Ok, I've been thinking of a cold air ram scoop for my 2006 Mustang. It's only a 6, but I've put JBA headers on it and I'm now at 26mpg per tank and the performance is up if I want to use it.
But I've noticed on some hot muggy days the car just doesn't pull out with authority that it does at other times. I tried to find out why.
Anyway, I hooked up OBDCOM and found that the air intake manifold temp varried from 91F to 140F today, with an outside temp in the mid 80's. If I was moving and the radiator fan was off, like the about 1/2 mile to my house, I essentially coast in at idle, the temp went down to 91F. But if I was with a hot engine and went UP the hill, pulling into a side street with the engine just coming off a load and blowing off heat the engine compartment air being sucked in quickly climbed to 140 as I waited at a stop.
I may do some more testing where I stream data to a spreadsheet, and I'll probably take air temp, coolant temp, throttle position, and vehicle speed. Then I can drive under a lot of conditions and really get a handle on it, but at this point I think it's pretty clear. The warm air builds quickly, and a cold air kit might help.
So, I've been thinking of the ram scoop (1969/70 style) through the hood. About $800. It doesn't look too hard to install. But... Here's the down side. I know they can handle rain. You increase the drain hole in the air box. But what about winter snow? Can I bypass the system for those days in a storm? Instead of blocking off the original air input, how about a 'flapper', so that even though it would be a bit restrictive, the car would still draw air if the hood was snowed over. And what about snowstorms? I wouldn't intentionally take the Mustang out in snow, but sometimes you can't plan everything. It is a daily driver. (Although I do have a Jeep I drive more days that the Mustang during the winter months.)