Ram Air intakes (prepare to be insulted)

[LCAM-01XA]

m.l.s.c.- are you trying to say that a big scoop right behind the grille right in the perfect place to get the coldest air possible rammed straight into the engine is not workin? cause if thats what your daying then i highly dissagree with that, i can be going down the road at about 55 mph and stomp on mine and it will burry the speedo in no time at all, ram-air is not my only mod, but i know that it helps, i also have dual 2.5 inch pipes with flowmaster and it runs into a single 3 inch exit, i have fuel turned up 1.5 flats give or take, timing advanced soup bowl somehow came up missing lol but im very sure ram-air intake is the best way to go, yall might not agree, but i do.

Nope, don't saying nothing like that, as it would be not correct - the ram-air you are talking about does indeed work very well, I was just describing another setup to get cool air in the engine.

 

[8v-of-fury]

I agree that Ram Air is a good upgrade for a diesel engine. Not necessarily because you are cramming MORE air, but because your getting COLDER air.

There was a comment made a while back about the amount of air rushing in through the grill being just as much as coming through a ram air setup. While this is true the ram air's setup doesn't have the air cycle the engine 3 or 4 times in a whirlwind before getting sucked in by the engine. Cooler intake air, Gas or Diesel = better performance. It's common sense, the colder the air the more it can expand under ignition, which in turn means a bigger bang which in turn means more power, which in turn means better performance, which in turn means more happiness, which in turn means i've said which in turn to many times

I would put Ram-air on every car if i could have the choice, my 95 Astro came stock with it

 

[jperecko]

Busy weekend and finally got back to... whoa, a lot of replies.

In regards to the 0-60 test, I would say that it is pretty good proof contrary to what I was thinking. Stuff could be perfected... but I am not expecting lab testing here and the difference is significant enough that I can simply say that I was wrong.

Thanks all for the input and even though I am going to be running some kind of snorkel intake, I will make a point that it will act as a ram intake as well.

 

[jperecko]

Concerning the intakes that route air from the bottom of the windshield, I have seen this setup on a stock '97? International box truck with International's version of the 7.3 powerstroke. It also has a monstrous filter. Not sure how new the idea is, but if a ram air intake makes a difference, I would expect that to as well.

 

[Diesel JD]

Is there any reason to be concerned about a hydrolock in rainy weather with the hypermax cowl induction. I have the parts collecting dust. I really need to put them on since that's been the plan since I got my turbo.

 

[Michael Fowler]

I read about half this thread, so I might have missed if someone posted the same, but here is my idea on "proving" the thesis:
A manometer is a device that measures pressure or vacuum in inches of water column. This makes it quite precise as 12 inches of water column is only 0.43 PSI.
A manometer is also easily constructed from a flat board and a length of clear vinyl tubing. A couple of drops of food coloring will make it easier to see the water level. The hardest thing is watching the action of the water column while driving--in the interest of safety, get a helper.
Run one end of the tubing into the intake; the other end is open to the atmosphere.
With the truck parked, measure the vacuum in the intake at various engine speeds. Compare with same RPM with the truch rolling at speed. Possible error due to more power needed at speed than sitting parked.
You could also check the readings at speed and compare with readings made with the tubing just exposed to the air in front of the truck; not in the intake stream. In this case you would likely see pressure in front of the truck, and less pressure in the intake-showing that there is a reduction in pumping losses.
Play with it, and see what you and find.

 

[oldmisterbill]

I can be very opinionated and bull headed-but I think air temps are as important as air pressure when we talk about outside air sources.I would like to know for sure if I am right-just for my own curiosity.I don't use my truck very often anymore but keep thinking back to my days in the ole Mack and how it loved to be hooked to a good load in the midddle of a 0degree winter night-it grew wings.My IDI also told me often during the winter when we were loaded heavy"If you want to get home quick lets do it during the night" I asked them both several times if they were "bothered by the sun"-but never got an answer. I hate it when life is a one way conversation.

 

[dyoung14]

Nope, don't saying nothing like that, as it would be not correct - the ram-air you are talking about does indeed work very well, I was just describing another setup to get cool air in the engine.

sorry i misunderstood what you said my fault, lol

 

[dyoung14]

Busy weekend and finally got back to... whoa, a lot of replies.

In regards to the 0-60 test, I would say that it is pretty good proof contrary to what I was thinking. Stuff could be perfected... but I am not expecting lab testing here and the difference is significant enough that I can simply say that I was wrong.

Thanks all for the input and even though I am going to be running some kind of snorkel intake, I will make a point that it will act as a ram intake as well.

mostly it just what suits people the best, i like the ram-air intake, but i might have to ues the open element designe when i put my psd turbo on since im not sure what i could use for an air box

 

[Agnem]

Just another comment that I don't think has been made yet. While it is true that I do not have any data to support this claim, it is my belief based on touching and feeling the temperature of things under the hood immediately after a highway run, that the fender areas not directly behind the radiator, run a good bit cooler than anything in line with the rad. It makes sense that for the most part, air flowing through the radiator and fan, is then made turbulent by the engine, before it can pass out of the engine compartment by deflecting below the firewall. In essance all the heat and air that was or is in the engine compartment, is vented out of the bottom of the truck. If you compare and use your imagination in observing the possible airflow over and around a stock engine, with a stock air cleaner, we see that....

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There are a ton of things to get in the way. What strikes me most prevelant however, is the air cleaner itself, which sits high, and is in the direct line of fire from air exiting near the 12 O'clock noon postion of the fan shroud. This is the air which seems to have the best chance of passing over the motor, back to the firewall, and down. Most of the air from the shoud has already collided with the motor and accesories, and is displaced down below the heads, flowing over and under the manifolds in the direction of the drivetrain tunnel where the largest low presure area must surely be developing at speed. The air cleaner, and factory air snorkle almost form an air dam across the drivers side of the engine compartment. At least on this model however, the air intake is situated to intake only air from outside the engine bay. Unfortuately, the air cleaner and it's large external surface area are constantly bathed in the hotest air coming from the radiator, that which is being returned from the engine into the top tank. So, it makes sense to think that if one were to view a thermal image of a radiator, it would be brightest or hotest at the top, and cooler as it gets to the bottom. This would indicate that the top of the engine is the area which will recieve the hotest air, and since it is farthest from the bottom of the truck, also has the longest to go, and hence the ability to heat more parts effectively. Compare the above photo to this one....

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Never mind the fact that it has electric fans, although as an aside, its clear that more hot air will be directed towards and below the heads with this setup. With only the intake hat, and a hypermax turbo in the back to block the top level air flow, the air intake is not daming up the warm air, and consequently is not being heat soaked. So perhaps the kind of air cleaner, and piping you have and where you locate it, is just as important as where the air comes from.

 

[Pino2234]

Just wanted to throw this out there. I went up to Carlise, PA for the truck show last year and talked to some of the "Ford Techs" there and Ram air was something they did not support.

They said that the stock filter can't be beat in filtering the air and the Ram air filters let too much in and the turbo acts like a sand blaster to the internals and is bad news. Obviously our trucks don't come stock with a turbo and all of our aftermarket turbos come with a new air filter set up.

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

Just wanted to throw this out there. I went up to Carlise, PA for the truck show last year and talked to some of the "Ford Techs" there and Ram air was something they did not support.

They said that the stock filter can't be beat in filtering the air and the Ram air filters let too much in and the turbo acts like a sand blaster to the internals and is bad news. Obviously our trucks don't come stock with a turbo and all of our aftermarket turbos come with a new air filter set up.

! What would you expect them to say?

"...Yeah, Ford did a crappy job of designing the intake, and a lot of the aftermarket systems are better..."

'Cmon, they work for FORD. Of course they take the company line...

 

[85hauler]

Just another comment that I don't think has been made yet. While it is true that I do not have any data to support this claim, it is my belief based on touching and feeling the temperature of things under the hood immediately after a highway run, that the fender areas not directly behind the radiator, run a good bit cooler than anything in line with the rad.

Super Dutys have a Intake Air Temp sensor in the factory filter housing. I have a Tymar type filter setup on my SD. Basically a big element sitting on the fenderwell. My sensor is just hanging next to the filter. My scangauge gives me a reading from this sensor. When traveling down the road it will read within 2 degrees of the outside air temp. When stopped it will climb over 100 degrees. Moving slowly in traffic it will typically read 20-30 degrees above outside temp. After seeing these numbers I used the same basic filter setup when I turboed my '88. Could it be better with ram air? Maybe but I do know for a fact that there is cool air available under the hood.

 

[jperecko]

part of my grand plan is to have a shitload of sensors in my truck... this will include

outdoor temp
filter temp
pre-IC (post turbo) temp
and post IC temp

these sensors will help to get some more accurate readings.... though it is all a bit of a ways off... just ideas for now

(have means... just need time)

 

[8v-of-fury]

I like the idea of a Shaker hood. maybe I could work one in off of an old cuda or something?