Anyone with Custom CAI w/ RAM AIR pickup, questions within

[criticman]

Okay...so i have a basic CAI with the conical filter in the fenderwell. I am going to build a custom RAM AIR setup to pull cooler air from the bumper slits in the front of the car (where the GT Fog lights would normally be).

I figure I can piece things together for this on my own by going to Lowes or Home Depot...but I was wondering if anyone has already done this and if so, what advice do you have?

I figure I need the following:
-Air Box around the conical filter in the fenderwell w/ inlet for ducting
-Ducting, smoothest possible, from the custom air box down to the lower front part of the bumper
-"Mouth" to connect to the ducting that can somehow be mounted in the bumper slits

Any pointers would be appreciated...

Oh, and I think MARCH or MAC makes a setup like this, but I believe it was about $100 so the $15-20 at a hardware store and a little effort is worth it to me.

 

[Daggar]

If you can put some sort of "screen" over or inside of your inlets it'll help to keep the larger chunks (leaves etc..) out of your air box. If you don't want to do that then you might want to look at Kenne Bell's air box and design. It has a self cleanout feature designed to let the big stuff go right through. Personally, I think ram air is a waste of time. I installed the March ram air kit a few years ago and got tired of having to clean the dirt, bugs, leaves, and crap out of the air box every couple of weeks. All was not lost however. I took that silly scoop off of the bottom of the car and just left it sucking in air from the front side bottom of the fender well. Works great, last long time Joe! I get what you're trying to do though with the already exhisting holes in your front valance. It should be sweet when you're done although it won't net you any HP. The cleanout or screens should be a consideration though. All of that junk flying around the air box makes for the filter needig to be cleaned allot more often than usual.

 

[NYC LSC]

Yeah, what Daggar said. I have the March kit and yanked the hose off the box, because the amount of crap that was inside it - and how quickly the filter got dirty - was getting on my nerves.

Good luck with the project.

 

[criticman]

Good point about the debris...

Hmm, I think I will just make a plate to further isolate the air intake filter from the engine bay...should be able to attach something to the stock airbox bolts...

Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

 

[N8Miller]

how about this.....
install a typical cold air intake. run a 4" dryer tube down to thebumper and have your "suck up" thing or what every they call it. BUT, in this put some soft of fine mesh over the front of it, or just inside of it. that way, it will trap your debris, but allow a ton of air still. shouldnt cost ya more than $20 total.

problem with CAI, it doesnt do much but look pretty. problem with MARCH ram air.... its ugly. put them together and you have a winner.

 

[criticman]

how about this.....
install a typical cold air intake. run a 4" dryer tube down to thebumper and have your "suck up" thing or what every they call it. BUT, in this put some soft of fine mesh over the front of it, or just inside of it. that way, it will trap your debris, but allow a ton of air still. shouldnt cost ya more than $20 total.

problem with CAI, it doesnt do much but look pretty. problem with MARCH ram air.... its ugly. put them together and you have a winner.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking pretty much...just dryer tube is ribbed, isn't it?

I have a "typical" CAI off of eBay on there now...so other than the tube and the "collector," I am set...still not sure what I will do.

 

[Michael Yount]

Of course if you want to move ahead with your project go for it. But....

The air in front of the car won't be significantly cooler than the air in the fenderwell. As for the ram effect - with as many bends as you're gonna have in the inlet piping, I doubt you'll get any significant ram effect until you reach speeds upwards of 80-100 mph.

Just didn't want you to go through all that trouble and expect big changes power-wise.

 

[criticman]

Of course if you want to move ahead with your project go for it. But....

The air in front of the car won't be significantly cooler than the air in the fenderwell. As for the ram effect - with as many bends as you're gonna have in the inlet piping, I doubt you'll get any significant ram effect until you reach speeds upwards of 80-100 mph.

Just didn't want you to go through all that trouble and expect big changes power-wise.

Yeah, was mostly looking for something creative to do on a very limited budget until I get my funds back up to actually get back to doing real work on the car.

 

[04sleeper]

I did that on my 88 when I first got it in 1990 and instead of calling it Ram-Air I renamed it Ram-Dirt. It would get the filter dirty in a minute. I would find all kinds of things in there and enough sand to build a beach. So needless to say I unhooked it.