Tube length of CAI for Neon

Hi folks,

My Neon came with a cold air intake. The tube runs down past the battery and ends with the filter can just behind the bumper area. I assume this was an attempt to get it out of the heat of the rad. Problem is, this car is my rally crosser so that position sucks up the dirt.

I'd like to move the can up and out of the way of the dirt. It would be great to have easy access to pop it off and shake out between runs. However, if I go straight off the intake to the left, I run into the battery box fairly quick. I haven't measured it out yet, I but I recon I'd have less than a foot between the can and the intake.

So the question is how would that effect the performance, if at all? I know I'll be up in the warmer air, but it should be cleaner and allow easier access. Oh, and suggestions on GR parts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

J

PS I got my first podium finish at this weekends RX (3rd out of 10 cars in PF)!

Im not real familiar with the dims under the hood of a neon, but If you can route the tube around the battery, use some sheet metal to form a heat shield box under the hood which the filter would sit inside of to block radiant engine heat. It wont be as cold as a true CAI, but if you can get some incoming air to divert into the shielded area, it will be much better than just a short ram setup which is essentially what you would have without the shield. Use some big soft weather stripping to seal it up against the hood. Like this: