I was flipping through the measuring blocks on vag-com and saw that the intake temperature seemed kind of high. Outside air temp was about 55°F (57°F according to dash gauge) and the intake temperature was showing 99.5°F (37.5°C actual reading) while idleing. Thinking that this seemed high I drove around the neighborhood a bit and it dropped down some 77°F (25°C). Got onto the freeway and it didn't get any lower than 67°F (19.5°C). Is this totally normal for a normally apsirated 2.8l?

It seems like the intake temp should be pretty close to ambient since the air is moving through the intake relatively quickly and there shouldn't be much pressure to increase the temp since there is no boost. (no vaccuum either since it's before the throttle)

I'm not really worried about it, just curious!

 

indeed, i didnt not notice he was NA, i forget there is a few of us here who were not blessed with turbochargers but the principle still stays the same you cant expect IAT to be ambient or even that close to it with all the hot pipes it must pass through

 

Kendall, it's called "heat soak" and even non-turbo cars can experience it. Lots of hot air under the hood with the engine warm and idling, it cools off as you drive. Even when flying down the freeway, IAT will never be what ambient is because the engine is working harder and creating more heat. Don't worry too much about it.

...and ignore people's posts when it's obvious they didn't read yours.

 

Agreed. Underhood heat contributing to the reading. Actually, even with hood open, you're going to get above ambient readings from the radiant heat.