I have a 94 Z28 Vert with Ram Air hood purchased from RK Sport and the RAM Air kit purchased from there as well.

It has a K&N filter in however it does not sit correct on top of my block and seems to be not taking in as much air as it should.

So here is my question, which is better, the ram air or a cold air intake? I am looking to switch if the consensus states that the Cold Air is better.

Also, wondering if anyone can tell me if they have ever heard (when they open the hood with the car on) a wheezing coming from near the throttle body? I hear like air escaping from the tube connecting to the throttle body and when I push (just slightly) down on it the noise goes away, could there be a hole in the tub going from my Ram Air down into my throttle body?

Thanks

Mike

 

I have the ss kit on my 95z and i ran 4 tenths faster @ us41 when i tried the oem ss air box and then put on the k&n CAI.
so to answer your question on my Z28 i gained 4 tenths by switching to K&N CAI but your setup might be more direct-in than the ss air box, the ss air box looked cool but IMO didnt do alot for performance.

 

.4 from a CAI? waaaaa? Is this a 700HP car here? Something doesn't smell right.

 

I have a factory LT1 SS car, and when I swapped in a CAI kit, my car too went faster. Of course that was 10years ago...lol..

If you do a search its probably out there somewhere....But some have said they have run faster/quicker with the SS Ram Air kit....but not me.

 

The lt1 functional ram air is a POS. It wraps around before leading into the TB. That isnt good, not the least bit.
If you have the hood clearence a LS style lid is far away the best way to go.
The air doesnt have to bend and twist to get into the engine, ditch the oem ram air kit and buy a used lid off these boards.

If you want to fab something up use the search function. You will find lots, many are just copies of LS style lids that will work with the small amount of clearence the LT1 hood provides.

 

the R/A for the camaro might not be that great, but the LT1 R/A for the Trans Am WS6 i think is about as good as you can get... how much more direct can it be???

here's mine that i added a few months ago when i got my hood

 

Cold-Air---is a misnomer. The air is not cold, unless the temperature is cold and the air is not rammmed---it is an inductiion system and there is no "ram" affect unless you are goin Mach speeds.

An ideal set-up would be to provide the least restrictive air intake and the one best routed to avoid heat sink. Gauze type, open filters like K & N and Holley may provide the least resistance, if they are clean.

I don't know how a lid would work unless the hood scoop was in a direct line with the TB intake. Even an LS1 SS has the intake air going through the hood, which may get quite warm with the sun beating down on it. JMHO

 

a lid works by the air that the air dam under the nose of your car brings up to the radiator, with a lid it places the air filter in the space between the radiator and front of the motor.

I understand how you say there is no ram air at all. But you have to visualize things.

BUt if you think about it phyiscally the air dam is going to direct the air under the car up, and lid mounts flat on the opening between the radiator and the front of the engine.

If anyone has installed a lid on a LS car you will completely understand. You will see the gap between the rad. and the motor. THats where they mount the lid.
I know i am doing a horrible job of explaining it but if you look at pictures or under the hood of your own car you will understand. Look at the air dam and where it directs the air to. Its moving up. THere are no bends or twists like on an lt1. That is why you could call it a Ram Air setup. The air is somewhat rammed into the engine.

 

You would have to be going very fast to have an apprciable ram affect. And if your intake filter is close to the radiator, your are going to pick up a lot of heat which would probably adversly affect the quality of air, since hotter air is less dense and not conduscive to any power gains. JMHO

 

Why quibble over semantics? The air entering a port outside the engine compartment is going to be "cooler" than air pulled out of the engine compartment. I guess you are suggesting that is must be called a "cooler air intake"???

And "ram air" is genuine. It very easy to demonstrate, and calculate using the "velocity head" principle. You do not have to be going at "Mach speeds" to see the benefit. I've been through this in posts before... max gain can be as high as 1% on HP at 100MPH. At 141 MPH, that turns into 2%. Build a 500HP engine, and its worth 5 to 10HP. No.... not a lot, but its a "real" gain.

You will not see that kind of gains in the SS version, because the actual scoop opening is probably still in the slow moving boundary layer of air that hugs the surface of the hood. And, any pressure gains at the SS scoop will be consumed by the numerous bends required to route the air back to the throttle body. Then there's the heat soak of the ducting.

But in a system that is designed correctly, ram air is real. Apparently you think the NHRA Pro-Stock cars have those big, elevated scoops on them for decoration. The WS6 hood scoop is more likely be be in front of the boundary layer, and by trimming the baffles, its going to be a fairly straight shot to the throttle body. And that air is not traveling over a heated hood surface.

http://www.injuneer.com/images/photo...e/AirBox02.jpg

http://www.injuneer.com/images/photo.../DCP03746a.jpg

http://www.injuneer.com/images/photo.../DCP03644a.jpg

 

my brothers car pulled harder than mine ever did up top. He had a gutted ram air ta setup I had a CAI setup. I now have ram air myself. Ungutted it feels just as fast. I expect a noticable increase when I do gut it.
we trapped about the same stock then I got a tune and 342s, instead of my 273s. He has 323s.

 

Fred is that a stock WS6 ramair box or an aftermarket one, it looks huge, I have a 97 SS for which I'm building a new engine and I want to put a more direct air intake setup on my car even if it means getting a new hood. I like your type of setup over the traditional CAI like the K&N.

 

ya thats a stock lt1 ws6 air intake. You could buy one a try to make it fit, or you could do a little fabing and make a ls1 lid fit. Either would be better than a lt1/ls1 camaro style ram air intake or even a normal CAI.

I have a 4' cowl hood, i just got a lid, going to start the converting project next weekend.

 

Its an SLP Ram Air HO airbox, which is virtually identical to the stock WS6 airbox, but lacks the "PONTIAC" and "RAM AIR" logos. Also lacks the pre-molded rubber gasket, instead using some cheapie weatherstripping, shown stuck on the underside of the hood.

The stock and SLP box tops have slotted openings. The entire top has been cut away, and the two threaded rods added to help hold the cover on the tabs on the base.