I have a 2001 SS that I have just ordered a Direct-Flow lid and a Holley Power Shot filter for. I live in the Houston Texas area and I am trying to decide between doing the FRA or FTRA. My main concern is the heat. Just how much more gain is there going from FRA to FTRA.

Thanks

 

I would get the FTRA if I were you <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

Miah

 

The gain is much more for the FTRA. If you experience cooling issues, you can remove the lower plate during June - August.

 

One thing I've been wondering is how much the temperature actually varies in that 2-3 feet of height. I know damn well that in the Florida summer I don't like to walk barefoot on the pavement of any kind. I personally have both, with a 160* thermostat & fans coming on to match, and the first time I ran the car in traffic, the coolant readings were above 200* due to the blcoked radiator.

What I don't understand is why the air intake temperature wouldn't increase when the air coming off the pavement is hotter than ambient???

 

FTRA

Chris
[img]
http://64.81.114.233/hosting/TAMUz28/02hawk200.jpg[/img]

 

You are referring to radiated heat from the pavement. This takes time to occur and requires air that is relatively motionless. If you want to test this theory, put a big fan on the pavement and see if it cools down...obviously it will.

The car is moving at speed so the air you see will be just about ambient with the FTRA. Install University found an average of 10 F decrease with the FTRA over stock. That alone is worth 1% more HP over stock on a normally aspirated vehicle before you even start discussing the ram air effect <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

 

The FTRA sounds the best for performance but I am still concerned about overheating and water. I drive the car daily and the temperature in the Houston area usually hangs around 100+ degrees most of the summer. I have a Hypertech 160 degree thermostat and the fans are programed with HPP3 for the cooler thermostat but in stop and go driving in the summer the car stays around the 200 mark on the temp. Also, we have been known to get some high water around here. I know you can take the plate off in the summer but that defeats the whole purpose of the FTRA as far as I am concerned. Why not just do FRA?

 

i overheat really bad in hard summer driving....235 degree coolant temps and i have a few friends who get the same problems out here. <img src="gr_images/icons/mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="graemlins/formula.gif" border="0" alt="[Pontiac]" /> <img src="graemlins/formula.gif" border="0" alt="[Pontiac]" /> <img src="graemlins/corvette.gif" border="0" alt="[Corvette]" /> <img src="graemlins/z06.gif" border="0" alt="[Z06 Corvette]" />

 

Generally, with a fan switch to activate the 2nd fan sooner, vehicles run very close to stock temps with the FTRA installed. You can even improve things with a 160 stat if you want.

If you do not have the fan programming, the car will warm up quicker until the 2nd fan turns on and then cool right back down. It seems that the cooling system is up to the job on most vehicles in all but the most drastically hot weather. We have people running the kit in HA, CA, TX, FL even Saudi Arabia everyday with no cooling issues.

Of course, if you hit some wicked hot spell in the desert, well, the FTRA may just tax the stock system enough to cause things to overheat. As mentioned before the lower ram air plate can be removed if this happens in a few minutes.

Another option for you might be to order an extra ram air plate. You could drill holes in one for every day driving and keep the solid one for track use etc. Just a thought <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0">

 

Oooh, that's a pretty good idea Phillip.

It only gets up to an absolute max of 95F over here really.