Filtered Air Box and IO-320's

I have an IO-320 engine - do I need to install the VA-130-H door/flap (in the intake of the airbox)? Or is this door just for directing carb heat to carbs?

Thanks!

I just went thru that decision process...

From the past threads I found, there's a strong recommendation for an "alternate air inlet". In the event some kind of freezing precip should ice over and plug the air filter, an alt-air inlet lets you switch to warmed air... virtually the same as carb heat ... even though with FI you don't need the latter. In my case, I'm not putting on an additional heat muff; but will just have the alt-air draw warmed air from inside the cowl to melt any frozen precip. My SJ cowl provides the fiberglass trinkets to fab the alt-air flapper door which will use a cable operator.

Alternate-air is a good thing. Remember "Murphy" is alive and well. Ice on/in the inlet is one thing but ice on the air filter can also be a problem. How about the one in a million bird strike that fills the inlet and blocks the flipper? May of been over kill but I added the additional alternate air door on the bottom of the fiberglass airfilter housing. This allows the filter to be by passed all together. The flipper can be open and closed while in the air but the cowling must be removed to reset the filter bypass on my set up.
I did have a bird strike plug up a ram air set up on my old Bonanza with a Mike Smith modified nose bowl. This will really get your attention and most likely never happen again to me but just in case I now have one more option open to me on my RV6.

I understand the alternate air door on the bottom of the airfilter housing is to bypass a blocked filter and I will be installing that. My question is about the flipper at the front of the air intake - I take it that its purpose is to re-direct warm air into the carb? Is this the source of "carb heat"? ...and since I'm fuel injected, I wouldn't need it? Would it be of any benefit to have it with a fuel injected engine?

If you're going to use a bottom alternate, I'd skip the flapper. They tend to wear quckly & fail the cable or hinge. I sure prefer that my alternate source bypasses the filter whether it's hot or cold air.

You don't need carb heat nor the flapper door. You'll be fine with just the alternate air slider door.