DaveGrun

When I was at the track the other day, someone was telling me that i should remove the ram air baffles from the WS6 hood. He said that way, the air from outside is going straight through the holes, into the hood compartment. I never heard of doing this before, and it sounds like a good idea. First of all, how do you remove the block from the hood, so their is nothing behind the holes in the ram air. Also, is there any negative things that could happen from doing this?

DaveGrun

I am not sure if air baffles is the right term. I don't mean removing the plastic grill insert, just the thing behind it that keeps you from looking straight through the grill holes into the hood compartment. Also, can i still drive in the rain if i do this?

DaveGrun

ne one?

rncotton

I removed my baffles (I think they are really called deflectors, but we alll seem to refer to them as baffles)

Pop the hood and look at the opening where the ram air comes out. Around the rectangle, you'll see some rivet heads. Take a drill and a 1/8" bit and LIGHTLY drill the head so it snaps off from the rivet. Do that for all of the rivets and then just work the baffle around until you can get it to come out the hole.

There's another set of baffles in front of the ones you just removed. The rivet heads are on the front of the hood, just below the "nostrils" and around the edge. Do the same thing with your drill and pop the rivet heads. Now comes the fun part. The front baffles are also glued in place. Once you remove the rivets, you have to reach up in there and pull so hard that you think you're gonna rip the hood apart. Then --POP-- the bafle will cut loose on one side. Then you can work it loose on the other side.

Once you get everything removed, you'll be left with white circles around where the rivets were. You're looking at unpainted fiberglass. I took a little body filler and filled in the holes. Then I sanded them smooth and touched them up with a bottle of GM Black Clearcoat touch-up paint.

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So you've removed the baffles, now what? Well, you've got a straight shot into the airbox, but you'll notice that there are two circular holes and one oval hole in the hood on the bottom, underneath where the baffles were. You'll be able to find some 3/4 " plugs to fill the circular holes, but I stil haven't found a plug for the oval. I'm doing the "gaff tape mod" right now to seal that hole.

The next problem is that when you close the hood, there is a 1.5 inch gap between the hood opening and the front of the airbox. So you still aren't getting a sealed intake. I've got a guy fabricating a spacer/gasket that will solve that problem for me. When he gets done with it and we do some testing, he'll probably market it as a DIY install kit.

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I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. Feel free to e-mail me or ask more questions here in the forum.

DaveGrun

I don't have the stock air box anymore, i have a FIPK. This seems like a lot of work and risk involved in this. Is it even worth it to do this? Or is it gonna add like 1 or 2 hp only?

DaveGrun

My main biggest concern was the risk of having it get hyrdolocked in the rain. This is my only car, so i drive it every day, regardless of weather. Even if there is a miniscule chance of it getting hydrolocked, i am not gonna do it. Thanks.

rncotton

Mine is a daily driver. 2001 WS6 with 47K miles on it.

I've driven in rain (HEAVY rain) with no problems. The amount of water you're gonna get into the air box is minimal, and then your filter will absorb/block most of that from getting through.

What little bit ***MIGHT*** get through won't be enough to hurt anything. If anything, it will cool the air charge. Aren't there some turbo guys who use their washer fluid tanks to spray water into their intakes?

I can't imagine any danger of hydrolocking your motor with this mod.

GrdLockV6

Don't take out the baffle man, it's stupid. It isn't gonna give you any gain what-so-ever, and you risk getting water in your intake. Sure, the filter will block most water, but is it really worth the risk for a mod that isn't gonna help you at all? The baffle is there for a reason, leave it be. Just get a new airbox lid and your intake will be fine.

rncotton

By that logic, the sotck air box lid has the ridges inside, a small opening, and air silencers there for a reason, so leave them be.

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Personally, I don't think that pulling the baffles will make much, if any, difference. However, pulling the baffles, sealing the holes in the hood intake, and sealing the hood to the airbox ... well, that might make a difference, which is what I'm doing.

Not that it matters, and I'm not trying to **** in anyone's corn flakes. Just stating an opinion.

stik6shift98

lmao....

Wease

If you drive in the rain, I would not pull out the baffles. Sure, some people have had no water get in there, but I would not chance it. There are a few out there who have hydro locked their engine that way.

I don't drive my car in the elements, thus I have drilled out the baffles. My next project as far as the baffles are concerned is this. That system will completely seal the hood to the air box thus making a "true" Ram Air effect. I have heard that it is about good for 1 MPH on the track. More air =

DaveGrun

Thanks for all your feedback guys, i am not going to do this free mod, many of you convinced me that the risks outweight the benifits.

9T8W66

I've had no baffles in my hood for 4 years and have NEVER had a problem with water intake. Had the FRA also and NO problems.
The only way water might get in the Intake and possibly hydrolock the engine is at WOT. Do you go to WOT in the rain ??
I debaffled the hood because I thought it might help performance. I couldn't tell ya if it gained or not. IMO the hoods are for looks only. An Airbox Lid along with FRA or any one of the cold air kits will show more gains.

rncotton

Yup ... that's similar to what I'm having fabricated for about $40.