Ram air
 

Does something like the Shaker ram-air system give a nice increase in HP? I don't hear people talking of it much.

Also, I know very little about cars...is it possible to have both ram air and a cold air intake working on the car at the same time?

thanks.

ram air is a myth the engine will only take in what it can suck in, unless its forced to by a blower or a turbocharger. So dont bother doing that if you think that you will gain power. a simple CAi would be better if you are looking ot lupgrade that part of your car.

Exactly what Spike said.It's a myth.

It is not a myth, it does work, but you have to get the car to go fast enough. You will make about 10 more hp at around 100 mph with ram air on these cars. You can't test it on a dyno, because you cant simulate the air flow. This fact and the fact that you don't get much improvement is why you don't hear much about it. So myth? not quite. Work well? Not really.

You can get free ram air and see for yourself.

If you have a CAI on your car that does NOT go to the fender well, simply pull out the right headlight. As you drive, you now have a free ram air.

This has been well documented at the track to result in whopping 1 mph improvement in trap time, thus, about 10 hp.

that doesnt prove anything. I bet the extra MPH comes from the motor getting alot cooler air from outside, not the being ramed in part. Do you really think the air is being rammed into the filter enough to make it have extra power? come on.

Its a myth plan and simple.

This has been gone over many times on other places.

It has been documented on cars with CAI's. In other words, take a car with a CAI, then remove the headlight and bingo, you add one lousy MPH.

Is the increase the result of ramming the air, or just getting more cooler air, who really cares? Either way, you are "ramming" the air into the front of the intake.

OK...I did some research and it would appear that Spike is correct!

If you consider ram air as a device which pushes more air into the engine, then these items are NOT functional. Simply put, they "work" by bringing in more cold air.

However, there is no legal term for the word "ram". Anyone can cut a few holes in a hood and call it "ram air". It is not a marketing term for "pushing in more air". They can use the term for anything that they want.

So, if you want to say that you bought a ram air device and it gained HP, you might be correct. But the HP gain is the result of cooler air not more air.

I stand partially corrected - LOL

I don't believe in the "ram air" effect but I think if you can lessen restriction from air getting in, you could see some minimal gains. The shaker kit as far as Im concerned, does nothing. The air has to change direction several times before it ever gets to the intake so any extra airflow is restricted anyway. I do think "ram air" is nothing but a marketing term.

ram jet engines is a real device. I believe this is where the term comes from originally.

**** what it does for performance the thing looks ****ing amazing

not sure about power gains but love the looks....

thanks for the responses...

But ram air does allow more air to be "shoved" to the engine. I mean thats what a supercharger does, too, just a lot more with a ton more pressure, right?

So it would seem to ME (someone with about zero car experience) that Ram air DOES work the way it says...but it does not yield enough pressure to see huge gains (and thus we say "it doesn't work"). But think about it...if you were going 500 mph with some supercar, at that speed much air would be getting shoved to the engine, and you probably would see some gains (though I dunno how much %age-wise).

Someone said ram-air has to bend around alot to get into the engine, but is the same not true for CAI? (I'm not trying to be sarcastic...I really don't know.)

I think mustang ram air kits would be more effective if they had a filter right inside the scoop and then connected straight to the TB/Plenum, intead of going the extra 5 feet of getting to the intake and then back.

A turbo or supercharger is compressing the air alot and forcing it into the motor, it has no choice but to suck it in. without a blower the motor will only take in what it can suck in on its own, basicly no ram air is a myth. The extra power from removing the headlight comes from like i said the cooler more dense air going to the filter not ramming itself into the engine. think about it this way. you can only suck in so much air when you breath in correct? when you run do you suck in more? no. But if i had a leaf blower in your mouth you would. Its the same thing in the engines case. It only takes in what it can.

Yes i win :D

j/k.

As long as your happy.

the only reason you don't suck in more air when you run is because the the "backpressure" of your diaphragm...ie, you basically exert enough force to counterbalance.

true, if you stuck a leaf blower at my mouth you could shove in more air. In that case my diaphragm would be too weak to exert an equal and opposite force. And more air would get in.

But in an engine, is there a device which prevents more air (in any amount--even insignificant amounts) from getting in?

I just say this becuase I still don't think ram air is a "myth".....just inefficient. Not as powerful as a blower.

Just put a high flow filter in the stock filter box and remove the silencer tube and call it a day.

Its a myth the motor can only suck in as much volume as the area where the piston moves down to create that space, in a situation where you are using forced induction it crams more into the motor thats why it is called boost. when you are N/a you get vaccum from the motor sucking in air, when you have F/I you have boost which is positive pressure from the power adder pushing way more than normal amounts of air in.

all in all like i siad there is no ram air, unless a power adder is compressing it and pushing it in.

Sorry.