ram air question

[ssondubs]

I am wanting to take advantage of all the wind drag at highway speeds for it to provide a natural supercharging effect to my CB7 . Just wanted to know if you guys have made one already and may provide any help and pictures please. Thanks!

[turboHLS30]

You can't just add a scoop, you need to know if the engine compartment is in a positive or negative pressure under the running conditions you are concerned about. It will most likely be in a positive pressure under most conditions. If positve, you want to provide a way for the hot air to escape. If negative, you need to find a way for colder air to enter, then the scoop will work.

[Leung]

I personally only have a short ram intake. I have seen some guys a few years ago, on here, where they would run duct piping down to where a foglight would be on the 9091s. I'm not sure if it did anything for performance because they never posted anything besides pictures of it. I'd just be afraid of hydrolocking the engine if you were to go that route.

[deevergote]

You will not add a "supercharging" effect. The engine will only take in as much air as it needs. Without an actual supercharger/turbocharger, you are not going to force-feed it any additional oxygen. Certainly not enough to make any difference.

By putting an intake inlet on the front of your car, you will essentially be putting it in a low-pressure area. Practically a vacuum, as the front of the car is designed to be aerodynamic. The air will be flowing quickly over and around the front of the car, not shooting directly into an intake hole. This argument has been posed many times, and I have yet to see someone say anything that made sense otherwise.

My best way of describing it is this: next time you're in the passenger seat of someone's car, and they're on the highway... stick your head out the window (being sure there's nothing that will whack you in the head, of course.) Now breathe through your nose. It will be difficult, because your face is relatively aerodynamic. The air is rushing past, not stuffing itself into your nostrils.
Of course, you can open your mouth and get plenty of air... more than you can inhale... but that is a wide intake area, taking up at least 20% of your face area. (a similar example on a car would be the radiator, or a front mount intercooler... THAT takes advantage of rushing air, because it covers a very large area.) To make an intake hole large enough that it would take advantage of rushing air would result in an intake hole far too large for efficient air intake when the car is not moving at high speed... plus, filtration would be difficult.

[islandhopper]

...My best way of describing it is this: next time you're in the passenger seat of someone's car, and they're on the highway... stick your head out the window (being sure there's nothing that will whack you in the head, of course.)

...you can open your mouth and get plenty of air... more than you can inhale... but that is a wide intake area, taking up at least 20% of your face area...

Great Deev..I can just see a bunch of CB drivers hanging their faces out like dogs on a road trip..all over the US, trying to perform this experiment.



im still crackin' up at this...

The only way i could see this working, is with a hood scoop of sorts, near the intake. It would have to be tested properly to create a design that would grasp the incoming air efficiently enough to 'Ram' the air into the intake. But i doubt that many of us have the proper equipment to do a batch of tests to come up with even a rough prototype. Even so, the gains would be marginal at best and only during high speeds. Dyno proving would be bullshit unless you're in a wind tunnel...anyone got a wind tunnel they can access? didn't think so..

As cool as it sounds (and it does sound cool), it's not worth the time and money spent to make it work. And for what? a little xtra oomph at 90mph? your time and money is better spent on true FI or a real nice suspension upgrade. Or if your really concerned with airflow around your car...a well designed aerodynamically engineered body kit to help you slip through the air more effectively..which i think would show greater gains at the speeds needed to ram air into an intake. but im getting off topic..which happens to lead to a dead-end in this case.

Until some someone with cash to burn and time to kill comes up with a proven ram air system, your time (and monies) is better spent elsewhere.

[Noridetoolow]

Ive seen CAI kits that route to the front bumper and use what looks like an innercooler. They run around $100 and all I have seen are off brand. This would probably provide the amount of air needed based on Deeve's post but in the long run not provide a real benefit for all it is. Probably the best you will do with a stock engine is a regular $40-$50 CAI and on a stock F22 I doubt you would see ANY difference between that and a $20-$30 SRI....for that matter. Honestly, I cannot tell any difference between the stock air box and the K&N cone filter I installed. I am going back to a stock air box with the bottom cut out and a K&N or similar filter for good air flow.

[deevergote]

The stock air box actually flows very well. We have a very good design.

The "interfooler", which is that intake that runs into the front bumper with an intercooler-like filter element... that thing is a gimmick. They are all "off brand", because they're only made by gimmick companies that want to take advantage of ignorant ricers that want their car to look like it has a turbo.

The most efficient source of intake air for a car is an ambient source. The engine bay and fenderwell are ideal.

[ssondubs]

Thanks for the input guys. I keep being tempted in doing this cause when I extend my hand out while driving I get excited about thinking what if I can get all of this air into the throttle body

[GhostAccord]

Thanks for the input guys. I keep being tempted in doing this cause when I extend my hand out while driving I get excited about thinking what if I can get all of this air into the throttle body

You can, it's called a turbo.

[deevergote]

Stick your head out the window like I said in my first reply... that will give you a much more accurate idea of how this will work.

[Turbocutlass]

Stick your head out the window like I said in my first reply... that will give you a much more accurate idea of how this will work.

well i hate to stir up a debate here but i have to differ... i personally have a home made ram air set up on my coupe.. i can feel a difference with / with out it. i dont have the front turn signals in my car anymore (dont ask) lol and i have a duct where the passenger side one should be. its ran in the fender well and into the bay and right into the front of my intake filter... i can hear it pulling air slightly at idle. BUT i cant really feel a difference dow low in the rpms but i can feel a pretty decent gain up high with it there. and the harder i push the car the more it pulls. i have tryed taking it off to see if it really did anything or not and it does, sorry to say.

[islandhopper]

...i have tryed taking it off to see if it really did anything or not and it does, sorry to say.

Why?

Can i see the system?

[Turbocutlass]

Why?

Can i see the system?

Why what? why does it work? With the filter i have its open in the end. still filtered of course, but theres a opening there. its feeding air straight from the front bumper directly into the intake system. yes i know the motor is only gunna use as much as it can, but i also know that its not having to labor for the air due to the fact that its being pushed right into where it would be pulled from... and another thing i have noticed with it is gas mileage.. in and around town i dont notice much difference but the mileage i get on the highway is very good... i also have a vac gauge in the car and at crusing speed on the interstate ( 85 for me ) i am at -18 on the gauge..

[islandhopper]

...i have tryed taking it off to see if it really did anything or not and it does, sorry to say.

Why?

...

Why what?

Why would you be sorry to say that it works?..was my question...Disregard, irrelevant at this point.

...With the filter i have its open in the end. still filtered of course, but theres a opening there. its feeding air straight from the front bumper directly into the intake system. yes i know the motor is only gunna use as much as it can, but i also know that its not having to labor for the air due to the fact that its being pushed right into where it would be pulled from... and another thing i have noticed with it is gas mileage.. in and around town i dont notice much difference but the mileage i get on the highway is very good... i also have a vac gauge in the car and at crusing speed on the interstate ( 85 for me ) i am at -18 on the gauge..

That's all well and good, but i'd still like to see it. Better yet, i'd like to see some numbers (both with and without), of mpg, 40-75mph times (possibly a different range depending on optimal air speed), maybe even top speed increase (be safe).

Don't get me wrong, like i previously stated i like the idea, but without concrete evidence as to its efficiency, this is all conjecture.

[Turbocutlass]

Why would you be sorry to say that it works?...was my question..Disregard, irrelevant at this point.


That's all well and good, but i'd still like to see it. Better yet, i'd like to see some numbers (both with and without), of mpg, 40-75mph times (possibly a different range depending on optimal air speed), maybe even top speed increase (be safe).

Don't get me wrong, like i previously stated i like the idea, but without concrete evidence as to its efficiency, this is all conjecture.

i will get pix as soon as i can of it and post them. as far as the top speed increase i know my car will pass the 130 mark with no problem. ive had it there a few times.. as far as mileage goes, next time i go to see my son i will disconnect it on the way there note the mileage and reconnect on the way back and do the same.. i can honestly say that this works but i understand also where it would need solid proof. i will try to provide as much as possible. i have basically used the same design set up as they use on bikes. i own a motorcycle shop here when i live and also dragrace one as well. i have been working on cars and bikes for 15 or so years.