Raim Air setup

[bluescat]

Finished!

It's going to be another day or so before the pics are back but here is the heart of the system. This works with '97 up Explorers with or without stock airboxes.

There are really only three things you need, this cutout for 13 bucks from JC Whitney, a Mighty Flow 2.5" X 72" hose (96004) from any national parts chain and a Rigid (VT2509) utility nozzle attachment (+clamps) from Home Depot. Mount it behind grille or down by the air dam, with 72" of tubing you can go practically anywhere. Details upon request.

 

[tac0meat]

congrats bluescat!
can you explain how it all went in and your gains/losses with your setup. i dont know if i should fix that big ass dent in the side of my car or spend 20 bucks on ram air. im wantin ramair right now cause i pulled a small open trailer with a four wheeler on it and thought i was pulling a boat anchor!

BTW- i was brainstorming today and remebered a friend of mine who put an eletric blower on his four-banger. he said it wasnt like a supercharger but claimed it felt like he regained the torque he lost with his exhaust. the blower is like "in-line" type, he put it in before his filter. i was thinkin about using this with a rpm activated switch so that it would only come on at say 2800 rpm or higher, so it is on when im under medium to heavy acceleration but not when im cruisin, just an idea, it probably would help because the engine wouldnt have to "draw" air in(might unlock a few horsepower). i believe it was like a bilge blower for ventilation on boats

 

[Big T]

just a thought but could you just cut a 3 inch hole in the bottom of your air box then silicone some 3 tubing-flexible tubing and run it to a spot where it could pull cool air from...say in the general area of your bumper...? the only problem i forsee with this is possibly getting water into the air box... any thoughts?

 

[bluescat]

This is the tough part

Figuring out gains for a particular piece of the setup is pretty tough. The dash mount for the cutout sits below the glove box and I haven't even bothered to make a spirited run with the thing open and then with ram air bypassed. Right now I'm using it with the KKM True-Rev along with my enclosed cold air box I've built around it (pictures later today!) but it also fits perfectly with the stock box. I have a '94 Navajo out in the garage and I used to have a '91 but I never did any mods on them. If you can tell me if the '91 has the same intake setup as the '94, I'll take a look and advise on the ram air for your '91.
Also, I have also been thinking about the fan thing but in a different way. The same fan in your computer also comes in a 12 volt flavor and I know they make them to fit hair dryers, the perfect size. Below a certain speed is when I would activate the fan from the mph sensor but at speed this thing gulps so much air no fan is necessary, wait till you see how big the Rigid noozle is! A note for 'BIG T' - do a search on 'intake mods' and 'ram air', there are a lot of different setups depending on the year of your ride. But I 'm not sure about going through the bottom, most use the existing inlet to attach the new feed from the grill or air dam. A lot of folks drill extra holes in the airbox but this just lets in hot engine air and that's not what you want.

 

[bluescat]

Ram Air w/on-off Pictures

This is a straight shot to the cut-out, so no binding linkage. It attaches with a small bent bracket (CB mic holder). Pull out for fresh dense cool air from the grill and push it back in when it's dusty or raining. Fits the stock airbox perfectly (on 97-01 at least, I don't know about prior). Cable neatly shares existing firewall passthrough just by first inserting a sharp 10d penny nail first and forms a water tight seal around cable. Cable routes right beneath stock airbox fine and terminates by piercing it through a plastic divider that supports stock snorkle on '97-'01 Explorers:

The straight portion of the cutout needed to be trimed about an inch with a hacksaw to be exactly the same as the stock snorkle and so it didn't get near headlight:

Final view shows insulated cold air box that follows the contour of the hood. Urethane foam capped with door gasket will be seamless when finished. Noozle attaches with two sheet metal screws through a hidden plastic grill member. These are the only holes drilled in the entire installation!! See prior post for cold air box details.

 

[tac0meat]

hey bluescat, did you reset your computer because i hear that it will run like crap if you dont, your computer has to "learn" the mod. i might do mine soon but still dont know if i should fix the dent or get the ram air.

 

[Commtech]

Has anyone found any new ways to set up the Ram Air? This thread seems to have faded out like a bad trail.

 

[flyguy]

As soon as I get the time..im gunna go out and play with it... what I really want though is a scoop and cowl on my hood... If I were to utilize the scoop for ram air... how do you keep the water out? Hmm... Well.... I think Im just going to do the piping to get the cool air under the hood... any more info on this blower thing? That sounds intresting! I wonder if it works...

nick

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

Ram AiR???

Am I Missing something here? Strikes me that Ram Air is only going to help very much when your'e moving fast enough to compress the air ahead of your car to "Ram" it into the intake. That's fine and dandy for 65 mph on the freeway, but the main purpose for my Explorer, at least, is OFF ROAD, doing things like climbing very steep hills, crawling over big rocks, fording streams, etc., all at a verrry slowww speed. But that's when I need the increased power, not rolling down the freeway. I can meet or even greatly exceed the speed limits there, no prob, but when your'e in Low Range, Low Gear, and moving a breakneck 2.3 MPH., that's when we need more power. Heck, sometimes we drive all day, and only cover 7 to 10 Miles, with all the obstacles! Don't think ram air will be much good there!

 

[flyguy]

I see your point... although I dont know for sure... but this is my main reason for exploring the issue... I use a KKM air filter which pulls hotter air from under the hood... and I see greater increases in the winter vs. summer. I would like to find a way to bring the cooler air in, whether it be via ram air or just a snorkle feeding to an open air box...

nick

 

[William Schumacher]

almost completed !!

Well...,I'm almost done with this,I bought the parts from
http://www.ramairbox.com ,3' of 4" diameter neo/wire hose.,the 4"x11" snorkel (cut at an angle to get the 4" hose to connect to the snorkel at an angle,then I
rerouted the stock hole/snorkel area on the airbox,to go on the same side as where the maf is,and I covered up the old hole with plasic and cool tape,to do this I had to remove the metal tray that the box rested on,and relocate what looked like a fuse box on a leash.I did say almost complete, I need some more neo hose to get this to reach.it's on the way,4" hose lets in lots of air,oh I almost forgot,I also cool taped just about everything the air passes through,I put a mesh screen on the snorkel,painted it black,when it's all done,I'll take some digital pics with the new camera, just found out how to take the shots,now I need to learn how to get the shots to this site ???

 

[Big T]

Looking forward to those pics

 

[EMStaxi]

Ok, here is an Idea for you V8 fellas who thought about the Tornado thing. I just ran to Home Depot and spent $8.86 on two rubber couplings (3in x 3in) to replace the two sections of accordian like intake tubes, therefore sending smooth air to the maf as well as the throttle body. Not sure if intake tube for the 4.0 is the same, but it may worth a shot. Comments Please?

 

[fordkrazy]

i have made a diagram explaining a water catch box if someone could explain how to put it up here i think it would help some people visualize whats going on.

 

[Phantom]

Are those couplings 90 degree bends?

 

[EMStaxi]

For my vehicle, they are straight. The inside diameter of each end is 3 inches. They are very slightly shorter than the stock pieces(maybe 1/8th of an inch) but it work. This way air traveling from the filter to the throttle body is smooth.

The couplings are normally used for drain pipes and things like that found in the plumbing section of home centers and plumbing supply places. I paid 3.96 plus tax for each. I'll see how my milage does. I just cleaned the MAF sensor and I believe the IAC sensor built into the plastic intake tube. Also cleaned inside the tube. There was a lot of dirt and dust that had accumulated.

As I stated before, i'm not sure how the intake system for the 4.0 is designed but i'm pretty sure you can replace the "crinkled sections" if there are any.

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

Cooler Air

Fly Guy, et al:

I agree, it is better to get cooler, therefore more dense, therefore higher percentage oxygen per unit mass, air into the system. My t-bird supercharged Super-Coupe uses an intercooler (as do many others) to cool the air before it enters the system. I have drilled my '93's airbox to let more air into the drop in K&N, and I have toyed with the idea of some type of scoop to put more and cooler air into the area of the air box, but offroading here in the deserts of So Cal tends to be extremely dusty, especially if you aren't leading the group, and I wonder if a scoop system wouldn't bring significantly more dust into the system, clogging the filter sooner, and ultimately air starving the engine sooner.

The idea still intrigues me though, just not sure of the benefits for my use situation.

I saw the air ducting system installed by Scott Bosso on his Ranger at the recent CO. Fall Colors Run. He used the factory air ducts from an F-150, between the Filter/MAF and throttle body. It is larger dia. than the stock Ranger/Explorer, and the filter is a K&N or KKM (not sure which) cone filter set up. Doesn't do anything to solve the hot air situation, but he feels it improves his performance, Looks factory too, an important considerations for those of us that have state Smog Inspections with a requirement that everything be stock to pass the "visual inspection" portion of the Smog Check. Basically, in CA, the law says: regardless of how clean a car's emissions test, it must be failed by the smog tech if any part of tyhe air and fuel system appears to have been modified, and the modifications aren't certified and labeled by the CA. Air Resources Board (CARB). A real pain!!! If you have a cone filter in CA, you have to remove it and replace the original air ducts and box before you go for your semi-annual smog check.

 

[03voodooXLT]

I am looking for a ramair kit for my 03 sport 4x4.... Anyone know where to find one. I would like to c a pic as well.....THanx