The KingCon Ram-Air Mod.

[Longshot270]

Originally Posted by kingcon41

So I took a different approach at engineering a CAI. First off let me say that I bought a K&N CAI when I first bought the truck thinking that it would make a world of difference, save me money on gas, and increase power. After the installation I noticed a decrease in power and after the first tank of gas the mileage was worse. I spent over $200 bones on this P.O.S. Long story short I recently figured out how to use my CS Programmer and the available live feeds. I used the IAT setting on the CS and quickly found out that my "K&N CAI" was actually more like a hot air intake. It was always at least 10 degs hotter than the outside air temp. When at a stoplight, it would spike to almost 30 degs above outside air temp. So I started doing some research...and found this feed.
After doing some research and seeing the "gotts mod" I had an idea in my head and went to Lowe's and did some shopping. What I ended up creating was a CAI/Ram Air Intake. Long story short I took a 3" 90deg elbow and attached it to the stock intake tube with a rubber coupler. From the 90 I took some 4" cheap drier duct and "snaked" it to the bottom of the front bumper and attached a 3"x8"x4" collector. It cost $30 and took me 1 hr to install.
I just got back from the initial test drive and wow!!! Before the "kingcon mod" with the K&N CAI the live MPG PID was reading 17-18mpg on the highway...after the mod it was reading 21-23mpg. In addition the IAT was the same as the outdoor temp on the highway. At stoplights it would slightly increase to 5-10degs above outside temp and would go back down once I got going. In addition, using my "*** dyno" the power off the line was improved over the K&N.
Like I said this is a crude cheap design, but the results so far are above my personal expectations. I will post additional info in regard to MPG's when I fill up and can do that test. Also, when I can get a camera, I will take and upload pics of the mod.
Happy Engineering!!!

Pics please

Oh and did you engineer some way for water to come out if you drive through a rainstorm?

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by Longshot270

Pics please

Oh and did you engineer some way for water to come out if you drive through a rainstorm?

One of these days I'll have to post up some pics of the sport trac's stock intake....its a ram air from the grill area ......

[kingcon41]

Here are some pics of the "kingcon" mod I did. The mod looks crude at the moment and is going through the "test" stage. Ha. There will be some refinement and touching up in the near future.
To answer the question about rain...I think it will be ok considering it is a vertical tube. On that subject it got me to thinking about it, I am going to do another mod to this build and implement a secondary intake air source just in case the truck is submerged up to the point of the intake collector. Highly unlikely but who knows. I will have another post when that mod is completed.
Also I have a question about the stock intake. I want to cut the resonators off, but have heard mixed opinions about doing that. Im not worried about the "whistle" just performance. So if there is anyone who has an opinion in regard to this, please let me know. Until then...Happy Engineering.

[Jackpine]

kingcon41 - That's nice work, BUT (Don't you hate that word? I know I do, but here's my concerns, and I'm an engineer, so I'm looking at this from that standpoint.)

First, putting the intake low and unshielded means water will easily be thrown in there, possibly by other vehicles ahead of you in a heavy rainstorm. I know there is a pretty good vertical rise from the inlet, but I think with the flow velocity at running RPMs you really risk pulling that water into the engine. It would probably destroy it.

Second, even if it is dry, that "scoop" is going to pull all sorts of crud up into the air filter, since it's down low where it will suck it all up. The filter will protect your engine in this case, but it will probably get clogged up much sooner. As an aside - I used to fly the A-37B attack jet in the Air Force. The inlets for the engines were so low, we had screens that came up and covered them during ground operations, to keep junk out that would destroy the compressor blades. I think you risk the same kind of damage here, since that inlet is wide open.

Third, you are not really going to get much of a "ram" effect unless you are at highway (70+mph) speeds. Even then, I don't think the "ram" effect is that significant. Bill posted on this several months ago, and said something quite similar.

So, my advice to you is to route that intake out into the fender well. It is protected there, very little chance of bad stuff being sucked up into the engine and it is away from engine heat. If you can find another place that has the same properties, that's fine too. And, you could even increase the hole in the fender wall if you wanted to run a bigger pipe into it. But, the smallest diameter of your intake system is the real "choke point". Putting a bigger tube before or after that segment will have little effect. The stock tube has a minimum diameter of about 3 inches. I think you really just want to extend that into a "cool intake area" that is protected.

And finally, I would NOT cut off the resonators. They may actually help smooth the airflow into the engine (increasing it) by eliminating pressure waves that can interfere with the flow you are wanting to increase. I know, many people think they look funny, but if you get "drone" after cutting them off, I can almost guarantee you have hurt the airflow into your engine.

These are just my thoughts, of course. Please don't think these ideas are "gospel". As always, I welcome any opposing views.

- Jack

[Longshot270]

Page 2 effectively solves your issue of sucking up water. That member used a 3 way connector.

[Project Pat]

Ok so after catching the cliff notes of this entire thread, Has anyone come up with a decent example for the 4.6 engines? Heading home soon and would love to try and get this mod done if its feasable..

[Longshot270]

Yeah, I have one. I've actually trimmed the PVC part down to only be around an inch thick, just enough to get the rubber lip onto it so it doesn't slide down.

http://forum.gopowerhungry.com/2004-...html#post19554

[jmwilso2]

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

kingcon41 - That's nice work, BUT (Don't you hate that word? I know I do, but here's my concerns, and I'm an engineer, so I'm looking at this from that standpoint.)

First, putting the intake low and unshielded means water will easily be thrown in there, possibly by other vehicles ahead of you in a heavy rainstorm. I know there is a pretty good vertical rise from the inlet, but I think with the flow velocity at running RPMs you really risk pulling that water into the engine. It would probably destroy it.

Second, even if it is dry, that "scoop" is going to pull all sorts of crud up into the air filter, since it's down low where it will suck it all up. The filter will protect your engine in this case, but it will probably get clogged up much sooner. As an aside - I used to fly the A-37B attack jet in the Air Force. The inlets for the engines were so low, we had screens that came up and covered them during ground operations, to keep junk out that would destroy the compressor blades. I think you risk the same kind of damage here, since that inlet is wide open.

Third, you are not really going to get much of a "ram" effect unless you are at highway (70+mph) speeds. Even then, I don't think the "ram" effect is that significant. Bill posted on this several months ago, and said something quite similar.

So, my advice to you is to route that intake out into the fender well. It is protected there, very little chance of bad stuff being sucked up into the engine and it is away from engine heat. If you can find another place that has the same properties, that's fine too. And, you could even increase the hole in the fender wall if you wanted to run a bigger pipe into it. But, the smallest diameter of your intake system is the real "choke point". Putting a bigger tube before or after that segment will have little effect. The stock tube has a minimum diameter of about 3 inches. I think you really just want to extend that into a "cool intake area" that is protected.

And finally, I would NOT cut off the resonators. They may actually help smooth the airflow into the engine (increasing it) by eliminating pressure waves that can interfere with the flow you are wanting to increase. I know, many people think they look funny, but if you get "drone" after cutting them off, I can almost guarantee you have hurt the airflow into your engine.

These are just my thoughts, of course. Please don't think these ideas are "gospel". As always, I welcome any opposing views.

- Jack

I dont have nearly the experience Jack does but I fly for a living and have some engineering experience and I'll second all of the above. Even with the 3 way connector there is still going to be a pile of airflow going up that tube which could carry water with it. Pressure differential isnt the issue. Its the fact the air and water are moving fast, rain will fall side ways and even upwards of the wind is blowing hard enough and in the right terrain. And the 3 way definitely doesnt solve the dirty filter issue.

Joe

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by jmwilso2

I dont have nearly the experience Jack does but I fly for a living and have some engineering experience and I'll second all of the above. Even with the 3 way connector there is still going to be a pile of airflow going up that tube which could carry water with it. Pressure differential isnt the issue. Its the fact the air and water are moving fast, rain will fall side ways and even upwards of the wind is blowing hard enough and in the right terrain. And the 3 way definitely doesnt solve the dirty filter issue.

Joe

Joe, my thoughts exactly! But, here in Tucson, we have many dips in the road that fill with water if it rains (admittedly rarely). The "low down" intake without a vacuum break (provided by the "Y" in the reference Longshot posted) would guarantee water into the cylinders.

Now, with the vacuum break, the water would probably not be sucked up at city speeds. But, you hit a big puddle at highway speeds (or the vehicle in front does) and you have big water drops at high velocity going into that intake. I'm not confident that they won't find their way into the engine. Personally, I think a "ram" intake needs to be on top of the hood.

Even then, I'd want some kind of water separator. It's possible, as you probably know, to "drown" a jet engine in a heavy rainstorm. A recip would just be destroyed.

- Jack

[ticopowell]

I had the 3-way connector in mine, but I ended up taking the "ram-air" out after a while, I didnt notice any difference without it at all. I did notice that my filter didnt get bugs stuck in it, but the filter sure needed to be cleaned after 10,000 miles of the ram-air. That filter is for sale actually, it is a drop-in K&N, it seemed to flow better than the regular filter, and with the K&N i noticed that the truck responded a lot quicker to throttle inputs.
just my 2 cents on the subject