Whats your thoughts on this air intake theory?

[Afboy143]

So about 3 days ago, I got my new Rezton air filter in (stainless steel material. Morgan-Tech stocks them) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REZT...3QQihZ019QQcategoryZ38634QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem The reason for this is I wanted to do a true cold air intake system. Dropping a 90 degree elbow on the MAS adapter and running a pipe down below the fog light and attaching the filter. (In my mind, cotton filters and water dont mix....so I went with the all stainless steal muffler.) But wait you might ask, what about the water intake on true cold air systems??

Well AEM came up with this cool gizmo http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AEM-...38634QQitemZ8076350648QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

The way this works, too much water gets sucked up...it closes the valve to the main filter and temp. sucks air from the small filter until all the water drains out of the main pipe then it opens again.

Anyway, I was telling a mustang fan about my ideas and he told me about his cold air intake on his 5.0

His intake sucks air from the fender well rather than the engine bay or ram air. His logic was air is a lot easier to be sucked in when its not rammed but just "standing" He told me the reason nascar cars have cowl instead of ram air is because the cowl makes a "low pressure stream" by the intake which allows it to easier suck air rather than get it rammed.

So I ask, what should I do? Keep the filter under hood and attach a hose to the top to such through the fender or drop it down to the fog like originally planned?

 

[dogfriend]

I took a couple of classes in Fluid Dynamics back in the day, and your friends theory does not make sense to me. It seems to me that the "ram" air (high pressure) would help the air flow into the engine because of the pressure differential from high (ram air) to low (engine vacuum). After all, this is essentially what a turbocharger does (increases the amount of air in the cylinder by increasing the pressure in the intake manifold).

The only caviat here is if the "ram" air setup causes turbulance in the intake that increases the drag compared to the setup behind the fender. The only way I know of to determine for sure which setup is better would be to experiment with each (wind tunnel + dyno). I would bet $5 on the ram air setup.

 

[celly]

I looked into those bypass valves a while ago. I found a lot of mixed reviews on them and just gave up on them. In theory, they sound great. Supposedly they cause some restriction and turbulence that takes a bit away from the intake concept. Seem to be popular in the ricer community. Ever considered am Amsoil filter? They're not cotton and you don't have to oil them.

 

[Explorer#2]

back when my friend was a ricer he had a bypass valve on his acura and it worked just like they say it does...now has seen the light, but he has always been a ford guy, and drives one bad ass f150

 

[Afboy143]

I really dont need a filter, I already bought a new one so I dont want to spend more money on another.

I am leaning more about running the filter behind the fog light and taking the light out(I dont use fogs now that I have HID) for ram air effect. The reason I love this idea is because my truck always seems more powerful before the truck warms up and it starts sucking hot underhood air. This way the filter ALWAYS breathes air from the outside.

Celly- I was reading an article online that shows how exactly the valve worked, dyno tests, functionality tests, etc. With the valve installed vs. not installed, it showed a 1-2 hp DECREASE when the valve was in place. To me, this is alright because id rather have a 1 hp decrease vs. a blown engine due to my filter sucking up water like a straw in the thunderstormy summer florida months. Plus, with the car constantly sucking cold air vs. hot air inside, im sure id notice a much larger increase running true cold air with a valve VS. a MAS adapter cold air

 

[Afboy143]

back when my friend was a ricer he had a bypass valve on his acura and it worked just like they say it does...now has seen the light, but he has always been a ford guy, and drives one bad ass f150

Thats good to hear, gives me reassurance it really works

Personally, I see most ricers as young kids who cant afford nice cars but still want that "race car" or "nice car" feel out of what they can afford. Unfortunally, doing this sort of thing to "lower class" cars dont turn out so well... or people dont go the extra mile and it turns out "half assed"

 

[Explorer#2]

Thats good to hear, gives me reassurance it really works

Personally, I see most ricers as young kids who cant afford nice cars but still want that "race car" or "nice car" feel out of what they can afford. Unfortunally, doing this sort of thing to "lower class" cars dont turn out so well... or people dont go the extra mile and it turns out "half assed"

my friend didn’t half ass it...his car was kind of cool he had intake, exhaust(not a fart can), full suspension, wheels, tires, brakes, and a bunch of little stuff that showed he took his time with it and thought it all through...and thank god no unpainted body kit, he didnt even have a body kit

but as to the bypass valve at first he woudnt drive in the rain but he got stuck one time and was driving home and hit a pretty big puddle right where the intake was and nothing happend the valve worked

 

[Afboy143]

my friend didn’t half ass it...his car was kind of cool he had intake, exhaust(not a fart can), full suspension, wheels, tires, brakes, and a bunch of little stuff that showed he took his time with it and thought it all through...and thank god no unpainted body kit, he didnt even have a body kit

but as to the bypass valve at first he woudnt drive in the rain but he got stuck one time and was driving home and hit a pretty big puddle right where the intake was and nothing happend the valve worked

Sounds good ! The storms get crazy here in FL so a valve is a must if I do true cold air. The fun part is going to be mounting everything so its secure from the MAF adapter to the foglight.

 

[tnmk]

Well I didn't take a fluid dynamics class, but i have heard the same thing with the ram air vs. coming from a lower pressure area.

The thing with Ram Air is that you need a scoop of some kind won't create a lot of turbulance. Some styles do, some don't. Chances are that running a tube to your fog light area will have a lot of turbulance. Then you have to figure what kind of tube your running. Size should be at least 3" and if it's corrugated that's mor turbulance, especially as it's making turns from the fog lamp area to the TB. The more distance you have on a pipe, the more restriction. A 3" dia pipe 2 ft long will have less restriction than A 3" pipe of the same material 5 ft long.

Just a thought, but You don't usually see ram air on high end vehicles like Ferrari's or Lamborghini's.

Personally, I would probably opt for pulling the air from the fenderwell.

Part of the reason you may feel more power b4 the engine warms up is that b4 the engine gets to opertating temp it runs a little richer (burning more fuel) to try to get it up to temp faster. Someone else can probably explain this better.

 

[celly]

Celly- I was reading an article online that shows how exactly the valve worked, dyno tests, functionality tests, etc. With the valve installed vs. not installed, it showed a 1-2 hp DECREASE when the valve was in place. To me, this is alright because id rather have a 1 hp decrease vs. a blown engine due to my filter sucking up water like a straw in the thunderstormy summer florida months. Plus, with the car constantly sucking cold air vs. hot air inside, im sure id notice a much larger increase running true cold air with a valve VS. a MAS adapter cold air

Don't get me wrong. I read a fair bit of good press on these things too. I also didn't feel like messing with my intake tube to get one to work. I was seriously thinking of trying one anyhow, but don't have an issue with wet filters (they stay real dry in the Volant box). A few lost HP for piece of mind is probably worth it for your location. I live in a pretty dry place, but we've been getting a ton of rain lately. My filter has been bone dry.

I only mentioned Amsoil filters because they're GREAT filters and don't have the downsides of cotton & oil offerings. I looked at those stainless filters, but didn't find much in the way of any information on the filtration abilities of those filters. I don't think they had one with a 3.5" ID either (which is the only ID I want. Don't feel like modding other sizes to fit). Amsoil have done a lot of research into their Ea filters and I am very impressed with it so far. Might want to consider one down the road if you're in need for a change.