Quote:
Originally Posted by Longshot270
That is a good observation. One thing that is recommended for people with CAIs are the canned tow tunes. They are written with a richer A/F ratio and it helps counter act the lean effects.
I bolded the part that I usually find important. Air is a fluid and fluid dynamics is a tricky subject.
I usually go fishing to waste time...but whatever floats your boat.  |
When I read the OP, the combination of the Edge and CAI caught my eye while I was still on the first sentence, and I was actually surprised that nobody else mentioned it.
I understand fluid dynamics, but not to the point that I can confidently speak on it. You are definitely right about air being a fluid and it being tricky. I have searched a little today and I can't seem to find an article that I read on Banks Power, specifically addressing air being a fluid, but here a chunk borrowed from one of their articles:
Quote:
Courtesy of BANKS POWER:
In the confines of a stock motorhome or truck, your gas or diesel engine’s inherent power is limited by factory restrictions in the intake and exhaust. With your engine starved for air, a tremendous amount of power traveling through the power-train is unnecessarily wasted before it gets to where it matters—your vehicle’s rear wheels. Airflow restrictions make poor engine efficiency, which soaks up fuel, runs a hot exhaust, compromises performance and shortens engine life.
How airflow restrictions waste power
* Intake restrictions cause engine to labor (“pumping losses”)
* Exhaust backpressure generates a tremendous engine heat-load
* Power is robbed from the crankshaft to expel exhaust
* Cooling fan runs often, wasting power and making the cab noisy
* Hot, overworked lubricants degrade faster and increase friction
* Gasoline-vehicle makers mask poor-airflow problems (eg. detonation) with overly-rich fuel
* Excess fuel is wasted, worsening mileage and emissions
* Inadequate airflow chokes engine’s potential
Think of an engine as an air pump that produces power. To run it, fuel is needed. In a typical stock vehicle, a gasoline engine produces only about 250 horsepower for every 1,000-horsepower’s worth of fuel put in. Diesel engines are more efficient—they put out about 320 horsepower for every 1000 in, only wasting 68%—still leaving lots of room for improvement!
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Hampsterzone, you discussed backpressure in one of your earlier posts. As you notice, backpressure actually creates heat excess heat in the engine acting as a "parasitic loss" in power.
As for the time wasting that I did this morning, I was trying to do some calculations in regards to engine CFM airflow requirements in comparison to the ability of air systems to move them, but unfortunately I was unable to find the capability of the stock air system. But just for
and
, the max CFM flow of the 5.4L 3V engine at 5500 RPM is 628 based on the calculator that I have.
I would have gone fishing, except for a few things...its was only about 3:30am when I started the post, around 5:00am when I finished it and I'm pretty sure you can't get your line wet until first light. It was about 25 degrees outside and the closest place to go fishing is a
GOOD hour plus away. The only reason that I was still up was my daughter had late start at school and I had to take her so my wife could go to work.
This discussion has been great and I only hope that we can keep the information flowing. If I find the article of air as fluid, I will definitely pass it on.