WT Ram Air
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
WT Ram Air Well, you've all heard of FTRA, SSRA, and for the elite WS6 guys, BGRA. Introducing WTRA - white trash ram air - for us regular T/A and Formula guys. Actually this is an old mod, and I've been thinking about doing it for a couple of years, and so, well, the other day I just got out the Dremel and went to work. After I did the cutting, I went to Ace Hardware, got some weatherstripping and made a seal around the backside, got some scrap screen and cut two pieces and mounted them on the front with duct tape to keep bugs and dirt clods out.
Elegant engineering? No. I admit to some ugly cutting on the backside. This is the crude but effective category. After doing the cuts and shutting the hood, I shone a flashlight through the holes and could clearly see the underside of the air filter - a straight shot. And the seal snugs up nicely against the sheet metal on the core support.
So ... here's my summary - Benefits (vs. underside RA systems):
- Straight shot of cold air to the intake.
- Does not block radiator
- Does not interfere with tranny cooler
- Does not suck hot air or dirt from pavement
- No risk of sucking water from puddles
- Cheap
Liabilities:
- Not glamorous
- Rain?
I think I'll cut a piece of plastic attachable with zip ties to use as a rain block-off plate. We'll see. Ok, the flame suit is on and I'm fully prepared to take the abuse.
Elegant engineering? No. I admit to some ugly cutting on the backside. This is the crude but effective category. After doing the cuts and shutting the hood, I shone a flashlight through the holes and could clearly see the underside of the air filter - a straight shot. And the seal snugs up nicely against the sheet metal on the core support.
So ... here's my summary - Benefits (vs. underside RA systems):
- Straight shot of cold air to the intake.
- Does not block radiator
- Does not interfere with tranny cooler
- Does not suck hot air or dirt from pavement
- No risk of sucking water from puddles
- Cheap
Liabilities:
- Not glamorous
- Rain?
I think I'll cut a piece of plastic attachable with zip ties to use as a rain block-off plate. We'll see. Ok, the flame suit is on and I'm fully prepared to take the abuse.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
Well, I didn't log any IAT's beforehand to truly do a back-to-back comparison. I did drive it 7-8 miles across town the other night at about 65*F out, and when I got home, the sheet metal under the intake was actually cold to the touch. I know what it runs at the track, and I'll be able to tell if there's extra mph after adjusting for conditions. I have the screens on for now because I tended to get a lot of bug guts on the area of the brace where the holes are. I didn't want an air filter full of bugs. But bug season is going away, so I may take them off.
Nice work....it doesnt look that bad at all. Plus who the hell really sees the underside of your hood on a regular basis anyway. I am actually in the process of doing something similar to this now except I do have the Ram Air hood. I bought 2 of the BGRA gaskets that are still available and I am going to try and engineer a way to seal off mine as well and debaffle it. Let us know if you see any improvement at the track as well.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
That's what I figure. It's not a show car. My hood is closed 99.9% of the time ... maybe if I was to sell the car, someone might not like it, but stock hoods are a dime a dozen anyway.
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