Think about this for a second. There have been many renderings with ram air in all different shapes cutting into the cowl or replacing it entirely. I really like the cowl entirely but for looks rather than reverse ram air. We have an open front grill AND an opening below that. Also vents in the bottom of the front spoiler for front brake coolers. Think we could get ram air in the front open grile or in the lower opening right out front an hidden if it does go on the car? I saw once on a 3rd gen Z28 where ram air ran over the radiator and down to the existing openings. If you didnt pop the hood you may not catch it. One of the cooler things Ive seen. Weve already got the openings lets use them for ram air as an option!

Your thoughts...

 

There needs to be a "Ram air is a farce" option.

Everything ive ever read about it says its at best as effective as a CAI and the wind resistance it creates negates even that minimal gain. Read that on this site to.

I dunno about the Z06, but im pretty sure most of the scoops and swoops that make it to production will be there because they look good.

 

When you say "ram air cowl induction" are you meaning ram air from the front, or cowl induction from the back?

I could go either way, depending on styling, but would lean towards traditional cowl induction.

 

Good question... I meant cutting the front of the cowl to have a scoop. I should have been more clear...

 

Well Im sure it works to some degree. Drag racers wouldnt put those huge scoops on their car if they didnt have some effect. I have a little trouble thinking the Z06 has a scoop because it looks cool. Im also having trouble with forced air or at least pushed air being as effective as CAI. Even if the air isnt pushed as fast as it is sucked through the intake, it would be like driving down hill. Less force needed to suck that air into the intake as opposed to CAI which would be like driving on a flat road. I can see the wind resistance being as much as the gain part but not in the case of using existing openings. Those openings are already there and are going to be resistance whether you utilize them for ram air or not. Therefor, its not possible for resistance to be more than the gains.

 

Nope, air doesn't compress at the speeds we drive on the roads, even the more insane of us. If you can read through many of the pages on here, it is worth the read. This has been talked alot about in the past.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=458678

Ram air is just a gimmick, unless of course you are driving a Bonnevile salt flat machine.

I think the cowl is fine the way it is on the concept.

 

I dont think anyone said it compresses air, you need a turbo or supercharger for that. Ram air is not expected to put more air in the combustion chamber. It is expected to get it there faster and possibly fill the chamber to capacity(or closer to it) on BDC not more. Not expecting the intake stroke to rely entirely on piston suction. I would be interested in where they placed the ram air they tested. Ive seen people say 4th gens didnt work because its in a low pressure area. The open grille is right out front in the front of the car pushing through air, and if lower is the key than use the lower opening. Unfortunatly ramair is a misnomer, the were expecting it to do something it couldnt do... The drag drawback part of a seperate intake opeing is completely irrelevant in terms of using existing opeings that would have the same drag anyway. I like the full cowl as well. I think they are cool. The point is, if ramair is to be used for gains, why not use existing opeings.

Ill check out the rest of the link later... Thanks!

From your link

 

You need to read the rest of the discussion. Two guy's own unique experiences hardly turns fluid dynamics on it's head. There are too many variables in a race situation, regardless of what they want to admit or not.

 

Ram air does one thing best and thats get cooler air to the motor than from the really hot air under the hood which does give you more power. Ever drive you car on a kool morning and see the difference

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the previous camaro ram air setup (as well as the Mach 1 '04 mustang) draw air from both the "ram air" side of the system and also the same air inlet as the stock non-ram-air cars? Basically, if this is the case, it's like a "T" pipe with the air filter on the bottom of the "T" and one side being the ram air and the other being the original intake. If you blew into the ram air side, it can't create pressure because the path to the filter isn't closed thereby making the effects of ram air nullified.

I dunno. Maybe I'm talking outta my ***.

 

Depends on whos driving and how consistant the car is as to how inconsistant the runs will be. Ive seen many who are deadly consistant to the hundreths. Before I get flamed, I know in ProStreet you better be on to the hundreths, or the big boys will put you on the trailer, but that just backs up what Im saying. Barometric pressure, temperature, the same deadly consistant driver in his same deadly consistant car 1 run with 1 run without repeat 2 more times with time to let the motor cool would give you an idea, yay or nay. I cant do this but have seen those who can consistantly. Its scary actually. Also with runs to get a feel for that track before hand. There are many variables but if the guys who know their stuff didnt know how to adjust for it, they would be quickly weeded out by the guys who did. At least around here on saturdays... Im sure youre all familar with this where you live...

The first article from that link shows that depending on who built the ram air and whether they did it correctly, affects how well it works. Just like anything else. A common theme in the argument against it is the minimal pressure you get even if you build a really good one. Problem I have with that is the intake is supposed to have negative pressure. That vacume is resistance on the crank, much like pulling back a siringe. Achieving positive pressure at all is a gain by decreasing resistance if nothing else.

300bhp/ton claims

in which he later goes on to efectivly explain that ram air does not compress or give you a "free supercharge" air at all. I thought this was obvious. He goes on to say that pressure gain is .7% at 70 MPH. Pressure gain from what? Barometric pressure is 29.92 so it would be signifigant from that. Is he saying that an intake that should have vacum will now have less vacume? Now he uses the empty bottle humming example here to explain the obvious that you cant compress air with ram air

This assumes if you cant compress the air then it is effectively a CAI. Im not so sure that it is. By blowing into the bottle you are pushing slightly more air into the bottle till it doesnt take anymore than just expells the rest. With the ram air intake, you are going from a negative pressure "bottle" that isnt full at all infact has negative pressure, to hopefully a positive pressure "bottle" In order for his full bottle analagy to hold up you would have to fill the compression chamber, the intake and the ram air with air. That wouldnt compress anything? Who cares! By that time the chamber is full and the energy needed for that vacume from the crank wasnt as great. Mission accomplished. A CAI doesnt do that. resonant airbox systems getting more gains is another issue, but I still believe there are gains from a ram air over a CAI.

Drag racers with 10 second cars wouldnt use a hood that you cant see the passenger side from and is areo dynamically a parachute if they didnt have gains as 300bhp/ton states here.

This confirms more than two guys having gains. His explination of resonant airbox gains where the resonant air box is equal to that of one cylinders volume make sense, I just think the air box could refiled faster if the air comes in through ram air done properly as shown in the Kawasaki results compared to the competition.

Again, if you configured a CAI above the wheel well it would still rely solely on vacume to fill the combustion chamber, where as in a ram air you would have external air pressure not forcing but helping air move. Even if it is minimal, it is still gains. Especially if there is no drag drawback, I.E. using existing openings.

Through out his entire arguement he claims if it doesnt compress it doesnt work. Im saying it doesnt compress, noone said it did, there are gains if done properly minimal though they may be.

The guy is obviously smarter than I, however keep in mind, everything he is saying is based on theory.(LOL as I was writing that I just read someone else said the exact same thing in his thread) He dismisses 1/4 mile gains as air box resonance gains, Wile certain drag cars have the huge hood scoops sealed right to the carb.

What he said

JEEZE! 6 pages of guys trying to argue that Ram Air doesnt compress air when they should be discussing gains simply because of the name RAM is painful to read! Talk about cross talking...

I dont know why Im arguing, I like the entire cowl intact! I just think there is SOME gain from ram air and the existing openings are there. How much is another issue.

 

If you look at what is on the concept car it is straight in. not a lot of bends tubing etc. it just has one jog between the hood and intake tube.

The less bends and restrictions the more power you will gain. Other wise you not going to copress it or gain any cooler air.

The problem then becomes drive by noise regs from the goverment. They are why most intakes systems are restricted. The reg even effect tire design and exhaust noise. WOT is not effected but part throttle is.

Now are we going to want the bypass muffler on the Z06 as an option? Cot is the only factor there. I am sure Stainless Works, Flowmaster etc will have cheaper replaments soon after intro. But if you have not heard the Z06 at WOT look for one it is awsome.

 

Ram air doesn't really compress air. And that 0.7% he might have measured would have all been from dynamic pressure and shouldn't affect performance whatsoever. It is nice as a CAI.

PS if you want Ram Air, you have to buy a Pontiac

 

Thought I'd post this since some of you may not have seen it. Fast Toys Ram Air is about the closest thing to a Ram Air system for a late 4th Gen. This test indicates a 1% increase in volumetric efficiency. It appears most of the increase comes from cooler air.

Here's the test:
http://installuniversity.com/install..._12.262000.htm

Scoops are for looks only. I say, if it looks good, put it on there. It may raise the price a tad though.

 

Well there is SOMETHING to the RamAir on a WS6. I own a 99 Trans Am. I test drove a 2000 WS6 and the trottle response was amazing. I thought my TA was fast until I drove the WS6. I didn't buy the WS6, but I did invest in a SLP air box lid, MAF, and smooth Bellow. They made a huge difference in my TA. I have also purchased a ram air hood and air box (haven't received them yet.) If anything else the WS6 ram air package acts as a cold air intake, making the car faster. Could be nothing more than that, but it is noticably quicker than an equal car without it.