Raim Air setup

[skender]

Has anyone ever experimented with a ram air setup? I hear that you can get anywhere from 10 to 10 HP by forcing cold air into your airbox. How does this effect your MPG? Any help or advise would be appreciated

 

[410Fortune]

Well it actually does gain MPG and HP (more)

The idea is to use a sort of funnel to force air right over your conical filter and into the MAS and TB.

With my old 2.9L I had it setup pretty well, never had a problem with sucking up water. What I did is cut a 4" hole in the radiator support using the factory square intake location as a starting point. Then I used a 4" PVC adapter to mount a 4" piece of dryer hose to it, the 4" dryer hose (heavy duty black rubber, not the weak white stuff) then is routed to the air filter. At the time I was using a 7" K&N cone on the ned of a homebuilt 3" PVC assembly coming off the TB. The pictures make more sense.

Basically it sucks air in through the 4" hole just below and next to the pass side headlight, the air travels up the cold air feed tube (4" dryer) and right up over the tip of the cone filter. Right through the filter and into the TB.

I noticed massive gains in power with this setup! Especially when it was cold out. It really helped me take advantage of my ported intakes and massaged TB.

Now I have ditched the old tired 2.9L in favor of a 94 4.0L.
For now I have the 4" cold air feed tube running right into the modified airbox with a K&N drop in. It works pretty well but eventually I plan to run a setup similar to what I had on the 2.9L. I'm planning to make a 3" steel intake tube to go from the TB to the MAS, install a K&N cone on the MAS and run the 4" cold air feed right over it, however this time I think I'm going to use a hood scoop as my source for cold air. I will make it detachable so it wont get wet in the rain/snow.

Some of the ram air kits that are made for Mustangs actually produce BOOST at higher speeds!

With a ram air setup the main problem people have is sucking up water, so this is your main concern with the design.

I noticed a slight gain in power but this setup combined with Bosch +4 plugs and wires gained me 2 MPG!!!!!!!!

Click on my URL to see the pictures:
http://www.geoctities.com/soho/cafe/7030/personal.html

 

[skender]

Thanks for the info. Any thought on avoiding the water suck problem. I'm A city slicker. I have to worry about rain and snow. I have seen air ram kits that have slots that allow water to exit ( Hopefully before you get water in your intake.. These kits are pricy and I like any ideas on home made kits....

 

[bluescat]

Water intake?

I haven't made it through to the end yet. My '01 has a KKM True Rev on it wrapped with 3/16" foam oil coated w/K&N oil. To isolate the intake from engine heat, I bought a polyurethane battery carrier at Western Auto along with some automotive aluminized fiberglass insulation. I cut about 3/4" off of one end of the carrier at a diagonal angle so it slips into a gizmo bracket below the MAFS and follows the exact slope of the hood down to the radiator support. I removed the MAFS flange from the conical filter and cut a circle out of the battery carrier (heat shield) until it fit perfectly over the rubber of the filter while the end rests in the gizmo slot below. Next, I cut a piece of the insulation so it completely covered the shield and then wrapped a little (1") around the ends of the battery carrier. Instead of glue, I used pop-rivets with extra washers to fix the insulation to the shield. Cut the circular hole in the insulation. This also blocks debris and moisture from coming at the filter via the radiator. The next part is to be redone. I had already used an old 2.25" shop-vac hose with a vacuum cleaner attachment (covered with panty hose) to suck up air from behind the fog light and dump it out where the snorkle from the stock airbox goes, to a cubby hole behind the passenger side headlight (plastic tie wraps connect to almost anything/anywhere. At this point, there is no ram air but theres also no water in the filter/engine. What's needed is a midrange horn from some cheap PA equipment/speaker to suck the air directly from the air dam with a closeable door attached to an old choke or mechanical linkage. Another approach would be a rubber cork that would completely block the passage of air up to the filter. This is how I'm attacking the problem. Sorry about the long post but I wanted to be clear.

 

[Phantom]

How about some pictures of that setup?

 

[bluescat]

Pics

I'll get some pics today and get 'em developed. I wish the price of these digital cameras would come down, Rite-Aid screws up the developing every time. BTW, Rick at Amazon Racing in Fallston MD has, among other things, a F-150 Lightning he races that has a ram air setup. He has a funnel type affair down by the air dam and uses 3" exhaust piping to get the air up to the engine compartment where he has a racing type filter like K&N, S&B, etc. He didn't seem to be the least bit concerned about taking in water. I'll check up on this as well as I can't remember where the ram air dumps out.

 

[skender]

Ram air parts and experiments

Found two sites that sell Ram air parts and equipment. http://www.ramairss.com sells complete ram air setup for impalas and crowm vics. They claim to have addressed the water intake problem. http://www.Ramairtech.com com sells just about everything you need to build your own custom ram air setup. You just pick the parts you need. From scoops to heats resistant neoprene intake hoses. I thought I would experiment on my saturn before tackling my explorer. I removed an air baffler that most saturns have attached to the side of the air box and ran a hose from just under te lower facia of the vehicle up into the hole. Drove to work today and though the engine was a bit loader than usual there was a noticable boost on take offs and there was a definateincrease in power at speeds above 35mph. It looks like it going to rain tonight so I'm going to check the air box for any evidence of water....

 

[Phantom]

I'm sure that ramairss has small holes in the back of the scoop to allow water to escape. Where on the ramairtech site did you see where you can buy the parts you list individually? I went there but only saw the complete system.

 

[skender]

RAMAIRTECH

Hey phantom,

Go to the parts link on their home page. Thats were you can view and order individual parts for your ram air system..

I was thinking that with some modification to the scoops sold at ram air tech you can get that same effect that you get with the ramairss models.

 

[skender]

link correction

Sorry people... I got my sites mixed up. The site that sell individual parts for Ram air set ups is http://www.ramairbox.com. Then go to their parts link.

 

[skender]

Weird link????

soemthing strange is going on here.. Rather that using the link to ramairbox.com in the previous posting. Type the site address into your browsers address box. When I the link in the posting I wind up somewhere else...?????

 

[Phantom]

I don't see a link for parts.

 

[skender]

LINK

Try this link...



http://www.ramairbox.com/parts.html

 

[William Schumacher]

I am also looking at ram-air setups,but can't we just feed a hose up to the airbox inlet ?,or will that not work,I insulated my stock box,and maf, and hose with cool tape,and would like to think that by adding some sort of hose at the air dam,that will do it.what do you guys think,I just started using an Amsoil foam filter,and would like to keep it,
thanks,

 

[skender]

re: hose

That's exactly the the idea.... The problem is if your off roading you may suck up water as you passthrough a puddle or a stream. If your on the road you suck up water when it rains and snows. I am currently experimenting with a setup on my saturn. It's simply a 2" hose run up from the drivers side air dam that feed air into the airbox through a hole that was left when I removed this air baffler gizmo designed to keep saturn cheesy 4 cyl. quiet. So far their is a noticable performance gain in the throttle and on the highway. Yesterday We had some rain here in NYC as i drove the 25 miles home. It wasn't raining very hard but when I checked the hose there was some water (very small amount, but the air box was dry. I've had this setup for about three days now. By the end of the week I hope to see an improvement in mpg. If everything looks ok I may implement a similar setup on the explorer

 

[bluescat]

Hose > Snorkle>Airbox

William, I think running a hose to the snorkle is a good idea. You don't necessarily have to tap the air down by the air dam, there also is a lot of space inside the grille. Although mine's an '01, I think you have space in there too. I did get an idea today from a JC Whitney sale catalog (sale book 118J-07, part #24HJ1628R- $13.95). They have an exhaust cut-out on page six, but it only fits 1 3/4" pipe. It comes with a five foot control cable which would mount under the dash. If it's raining it's closed (running straight through); operate the cable and the fresh air is diverted up the tube for the airbox. And here is the catch for the airbox; once you close the system for rain, how do you get air into the box? With a conical (open air) filter system, such as the KKM true-rev, when you close the system because of rain, you still get the oblique air mass coming in from behind the headlight. This is where the snorkle pulls it from on the stock airbox. If you're using the stock airbox and you could place the cutout behind the headlight somewhere, when you closed off the ram air it would just take the air from behind the headlight. I ordered this sucker after I first wrote this post! The 2 1/4" shop-vac hose will fit right over this thing - HooooRay! I'm going to photograph and list the parts ASAP for you guys, this is the thread that finally brought the answer. To overcome the small diameter of the cut-out, I'm thinking a cheap plastic mid-range PA horn or a vacuum cleaner attachment at the air dam. Just think of how much air will be delivered at 60mph!!! Next thread? Run lean condition due to too much air, Hehe.


[Edited by bluescat on 08-15-2000 at 12:54 PM]

 

[skender]

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!

That solves the rain problem!!!! Though the cable maybe a little short and the diameter leaves a little to be desired. BUt you'll definately be getting much cooler air from the outside on those dry cool days....

 

[Commtech]

Hi, Im a newbie here but I think a few principles of HVAC might be helpfull on this thread. If you go from say a 4" hose at the front of the vehicle into the top of a larger cavity (say a 8"x8"x10" box) the rate of air flow through the hose will decrease at the point it reaches the larger area. The cubic foot per minute rate of airflow will still be the same for the hose as it is for the box. With the speed of the air slowing at this point the water droplets should fall to the bottom of the container rather that follow the airstream. Another opening at the other side of the cavity brings you back to the diameter of the intake hose. A partition accross the top of the box between the 2 hose openings will also re-enforce the tendancy for the water to fall to the bottom. The compressed air still flows thought the entire system, but slows at one point to allow the heavier moisture to drop. One or two holes drilled into the bottom of the box will allow the accumulated water to drain (even be forced out by the pressure in the container). The small holes should not make a noticable difference in the air flow through the system.
I know that there is not much space under the hood of the Explorers, and I have not tried this yet, but I do plan to try to make the set up work. If any of you get to work on it before me let me know how it turns out.

Mark

 

[William Schumacher]

welcome to the site !!!

first I would like to welcome commtech to the site !!!,
and I beleive he is right,or at least makes sense. that the water would not make it up to the filter in the box,and there is small holes at the bottom of my '99 airbox already

 

[JayR]

Well what if you are rumming the kkm intake? can you still do it and not take on water? for serious 4 wheeling i think a pvc cap would fit nicely iver it for offroad adventures
good luck