blackvr4

Hey, as my name states I don't have any sort of ls1/lt1. But I am contemplating designing a CAI system for my car, which it would greatly benefit from (turbo). The only thing that has so far kept me from working on it is my fear of somehow getting water in the intake.. when it rains or something like that.

Any danger of this? I know that tiny bits of water don't matter, but when I'm on the highway and its poring outside, I would imagine that a significant amount of water could enter my intake.

So, as the title suggests; My question to you: How does the Ram-Air on SS's and WS6's keep water from entering my intake tract?


Thank you!

wrencher

iTrader: (2)

Because it is not a sealed system.
People have had sealed(MODDED) systems & major problems.
Your 3.0 would prolly like turbo's & intercooler mod's much more than a CAI

66ImpalaLT1

I have the following Ram Air system on my Corvette:



IMHO, the only concern is washing the oil out of the filter. I have driven in downpours that were so bad I had to stop because I couldnt see in front of me.

The benefits of Ram Air are questionable, I cant see why a turbo would benefit from it at all.

Eric

NightHawk

iTrader: (1)

Agreed. "Ram Air" should do nothing for your forced induction setup b/c your system is already at more than atmoshperic pressure.

Cold air is always helpful, though, why not design a system that draws cooler air, but not from a location prone to water getting in?

WILWAXU

iTrader: (6)

The stock SS and WS6 Ram Air is damn near water proof. Heard rumor's about using a firehose to test them

I run a WS6 hood (baffles out) and lower air box and a Whisper Ram Air. I've driven my car in some of Florida's worst rain storms without trouble.

#1 golden rule, don't drive fast through large puddles!

blackvr4

Yes, CAI is what I mean, Ram Air and that kind of go hand in hand.. but not quite.. yes you are right.

What I mean, is something LIKE your ram air.. such as a hood scoop, that is connected to the intake and sealed off from the 190+ temperatures of my engine bay.

So.. how exactly is it "sealed" off so that no water gets in?? I mean, air goes through.. so water can too?

Thanks.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

The SS has such a roundabout path, there is
plenty of time & surface for airborne droplets
to hit the walls, settle, and run out the weep
holes in the little sump at the nose. This is the
"not sealed" bit. The holes are a tiny percent of
the total airflow cross-section but enough to
drop any sensible amount of water.

The bottom-feeding cold air intakes have more of
a chance of getting the big splash. Less of that
up on the hood.

Some form of water separator (like a few 1/4"
holes at the lowest point) ought to do the job.
The admix of warm air from that small cross-
section will be a negligible temp rise all in all.

blackvr4

Even if there are small holes in the bottom of the intake tract.. the amound of CFM's of air my turbos spool in per second is too huge to let any water "settle" or even leak out. I guess I will do as I planned before and make it so that I can close my hood scoop somehow when it rains and open the air box to let in the underhood air again.


Thanks for all your replies!

miner_49

The stock WS6 ram air hood has 2 offsetting baffles like this

.___________
. |
. | |
.__|________


Most of use remove those rain baffles and add a rubber gasket to properly seal the hood when its closed to the airbox as GM left a 1" gap between them. Basically the factory system is more of a good cold air intake system than a ram air system.

I have a blocker plate that I put inplace of the rubber gasket sealing the hood to the airbox that has a small hole to let air in (plus the 1" gap is back without the gasket). This and the oiled K&N filter seem to stop all the rain fine. I never found more than a few drops of water in my car after driving in the rain.

FAST LS1

iTrader: (2)

I've run this setup for over a year and have had no problems. It's completely sealed and the filter does sometimes get wet, but it's due to the mist of water that comes of big trucks and other cars on the interstate. I've never seen any water actually get past the filter.