I'm curious about this. Is there a real advantage to the SS and WS6 over the Z28 and Trans Am/ Formula? It's the same LS1 engine, but does the Ram Air really have an effect on performance? What are average times for these cars? By my seat of the pants feel, I'm guessing mid to low 13's are very possible in the WS6. Or am I being too optimistic?

By the way, this car has the best sounding stock exhaust I've heard besides my Z06. Matter of fact, the WS6 sounds better at idle. I love that deep rumble! Is the exhaust on the WS6 the same as the Formula and Firebird/TA?

 

No, the hoods don't add power, Yes the ram air cars get a little better Exhaust.

 

Real performance of these cars is pretty much the same. The result mostly depends on the driver.

TS

 

The hoods are not functional at all. The exhaust is what yields more power for the ram air models but that's easily overcome with a nice flowing aftermarket catback like the Loud Mouth.

 

You mean I have those big openings in the front and they're useless? How do they justify calling it a ran air then? Maybe I should take some time and go look at the car instead of sitting here at my computer.

 

Pretty much so...

 

If the ram air feature does anything at all it does it at speeds in access of 100 mph and even then not terribly noticeable. At normal driving speeds the ram air function is deffinately useless.

 

i have heard many different things about the ram air system on these cars. many say it does nothing and some say it does. IT is in fact FUNCTIONAL. Air from the hood scoop does in fact reach the engine. I hear that about 25 to 30 percent of the air comes from the scoop however these are not definate numbers.I dont know about you but i can hear the whisling from my hood scoop. I don't think you can actually get a definate answer to this question since on the dyno the ram air obviosly wouln't have any effect on hp since the car is not moving. It is hard to tell anyway since it also has better exhaust. I would say the exhaust is the best bennefit and you car may have come stock with a slp lid. But its like many people said the driver makes the real differnce rather than a 5 hp gain from a ram air lid.

 

mid to low 13's are normal for these cars, you should be able to get low 13's with your 01.

 

I would think the Firebird's is, because the opening is right where the intake for the airbox is, on all Camaros, there is no inlet into the airbox.

 

Yes there is an outlet to the airbox on camaro ss. also i believe the t/a does do a better job on ram air.

 

The SS hood and the WS6 hoods on a real SS and WS6 *ARE* functional, but as to whether they have a true "Ram Air" effect or whether they improve performance is negligable.

By definition, what Ram Air means, is the air is compressed and forced into an intake, similar to what a supercharger does.

If you look at an SS hood, the air path actually has to make a near 180 degree turn, then snake back to the front of the hood where it makes another near 180 degree turn into the air box. The WS6 design is more straight forward, but its still not a "sealed" design, therefore, the air isn't being forced into the intake of the car, thus, no REAL Ram Air effect. Even if you did seal it up, as others have said, you'd have to be doing well over 100 mph for the air to actually start to compress faster than the engine can suck the air in.

The vacuum suction of our cars is pretty strong, so in order for Ram Air to really have any improved performance difference, the air would have be forced into the intake faster than the intake can suck it, and that just doesn't happen with our cars.

Yes, it is functional. Yes, it is a better design than the regular Z28/Trans Am's induction. Will it translate into a faster car? Not likely.

 

So, people think my hood is useless??? Next time yall get a chance to see the bottom of an SS hood, take a closer look and you will see three rectangular slots cut to let the cooler air through to the air box. I know GM calls this "Ram Air," but technically it's really just a factory cold air package.
LS1's run awesome with cooler air. I know for a fact my car is quicker in the early morning or late night when the temperature drops. So, for cars that have that colder air fed to the intake, they do pull a little harder. That is also why Z28 owners do the free cold air mod by cutting the radiator shroud under the filter.
As for the exhaust, there's hardly any noticeable difference in the Z28 vs. SS systems. They're both restrictive and need to be replaced. That's why a 3" cat-back & y-pipe will get you a solid 20hp.
If you wanna see non-functional hoods, go hang out on the Mustang boards...

 

Ok I was skeptical about the hood thing. At first I believed that the only hood that would somewhat make more of a difference would be the one on the trans am and firehawk. Those 2 are "ram air" and the ss is"cold air". Regardless I like the ss hood and could not pass up a deal on for the price I got it for. I really didn't think it would help my car that much. I ran it at the track and my car was 2 tenths faster. Not too mention I had bad launches that night due to crappy tires. So now I think I wonder how better I would do once I get new tires. Last time I ran my car I had good traction. Hmmm? I will have to wait and see but I do believe I did benefit from my hood.

 

Like I said above, you can benefit from the hoods some but only at 100mph and greater speeds. I did the FRA mod. It's free and only take about 5 mins to do. Great mod to do IMO but keep your air filters checked more if you drive the car everyday as they'll get dirty quicker with this mod.