Bartman Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 What if I welded in a piece of angle iron below the air box(the same location as the temporary piece of wood, but extending across the entire engine bay). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 What if I welded in a piece of angle iron below the air box(the same location as the temporary piece of wood, but extending across the entire engine bay). Angle iron has very little torsional strength. Tubular structures are stronger then structures made out of flat or angle stock. The top of the core support is a tubular structure so you should replace it with a similar design and the higher you attach the replacement piece the more it will get back the strength that's missing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Just throwing out some ideas here... John, what about something like nixcars did, but with the top brace under his filter box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 That should work just fine although I would like to see how the aluminum structure is attached to the steel body. Bolts are OK, structural adhesives and rivets would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 6, 2006 Author Share Posted January 6, 2006 Angle iron has very little torsional strength. Tubular structures are stronger then structures made out of flat or angle stock. The top of the core support is a tubular structure so you should replace it with a similar design and the higher you attach the replacement piece the more it will get back the strength that's missing now.I'm picking up some 1 x 2 rectangular steel tubing today, and I'll work on a new brace this weekend. I'm still thinking of starting at the same location that my temporary wood brace was sitting and then maybe adding a vertical piece on each end to make a big "H" connecting the top and bottom of the radiator support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Good info here. I still need to finish off the front of my core support (Removed mine and tilted the radiator forward at the top, but may end up re-doing that whole section. You guys are making me think! Keep the comments coming... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Alright here's the new radiator support I fabricated out of 16 gauge 1 x 2 rectangular tubing. It's just tacked in place for now. So...do you think I have enough support now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 maybe I missed something... but the back side of the airbox needs to seal tightly against the underside of the hood to provide proper air flow... If air travels across the filter into the engine compartment you may actually induce slight vacuum.. or turbulent pulsing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 8, 2006 Author Share Posted January 8, 2006 maybe I missed something... but the back side of the airbox needs to seal tightly against the underside of the hood to provide proper air flow... If air travels across the filter into the engine compartment you may actually induce slight vacuum.. or turbulent pulsing.. The plan is to install closed cell foam along the back and sides of the airbox to seal against the hood...I just haven't gotten to that yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 That should work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 28, 2006 Author Share Posted January 28, 2006 I finished welding in my additional radiator support and installed the closed cell foam I bought. Here's a pic with the foam that will seal on the hood: There's only about an inch between the top and the filter at the front (both sides aren't the same because the engine is offset to the passenger's side). I'm thinking this will still be plenty big enough, especially since it is a high pressure area. Does anyone think I need to somehow improve the air flow? I'm thinking of not doing any scoop whatsoever. Here's a pic of the system installed: It seals up great with the hood, and all in all I'm very happy with the new setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Have you noticed any performance gains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Now dont quote me on this but I think ram air only has an effect on engine performance on speeds close to or above 100MPH...thats what I have heard/read. Anyone know for sure? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Yes Guy thats what i read and been told too. DONT get me wrong, i think this is awesome, i even saved the pics to show my f-body friends because i think its badass. but wouldnt it been easier and prob add more power to just run a Y pipe and put 2 air filters out in front where the the 2 holes are in the core support? mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 29, 2006 Author Share Posted January 29, 2006 From the factory these ram air systems advertised to add around 15 hp. I don't know what I may have gained, but the previous system was pretty good already. I do think this system is more efficient than the previous system (less turns, more direct, better flow for radiator, etc.). I did this change for several reasons, mainly to clean up the air flow, make more room for the AC system, and finally to put my unique stamp on the engine. There are many options, but this is the one I chose to use for my install; and I like it. I've also wanted to do something that from as far as I know...hasn't been done before. If others choose to do this or something similar that's still cool, I still feel good that I came up with this idea and it works well on my application. To know if I really gained any performance advantage I would've had to have done extensive testing before and after that I didn't do...but as part of this change I also added a compressor. BTW - I drove it around last night...and it felt like I added around 50 hp to the rear wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Oh by all means I think its awesome! I was just stating that its really only functional at very high speeds. It will still serve as a cold air intake though which is always good. I wanted to do the same thing but I didnt want to cut up my radiator support because everyone said that its a very important part of the structure of the car. I could have done what you did and just at a new support after it was done but I guess I just got lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here's a thread that talks about the potential gains from Ram Air. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=73396 My system should have the benefit of 'Ram Air' since the opening is in a high pressure area; but the actual performance gains could be very small if any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8260 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 nice thats clean. keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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