Ok so I know this subject has been beat to death and yes I have read the tech thread on this subject and on other sites but I have some looming questions that I can not get answered. Currently I have removed the stock intake tube that connects the 4" intake and ran the 4" hose straight to the drivers side to the open space above the wheel well.
I have seen several pictures of 4" plumbing with a cone filter on the end which is refered to as a cold air intake but if its still under the hood it seems like it will still be drawing in hot air and the cone seams to be more restrictive than the large stock filter. am I missing something on this type a filter? Some bennefit I am missing? Also if it all about max air flow and its going to be drawing air from under the hood anyway wouldnt an old school Edelbrock intake off a gasser work even better?
The other style I have seen is the ram air. most commonly is the ram air in the front grill which I could see as a very nice set up especially since your air pressure increases as your speeds increase. the issue with my truck is I have a radiator that completly fills the width of my grill leaving no room for a 4" hose. The other option is a ram air from the hood but im not super interested in cutting a hole in my hood. Lastly on the topic of ram air I have heard the idea of running the intake right into the back of the fan shroud however it does not seem to be much of a "ram air" when it has to go through 2 radiators and its seems like it would be hot air after cooling the radiator so this option doesnt seem to be "cold air" or "ram air" I also saw the pictures of the intake that sit under the hood but on top of the grill and while the craftmaship is impeccable it doesnt seem to be any less restrictive than the stock intake when the hood is down but to be fair I did not see if there was any mods to the hood.
I have also read several people recommending an intake from the wheel well which does seem like a very good option since it will be "cold air" and as the speeds incread so does the pressure in the wheel wells but I cannot get past the fact that this seems like a catostrophy waiting to happen since in utah we get on occasion a heavy rain and it would just be sucking in water. I guess with some engineering this could be overcome and this also happens to be a very convienient place since ther is soooo much space not being used over the wheel wells. this seems like the best option but I need a better idea of how to do it. this also applies to the cowl intake however im not going to cut through my firewall to access it.
I have seen the the modded intake where another 4" hose has been added to the opposite side to increase air flow but the question still is where do you draw the air from and if its from under the hood then I ask again, why not just put a large round edebrock intake on like the gassers. it may be drawing the warm air but its not restricted to drawing it from a 4" tube. this is what I had on my 79' 460 and it was awesome. If Im not mistaken a 460 gasser will be drawing more air since its more cubic inches and higher RPM's.
any way the bottom line is im not the expert but I do think a lot about this stuff and I feel like I have done a fair amount of research. I am petitioning the experts here for answers to these questions. Im also wondering if my expectations are too high looking for the holy grail of intakes. Anyway I would appreciate answers to these questions and a lot of input. I will be using this to come up with a more permanant and hopefully better intake for my truck but please keep in mind I am not interested in a turbo.
I have seen several pictures of 4" plumbing with a cone filter on the end which is refered to as a cold air intake but if its still under the hood it seems like it will still be drawing in hot air and the cone seams to be more restrictive than the large stock filter. am I missing something on this type a filter? Some bennefit I am missing? Also if it all about max air flow and its going to be drawing air from under the hood anyway wouldnt an old school Edelbrock intake off a gasser work even better?
The other style I have seen is the ram air. most commonly is the ram air in the front grill which I could see as a very nice set up especially since your air pressure increases as your speeds increase. the issue with my truck is I have a radiator that completly fills the width of my grill leaving no room for a 4" hose. The other option is a ram air from the hood but im not super interested in cutting a hole in my hood. Lastly on the topic of ram air I have heard the idea of running the intake right into the back of the fan shroud however it does not seem to be much of a "ram air" when it has to go through 2 radiators and its seems like it would be hot air after cooling the radiator so this option doesnt seem to be "cold air" or "ram air" I also saw the pictures of the intake that sit under the hood but on top of the grill and while the craftmaship is impeccable it doesnt seem to be any less restrictive than the stock intake when the hood is down but to be fair I did not see if there was any mods to the hood.
I have also read several people recommending an intake from the wheel well which does seem like a very good option since it will be "cold air" and as the speeds incread so does the pressure in the wheel wells but I cannot get past the fact that this seems like a catostrophy waiting to happen since in utah we get on occasion a heavy rain and it would just be sucking in water. I guess with some engineering this could be overcome and this also happens to be a very convienient place since ther is soooo much space not being used over the wheel wells. this seems like the best option but I need a better idea of how to do it. this also applies to the cowl intake however im not going to cut through my firewall to access it.
I have seen the the modded intake where another 4" hose has been added to the opposite side to increase air flow but the question still is where do you draw the air from and if its from under the hood then I ask again, why not just put a large round edebrock intake on like the gassers. it may be drawing the warm air but its not restricted to drawing it from a 4" tube. this is what I had on my 79' 460 and it was awesome. If Im not mistaken a 460 gasser will be drawing more air since its more cubic inches and higher RPM's.
any way the bottom line is im not the expert but I do think a lot about this stuff and I feel like I have done a fair amount of research. I am petitioning the experts here for answers to these questions. Im also wondering if my expectations are too high looking for the holy grail of intakes. Anyway I would appreciate answers to these questions and a lot of input. I will be using this to come up with a more permanant and hopefully better intake for my truck but please keep in mind I am not interested in a turbo.