the throttle body. It gos to the top of the engine. just trying to make sure i cover all the bases before i spend money and time just to find i did something wrong

 

I'm not sure which side a "catch can" goes to,.. Theres two hoses that come off the valve cover.

Look up a DIY for installing a catch can to get some insight about those hoses on the top of the engine.

 

all you basically need is to make a box that will replace the stock airbox, with a possible removal of the fire wall, which most CAIs have you do anyways, no cutting is required, the sky is the limit on how you make it, wether its an open box design like the alta, or a close box like the dinan or the craven speed