free ram air mod hypothesis.
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Teching In
Joined: Aug 2003
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free ram air mod hypothesis. ok, so ive got a 00 ws6. which of course has the ram air. here is my hypothesis. since i am cutting the bottom of the air box off with this mod... this allows air into the box in another spot. therefore, negating any "raming" of the air that was happening. the only way ram air works is if you have a closed circuit, and the air that is coming in is coming from one spot... ideally faster than what the circuit can handle. but the force on the outside is greater than the resistance on the inside and thus a "raming" effect occurs. so if i perform this free mod... and allowing air in at another spot, would i be ruining my ram air?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: SW Florida
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. The "free ram air mod" was first done back in early 98. It really just gets you cool air from in front of the radiator into the bottom of the airbox assy. Great for the regular TAs and the Camaros.
With a WS6, you will get just as much cool air from the hoods intake system as with the free ram air mod. I would not waiste your time doing it to your WS6. You may look into removing the second baffle from inside the hood (closest to the engine).
Leave the baffle closest to the outer section of the hood in there. It will keep water during a heavy rain out of the filter element.
Thats about it.
With a WS6, you will get just as much cool air from the hoods intake system as with the free ram air mod. I would not waiste your time doing it to your WS6. You may look into removing the second baffle from inside the hood (closest to the engine).
Leave the baffle closest to the outer section of the hood in there. It will keep water during a heavy rain out of the filter element.
Thats about it.
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. I think SLP sells hood block off plates to allow you to use a true ram air kit (FTRA) or the free ram air mod. I've seen many guys block the hood and do a lid and free ram air, but I can't remember which dynoed better....Maybe someone else will drop in here with that info....
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Jersey boy
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. nothing? when you look at the baffles in the hood you can se that it is obviously not "ramming" anything but it is an easy source of cold air and as we all know cold air generates more power than hot air. which is what unit is full of when he sais ram air hoods dont do anything. :p
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Long Island, NY
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. I have the fra done on my ws6 and also the bg ram air installed. Should I block off the fra so the the bg ram air would work best or should I just leave it.
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: St. Clair Shores Mi.
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. I have a debaffled R/A hood and I noticed a better increase with the FRA than with the hood alone. IMO the hoods are more for looks than performance. Without being sealed to the airbox there is no Ram effect, but it does draw in cold air.
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Verdad Gallardo TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Long Island, NY
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis.
well... Ram Air hoods with the baffles out (WS6 & Firehawk) work extremely good 
Air has a straight path into the air box 
Air has a straight path into the air box 
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: San Antonio Texas
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. I heard that doing the free ram air (I.E. cutting the air box) disrupts the air flow "on ram air hoods only" causing a turbulence (something you dont want to do!).
For those of you with the ram air hood, if you want to upgrade your ram air you can buy a BG ram air kit that redirects your air straight to the airbox.
You can also buy some better ram air seals (than what comes with the BG ram air kit) that seal your hood to your airbox to maximize the use of the ram air induction AND not allow your hot radiator heat up the incoming air as it would be restricted in the seal.
Here's the link to the BG ram air kit from ls1speed.com :
http://www.ls1speed.com/catagory.cfm?catagory=induction
If you are worried about water going past the filter (like myself) you could do one of two things.
1) buy the whole kit and install rain shields made by Ken (aka ND4SPD on LS1tech) when it rains and let the drain spouts will work as alternative air supply route without sucking any water.
2) forget about all the kit and just remove ONE of the baffles on the hood for an approximate 50% increase of ram air induction effect and install the ram air seal if you desire.
BTW the ram air shields that Ken makes takes no more than 10 secs to install (they go right on top of the ram air nostrils). But make sure if you go towards that route you must remember to install them when it rains.
A lot of people say rain water wont even pass your KNN filter anyway but I prefer better to be safe than sorry. But everyone has a different opinion on this.
Hope this helps.
For those of you with the ram air hood, if you want to upgrade your ram air you can buy a BG ram air kit that redirects your air straight to the airbox.
You can also buy some better ram air seals (than what comes with the BG ram air kit) that seal your hood to your airbox to maximize the use of the ram air induction AND not allow your hot radiator heat up the incoming air as it would be restricted in the seal.
Here's the link to the BG ram air kit from ls1speed.com :
http://www.ls1speed.com/catagory.cfm?catagory=induction
If you are worried about water going past the filter (like myself) you could do one of two things.
1) buy the whole kit and install rain shields made by Ken (aka ND4SPD on LS1tech) when it rains and let the drain spouts will work as alternative air supply route without sucking any water.
2) forget about all the kit and just remove ONE of the baffles on the hood for an approximate 50% increase of ram air induction effect and install the ram air seal if you desire.
BTW the ram air shields that Ken makes takes no more than 10 secs to install (they go right on top of the ram air nostrils). But make sure if you go towards that route you must remember to install them when it rains.
A lot of people say rain water wont even pass your KNN filter anyway but I prefer better to be safe than sorry. But everyone has a different opinion on this.
Hope this helps.
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis.
So are you saying I should block off my fra so none of the air can escape? If so, what can I use to block it off with?
I believe more air is better
I run a WS6 Hood/lower airbox with a Whisper Ram Air (like FTRA). All wide open. Nothing blocked off. When I get to the track, I remove the nose grills and it's ready to race. The "ram air" effectively provide mass quanities "cold air". IMO Anyone looking for actual postive pressure needs shop for a Supercharger
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis.
So are you saying I should block off my fra so none of the air can escape? If so, what can I use to block it off with?
I believe more air is better
I run a WS6 Hood/lower airbox with a Whisper Ram Air (like FTRA). All wide open. Nothing blocked off. When I get to the track, I remove the nose grills and it's ready to race. The "ram air" effectively provide mass quanities "cold air". IMO Anyone looking for actual postive pressure needs shop for a Supercharger
This was at a standstill, but it took quite a ways of driving to lower it. So for drag racing, I don't recommend it in the summer. You will get cooler air through the nostrils alone and plenty of flow if you seal the hood to the box.
Wax, if you get a chance, test it with yours - just put the block off on the whisper ram air and ATAP air inlet, then open it up and see if it is higher or lower. I would be interested to see if it makes a difference taking the air from further down.
Administrator
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 45,841
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From: Earth
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis.
well... Ram Air hoods with the baffles out (WS6 & Firehawk) work extremely good Air has a straight path into the air box
Air has a straight path into the air box Re: free ram air mod hypothesis.
Interesting since it doesn't make a difference at the track. I've tried several back-to-back runs in WS6's with no ET or mph benefit. Maybe that's just me though. The air here in Michigan must be weird.
My results have differed.
I believe my car's performance speaks to that 
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 238
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From: Castaic Lake, So. Cal.
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. Lots of speculation here. The FRA, Ram-Air hood and the combination of the two all do the same thing, insure a healthy supply of air to the engine. It is unlikely that they INCREASE horsepower, but they allow your motor to breath very well, without any horsepower loss due to air restrictions. The only way to gain HP beyond that is to increase the pressure of the airbox above atmospheric pressure. That may be possible with a single, large, unrestricted air scoop coupled to a VERY well sealed airbox and connected hoses. The older T/A's had the scoop backwards to take advantage of the high pressure area in front of the windsheild. Either way, I doubt that the gains would be significant. Removing baffles and sealing the assy' will allow the motor to operate at it's full potential, at atmospheric pressure.
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 62
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From: Texas
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. It's the velocity of the air you're messing with. The air that the engine sucks up is controlled by the size of the ram air hood openings and the baffles on the air box. If you block off the baffles you increase the velocity of the air being sucked into your intake thereby delivering the air to your engine faster. The ram air is what's supplying you that air more effectively as apposed to no ram air. It's a lot like water. Take your garden hose and point it towards your little lawn duck with the propellers. See them spin. Now decrease the surface area of the opening (close the baffle) and the water builds velocity and the props are now moving a lot faster right? Right. There is the exact same amout of water just as there is the exact same amount of air. The water is flowing at constant rate just as your engine is sucking air at a constant rate. To mess with these constants (decreasing surface area or volume) you increase velocity. I work with water everyday and water and air have a lot of the same characteristics and volume, pressure, and velocity are very similar. You can also try the same trick with your vacuum cleaner. Turn it on. You'll see it is a constant vacuum. Decrease the area of the end of the hose and you can feel how much the velocity of the air being sucked increases. But it's still the same amount of air.
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 62
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From: Texas
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. Having said that and sounding like a ********, the faster you can get the air that the eingine wants into it, the better it is going to run. But remember, that air (when mixed and combusted) has to exit just as well.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 238
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From: Castaic Lake, So. Cal.
Re: free ram air mod hypothesis. You cannot compare water with air because water cannot be compressed, the flow characteristics are completely different. A venturi will yeild different flows rates for water and air. An engine sucks in air, higher velocity will help low-end torque and throttle response, but high rpm operation will suffer because a restriction was used to create the extra velocity.