Cold Air Intake

[bfay17]

I have a 70 c/20 that is getting a mid built carburated 350 and i was wondering if they make a cold air intake for carbed motors? If they do what would you guys suggest... Thanks

[matthufham]

hood scoop or have a long intake tube to the front of the engine compartment. i don't think that would work any better than a big filter on top because it'd be like using a straw to breathe.

[Gray Ghost]

There's an aftermarket setup but it costs over $300. I has a dual snorkel intake and two tubes that go down through the rad core. Sure clutters up the compartment though.

The coldest and most dense air comes up at the base of the windshield. Cowl induction hoods are usually the best solution. They also allow heat to escape the compartment which is also good for the motor. Course they cost over $500 shipped unless you can find a deal.

[thirdstreettito]

They have some.

http://www.spectreperformance.com/#CATALOG

[Andy4639]

Not a carb. setup but it works great on my TPI. 4" hole cut in support with a 90 and 2 couplings from Lowes and a tube from Pep boys with a 1990 caddy air box modified by me to use the coupling.

[neonlarry]

I think this is the one Gray Ghost is talking about:
http://www.ramairbox.com/

[LuckyHenriksen]

I like the whole idea of CAI but like you guys say, it clutters up the engine bay. I say just go with a KnN Extreme filter

[texanidiot25]

On my truck, the motor came with a third gen Camaro air cleaner:


One could run some tubing to the head light bucket area and pull air from there.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I agree with Texan... above that looks good. I know that my truck must run about 20% faster with ice-cold air in the morning and it always baffles me why performance guys always opt for warm air/open air-cleaners.
That looks like the ticket Tex. I'll be looking aroung for one of those.

[Gray Ghost]

Yep the Ram Air box is the one I was thinking of. That snorkel setup might be a bit restrictive but it would work for cold air.

Most of us opt for the big air cleaner for more air flow. Yeah it's not cold air but the more you have the better the carb will run up to a point. I thought about trying the K&N top but vetoed it when I saw the cost knowing that someday I would add TPI to the mix.

I like your setup Andy....are those Corvette Ram Horns?

[Andy4639]

I wished. I did some cleaning on them and got them pretty slick on the inside before having them coated which was about 20 years ago now. I did a cheap coating that a friend of mine in Denver NC started out using before it got big. Now he does all the Nascar stuff locally.

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by WorkinLonghorn

I agree with Texan... above that looks good. I know that my truck must run about 20% faster with ice-cold air in the morning and it always baffles me why performance guys always opt for warm air/open air-cleaners.
That looks like the ticket Tex. I'll be looking aroung for one of those.

With a cowl hood it works as a cold air intake. But with out, your just sucking in 200-300 degree hot air from the top of the motor. While arguably good for fuel mileage, not the best for performance.

A "Snorkal" wouldn't be restictive if used right. You could use a DIY cold air kit that comes with stainless steel pipes and rubber/SS elbows. This would be a nice looking piece when welded up. It would flow no worse than when pulling air through the normal opening in an old school OE air cleaner. Which often times, isn't too bad. Or with a hammer, plenty big Or do like Andy did, and adapt a stock intake.

Big air filters wouldn't make up for cold air. Sure more air can pass the filter, but your still limited how much air actually makes it through the carb. Optimizing that air (colder the denser the fuel mix can be) is much more important than volume coming to it... in my opinion at least. Just my theory, but I don't race or build engines for a living so I could be wrong.

[Gray Ghost]

You're right and I know that cold air is much better. That said, an open element cleaner like I have is ten times better than a stock snorkel cleaner.

If the snorkel were piped from the grill area that would certainly change the equation and I have no idea if that would surpass the open element or not.

As far as snorkels go the ram air setup is king but that's some big ass pipe running through the engine bay.

A cold air box cowl induction beats all takers [carb wise anyway] but it's expensive to set one up.

[bfay17]

Thanks for all the input guys.. and i do have to say that a cowl hood has been on my mind but then there is the question of a 2" cowl or a 4"... i think the 2" would look good and i could also use a newer style cleaner on top of the carb with a ram air setup as well. I will have to look around the forum more and see what looks best. Thanks again

[Gray Ghost]

As you are looking try and search cold air box on the web....you never know you might find a nice setup on the cheap on ebay. Basically that setup seals the carb intake to the cowl hood and you get the densest coldest air that's available.

[Andy4639]

If your going to a cowl hood make a box off the bottom of the hood that will inclose the carb when you shut the hood. This is what the shaker hood did on the road runners and such cars.

Just some idea's for yea!





Looking at this picture and seeing the metal attached to the hood you could cut a hole for the cleaner and have it forced feed cold air.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I read somewhere a long time ago (Hotrod) that car makers started putting hood scoops on there cars (facing front) basically to look good but in actual fact that was probably the worst place for it since the air hitting the front of the car would be steaming OVER the hood scoop and actually causing a low pressure area right where the scoop was. When they did tests they found that at the base of the windshield/hood area was a higher pressure area,thus the cowl hood scoop arrangement.
However,I am guessing that the pressure there would not be significant until very high speeds are reached,but I could be wrong.
The stock air cleaner snorkel on our trucks seems pretty restrictive for some reason (maybe it promotes low end torque??) I can feel more power when I flip the cleaner lid over so air bypasses this. But it does stick out pretty far to the front and just may pick up a mixture of cold and radiator heated air.Maybe a compromise with mileage in mind.
I tend to believe that the engineers had solid reasons for their designs. But for strictly power considerations I'll go with the cold air intake with a larger than stock air cleaner opening similar to what Texan... has,plumbed to the front.

[bfay17]

Yea im thinking the cowl now with a large air cleaner and possibly a set up like they have on the 88-98 chev trucks. the air cleaner with ram air tube running to the fender... Would you think that this would work?

[WorkinLonghorn]

That's what I'm thinking, although I don't expect much ram air effect at my speeds.

[bfay17]

haha very true i wont prolly see much effects from it ether!!! but hey i like the look and have all the stuff at my disposal

[lowriden58]

this is my setup.. no cold air intake but sure does "suck" some air in

[Camper Power]

this is my kinda cold air intake!!! im guessing in the reason for the factory snorkel air cleaner is to keep mud and water away from the filter

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by Andy4639

If your going to a cowl hood make a box off the bottom of the hood that will inclose the carb when you shut the hood. This is what the shaker hood did on the road runners and such cars.

Just some idea's for yea!





Looking at this picture and seeing the metal attached to the hood you could cut a hole for the cleaner and have it forced feed cold air.

Only issue I've ever seen with sealing the intake area to the hood is when it rains. My dad had a scoop on his old '74 Camaro. For dry weather and racing the air cleaner was sealed to the hood for obvious reasons. But when it rained, he had a block-off plate for the scoop and swapped out the air filter and sealing plate so it would breath under the hood. One day, thanks to Houston weather, it started pouring unexpectedly. The car was pullin' air from the hood, so he had to pull over. Since he hadn't planned on the rain, he could only toss the scoop cover on, leaving the intake sealed against the hood. Every time he stepped on the gas, that bored over 396 would pull the hood down an inch or so trying to suck air.

I read somewhere a long time ago (Hotrod) that car makers started putting hood scoops on there cars (facing front) basically to look good but in actual fact that was probably the worst place for it since the air hitting the front of the car would be steaming OVER the hood scoop and actually causing a low pressure area right where the scoop was. When they did tests they found that at the base of the windshield/hood area was a higher pressure area,thus the cowl hood scoop arrangement.
However,I am guessing that the pressure there would not be significant until very high speeds are reached,but I could be wrong.
.

Depends on placement. Like the scoop on the GT mustangs (is also blocked) is a prime example of the placement being wrong. But notice cars that do actually pull air from a forward scoop (Think Ferrari's, Corvette Z06, The late model Trans-Am's ram air scoop) are very low down on the hood, close to the nose. Lots of high pressure breaking over the nose of the car, and the Ram-air effect of being up front. Aerodynamics, in my studying, is such a tricky thing it's hard to say from car to car. But it's said aerodynamics starts to come in play at about 30-40+ MPH.

YouTube - Truck bed test, open bed

< Thats a video I made that's a flow illustration of a '69 C10. It's a very basic representation of an aerodynamic test...

Anyways, in my eyes, a sealed off cown induction and a cold air kit piped to the grille area would be the best for performance.

The debate about fuel mileage, is on going...

[Andy4639]

In this picture you can see the 4" hole beside the drivers side head light. This is the cold air inlet.

I have the internal alternator so I drilled the support where the old external regulator should be. I made the cover peice between the grille shell and the radiator support to force more air threw the radiator and the opening for the cold air intake.