Has anyone seen a benefit from this mod? I am just trying to decide if it is worth the time.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the free ram air mod something for the LS1 cars???

 

I don't think I felt a SOTP difference, but I did it just because theroretically it should feed the intake with cooler, denser air, resulting in more hp, especially if you have a CAI like Moroso, Lingenfelter, or K&N.

 

There is one for the LT1 also. You cut out the bottom of you air box and rig a scoop to it.

 

Here is a little walk-through i found with a quick search.

http://www.charm.net/~mchaney/ramair/ramair.htm

I used some sort of scoop thing that you can find in the ducting area at Menards and just cut a hole in the splash guard and rivited it in. Then i painted it black so its kind of stealthy.

 

I made mine out of a metal "FOR SALE" sign I got a walmart. We bent it around a piece of wood. I can't say I noticed any difference, but I think the theory is sound. I am going with a ram air hood now, so it is not an essential mod, but if you are keeping a stock non-ram air hood, I'd do it, it can't hurt.

 

Somebody should get a leaf blower and dyno it.

 

this is what i did, instead of cutting a gaping hole, i just cut a half a square out so if i do get a ram air hood i can glue it back up

 

So I went to a dyno day yesterday. There was a guy in Mustang who did his first pull. Then he pulled off his headlight, exposing a hole through which the CAI could pull more air. The dyno shop also directed air flow in that direction with the shop's cooling fan.

The result? He actually had a 9 horsepower increase!!! Yup. 288 to 297.

Hence, I think the free ram air mod would be at least slightly beneficial.

 

9 hp thats pretty cool, but like everyone else says, you wont feel a seat of the pants difference, but I notice the engine doesnt seem to lug as much when it is hot out side.

 

What about rain? I live in FL and I can just picture me flying through puddles soaking my intake in water....??

 

There is alot of misimformed information in this thread. The ram air mod your talking about is no diffrent than installing a cai in the fender well. You are not going to force enough air through that filter in the position its in to gain even 2 hp under normal driving conditions. You most certianly will not feel 2 hp. The ta's with the ram air doesnt even help that much. I rember reading on here where it can make something like a 3% increase in power at 100 mph. So lets say your lt1 is making 300 hp. That equates to a 9 hp gain at 100 mph But rember that is on the ta ram air style hoos and air box.

Now lets guess what the mod your talking about is making. You are not forcing much air if any at all into the intake. You just have a cai with a hole for air to enter through the bottom. Thus your netting maby a .70 % increase. due to the colder air entering through the bottom of the fender well. So lets put that with the 300 hp lt1 your getting a hp increase of less than .2 hp over what the reagular cai would do.

Now lets take this even farther. Lets say you run a dryer duct to the filter and have it ran somewhere at the front of the car so you are "forcing" air in it you have the filter that may have a total surface area of 81 square inches. Now you shove the dryer ducting over it and seal it up thus making your home made ram air set up. well the opening of the dryer duct has a total surface area of roughly 50 sq inches. You have reduced the volume of air that the filter prevously had to suck in by close to 1/3 . So then lets factor in that at 100 mph your getting about as much air through the filter as you would with out the duct. That means under normal driving (street and track for a stock lt1) that you have restricted flow by 1/3 and have lost power. You may make that power up over 100 mph but your stock lt1 isnt going to trap 100 mph in the 1/4 i dont care how good of a driver you are.
You wont even hit 1psi of positive pressure witrh this setup.

So my point is jsut forget about the "free ram air mod" for the lt1's. It may help the ls1 guys but it is of no benifit to us.

Even the best designed ram air setups with thousands in r&d are making 3-4% gains at 100 mph.

 

ok lets call it the modified cold air intake for now on. Thank you sergent buzz kill.

instead of cutting weird hole and installing scoops and worrying about rain i came up with something simple:

http://www.lt1engine.com/media/album...php?pic_id=129

I water can get that far, they deserve to get wet. i have to stick my hole arm i there to reach them. the effect is the same though. cool air.