Will a FTRA do any good on a SS?
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: Mentor, Ohio
Re: Will a FTRA do any good on a SS? Ok heres the deal: the SS has a functional ram air hood but its a poor design and is much more for looks then use. The WS6 has a great ram air hood. The FTRA will give you a 10-20hp gain once you are moving, I would say a minimum of 35mph. Definetly get the FTRA unit for your SS.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Texas
Re: Will a FTRA do any good on a SS? 10-20 hp sounds a bit too much as far as gains go for that kit! Im not doubting your word, but I think that it would lean more towards the 10hp than the 20hp. But I would agree with you on the hood opinion because its not sealed so it really doesnt have a ram air effect.
Re: Will a FTRA do any good on a SS? I have taken some highway WOT MAP readings
with the Predator, watching the MAP as it
hits the 6K upshift. I did this with the
SS hood & airbox, and with the addition of
a "free ram air"ish mod. There was no real
difference, MAP went down to 14.2 just before
upshift in both cases. So more than doubling
the "slot area" of the airbox provided no
significant gain, and accessing the nose
"high pressure" region, ditto, against the
stock SS hood. It did raise my IAT readings
on the surface streets, though. Big bonus
there.
I keep seeing people talking about how since
the hood isn't sealed, there can't be any ram
air effect. This is misguided. It isn't a
static situation where any leakage takes
pressure to zero; it's continuously fed, and
all you need for a ram air effect is more
inlet cross section than leakage cross section.
Which, if you look at the hood and the seals
that -are on there-, is certainly the case.
Is it a huge ram air effect? Hell, no. But
face it, if you had one PSI of air pressure
at the radiator face, you'd be pushing 500lb
of nose force and needing thousands of HP
to go 60 MPH. I don't care where you pick it
up, top or bottom, it's not giving you diddly
for pressure. Better than negative is all you
can realistically hope for pressurewise, and
colder than the engine compartment.
with the Predator, watching the MAP as it
hits the 6K upshift. I did this with the
SS hood & airbox, and with the addition of
a "free ram air"ish mod. There was no real
difference, MAP went down to 14.2 just before
upshift in both cases. So more than doubling
the "slot area" of the airbox provided no
significant gain, and accessing the nose
"high pressure" region, ditto, against the
stock SS hood. It did raise my IAT readings
on the surface streets, though. Big bonus
there.
I keep seeing people talking about how since
the hood isn't sealed, there can't be any ram
air effect. This is misguided. It isn't a
static situation where any leakage takes
pressure to zero; it's continuously fed, and
all you need for a ram air effect is more
inlet cross section than leakage cross section.
Which, if you look at the hood and the seals
that -are on there-, is certainly the case.
Is it a huge ram air effect? Hell, no. But
face it, if you had one PSI of air pressure
at the radiator face, you'd be pushing 500lb
of nose force and needing thousands of HP
to go 60 MPH. I don't care where you pick it
up, top or bottom, it's not giving you diddly
for pressure. Better than negative is all you
can realistically hope for pressurewise, and
colder than the engine compartment.
