ram-air Vs. cowl induction...?

[Mr Bravada]

Now this is something that has been puzzling my brother and I for a while now, what are the pros and cons of each. Because each of us are looking at a new hood coming up in spring, but wonder which.
Ram-air namely the SS from cervinis seem as though they would let a lot of water in to your engine bay...wouldn't this be bad? For those that have them do your engines get that dirty, i have a pretty clean engine but i also really have to clean it after break-up in the spring and dust it every now and then...
Cowl inductions are pretty self-explanatory but i was just hoping everyone would weigh in on this because i noted that a lot have the ram-air

[T Man]

cowl induction on a newer engine is not gonna net you any kind of preformance gain. the air intake is too far back. for someone like myself with an air filter on top, it will be beneficial. ram air is what you are gonna want to go with for a preformance gain. looks: itis up to you. if i am not mistaken, the cervini ss hoods actually route the air down to the stock airbox via ducting built into the hood. you arnet gonna see that much more water in your engine bay than you would say you went with a cowl hood

[blazen]

a cowl will lower the under hood temps. not that you will see much of a performance gain but it wont hurt. and I have allways wondered that about ram air hoods how much water gets in there.

[ZR1-S10]

I'd go with the ram-air hood, I think they look better on s-series. Some ram-air hoods don't have the routing to the airbox, however I pretty sure the Cervinis hood does.

[T Man]

they look better on the seccond gens. first gens still cant be beat with a 1 or 2 inch cowl hood

[blazen]

i agree with t man first gen cowl second gen ram air

[Maximus]

I think a cowl hood looks best on the boxed look of the first gen.And the curves of a second gen look good with the curvy SS style hood.Just my opinion.Either one look good though.

[Mr Bravada]

yes i agree with the statement of 2nd gens with ram-air...but what i am wondering how much dust/water gets in there with one....and does the cervini have air ducting to route air for a performance gain??

[OBI WAN]

Just remember, ram air does not do a thing really that cant be done other ways until it gets over 90 mph. Tests were done years ago to prove when a ram air hood makes power and it took until 90 mph before the engine went into some detectable boost amount. Now as to a ducted one, yes it adds a tad of performance since it getting 100% of the outside air versus much hotter underhood air. This one could be solved by ducting the air box, so!! Personally I wouldnt go ran air!!That water scenerio does bring back days when I ran a much larger hood scoop under a dual quad and I remember those rainy days!!!!

[Mr Bravada]

i agree with the master...i like the way that they look but with all of the electronics under our hoods i think that the water just sounds like it could be a hassle...so i am leaning to the goodmark hood...the 2nd style...but its gonna be like 2-3 months so we'll see if something new comes out!...lol, yea right

[Maximus]

Well I went and double checked my TA,it is ramair and the factory box has a hole at the bottom of the lid to let water and moisture out.Also I will add this no longer than I have had the TA ive had the K&N filter out twice to clean it for what it's worth.I would say that it really only needed to be cleaned once but im anal like that.I don't know what paper filters would be like but be honest who keeps paper very long.Mine already had the K&N in though.Now my last Z28 I had wasn't ramair and I have notice that on hot days the TA doesn't really change in performance but the Z would.I did have a top of the line cold air lid for the Z but the ramair is noticeably better.That's one take on ramair not for a S10 which is totally different aerodynamically of course but the theory of operation is the same.I don't however think that the factory ramair on mine or any Fbody makes any boost unless at a high rate of speed.It's just not at the right place of the hood for one and it isn't sealed good enough to hold boost from pressure.Well ive rambled on long enough.

[T Man]

but it looks so **** cool on those cars, who cares of it works

[Blazer69]

i want a new hood...:( i need more money damnit....lol

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

A cowl induction hood may not directly increase performance, but it won't hurt. If the cowl is functional it will act as a heat escape. With the stock hood, outside air comes in through the front -- either through the various openings in the core support or through the grille and the radiator. The air coming through the other various openings is close to ambient, but the air coming through the grille/radiator is pretty hot due to heat transfer from the radiator. The air has nowhere to go but down through the bottom of the engine bay or into the intake. The air moving downward isn't actively moving that way -- it's just forced that way from the pressure of the incoming air. However, the air going into the intake IS actively moving that way -- it's being sucked in -- so, the hot air from the engine compartment is more likely to go into the intake than out the bottom. On average, the temp of the air going into your intake is going to be a bit higher than ambient. CAI notwithstanding -- the heatshield of the K&N isn't sealed well enough, so it still lets some of that hot engine-bay air into the intake, and the other CAIs on the market are about the same unless you've routed some piping OUTSIDE the engine bay.

With a cowl hood where the cowl is functional, the air rushes in through the front, and is pushed out the back (through the cowl) -- taking the engine heat with it. Cowl hoods lower underhood temps by at least 20 degrees in most cases -- which in turn (with the way the intake on these trucks is set up) lowers the intake temps as well. And, for every 10 degrees you lower your intake air temp you gain 1 hp or so.

Rain and snow can present problems -- they will come into the engine bay through the cowl. This can be remedied -- I haven't looked into how to do so, but "where there's a will, there's a way" -- I've seen some people use foam filters for this. As long as the distributor and alternator don't get wet, it doesn't cause a problem.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

In case you haven't noticed, I've looked into cowl hoods a bit -- I am thinking of one myself. I don't drive it in rain or snow EVER, so it isn't much of an issue, but I'd still like to figure out how to block rain and snow from coming in WITHOUT inhibiting air flow.

Also, on a side note, the center of the hood (right where it meets up with the wiper cowl/windshield) is an area of high wind resistance. The wind/air passing over the brick wall -- um, I mean front end -- gets bottle-necked there and causes more wind drag, thus impeding forward momentum. With the cowl functional, that air has an escape outlet. At higher speeds, air is forced down into the cowl.

Well, in the post above I just said that air is forced out the back, and now I'm saying it's sucked into the engine bay from the same spot. Have I lost it?! Nope. It depends on the circumstance/speed. At lower speeds the air is pushed out the back -- usually under 50 mph or so (wind resistance isn't as high, and the pressure of the air being forced OUT the cowl is greater than the pressure of the air bottle-necking there). Above 50 mph (could be more or less -- might even be 60+ mph), the pressure of the air trying to come OUT of the cowl is less than the pressure of the air trying to go INTO it. The stream with the greater force wins. So, where does all this extra air flow go? The same two places: out the bottom or into the intake. The difference is that with TWO sources of outside air, the air in the engine bay is MUCH cooler that with a stock hood. And again, you've got cooler air going into your intake.

Plus, since the engine is being air-cooled by all this additional circulation, your cooling system works more efficiently.

There are multiple advantages to cowl hoods, and only one disadvantage (that I can see). Plus, they just look cool.

[ZR1-S10]

Arn't there some Ram-Air hoods that have a cowl opening? They have routing in the front to suck in outside air into the engine, and a opening in the rear to let out hot air. I'm not sure who but somebody makes a hood like that.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

Arn't there some Ram-Air hoods that have a cowl opening? They have routing in the front to suck in outside air into the engine, and a opening in the rear to let out hot air. I'm not sure who but somebody makes a hood like that.
Cervinis SS hoods are like that, I believe. They are as close to the best of both worlds as you can get.

[bvr775]

I've seen a steel one from goodmark on an s-10 with a functional intake, but i thinck you have to call them directly for a functional hood. I know there is at least one company that make a funtional fiberglass ram air hood. for the issue of water you can just run an open filter like what airraid makes. Put it on your stock air box and drill a a holle in your air box to take care of any water than comes in.

as for as looks go I've had some bad dealling with fiberglass hoods in the past so It's either metal or no hood for me. outher than the 25-40 extra pounds i really perfer the sheet metal hoods. as for composite hoods, I have found a couple of plases that make the carbon fiber functional cowl hoods for the s-10s, but I don't know if you can paint carbon and get the paint to last, but if anyone want's to spend the 500 bux to reveiw the I'll give them a second look.

[Krazny]

If you want to prevent rain/snow from getting in there, add a baffle.
If done properly, it will prevent not slow the air from entering much, but the water/sno will hit it and not be injested into the engine compartment.

[Mr Bravada]

right on everyone, that really helped a bunch, as much as the weather up in alaska is kinda ghetto, I would rather have a little less air flow but a dry and cooler engine...

[LEADFOOT]

I have been wanting the goodmarks cowl hood for awhile. If you want to over come heat in the intake check out what I did. It gets hot in Fla. and I got tired of a hot intake sucking in hot air. Go here http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=950

[Maximus]

Here is pics of the opening on my TA.And one with the hood open to see the Ramair box.You would think GM would have put more thought in to it but they didn't.I gutted my box in side to let more air in.I also put a low restriction below from the airbox to the intake.If you are looking for the most cold air I would say go Ram Air.http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=566&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=567&stc=1

[bvr775]

nice engine.

you park outside at night right

[Maximus]

Hell no it is always in the garage.And guarded by a pitbull with rabies lol.Thanks for the compliment.Im gonna get a sound clip of my new exhaust up in a few days.It sounds mean as hell.

[20Xtreme02]

Saying the weather in Alaska is ghetto is an understatement!! ;)

I have been running my Goodmark Cowl Induction hood for three weeks now, in Oregon and Washington, where it has been raining a lot. I haven't gotten any water under the hood through the cowl opening in the back of the hood. The hood extends a lot further rearward than the stock hood and covers the cowl opening. That allows any water from on the hood to blow off into the HVAC cowl opening at the base of the windshield. The cowl opening in the hood is recessed and angled so that the only way water would get in there is if you sparyed water directly in there when washing the car or possibly with a strong tailwind while parked (haven't faced that situation yet). I haven't driven it in a torential downpour like you might get from a thunderstorm in the south, but even in that situation, the rain would have to be coming from behind you to get in the hood cowl opening.

I'm getting the hood and sport mirrors painted this week! :D

[Mr Bravada]

lol, yea its just cold right now.....its great for our underhood temps, but other than that its kinda lame. Thanks a lot 20xtreme02, thats exactly the kind of answer i was looking for, i have been leaning towards the Goodmark Cowl hood for a while now, but always wondered just how much water could seep in there through that opening..its great to see that i wouldn't be driving around with a wet distributor, thanks alot guys this thread turned out to be very informative

[LEADFOOT]

It answered all my questions too. I am looking forward to getting the cowl hood.

[LilYellowZQ8]

From all of the "Ram Air" style hoods like the SS or TA hoods that I've found, are not functional unless you fabricate the ducts to your airbox. The Cervinis SS hood doesn't have any holes to the rear of the hood to extract any heat and I am not sure about the TA style though. The Goodmark hood has the screen in the cowl towards the rear to allow heat to escape. But like the Cervinis hood, its not a functional "Ram Air" unless you make it that way.

[Maxx]

Rain and snow can present problems -- they will come into the engine bay through the cowl. This can be remedied -- I haven't looked into how to do so, but "where there's a will, there's a way" -- I've seen some people use foam filters for this. As long as the distributor and alternator don't get wet, it doesn't cause a problem.


One could get a filter wrap for a k&n intake. My brother uses one on his quad. He goes through some crazy **** and it keeps the water out.
You want a drycharger.
"K&N DryChargers are similar to PreChargers except they have been pre-treated to repel water. "
They also have foam wraps too.

http://www.knfilterchargers.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=57-3017-2
Drycharger wraps for the CAI are at bottom of this page, come in black, blue, red, and yellow.

http://knfilters.com/wraps.htm
http://knfilters.com/airforcewraps.htm

[Maximus]

With the design and placement of the throttle body on the vortec engine,it would take some work but you could still take a airbox off a Ram Air Fbody and make it work on a S10 style Ram Air hood.I had a link to a sight were a guy made a functional Ram Air hood using the Fbody air box.I have tried to find it but I can't but if I do I will post it for those who might be interested in it.It looked bad a** too.He made it look almost like a factory option.Again I will try and find it if it's still available.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

With the design and placement of the throttle body on the vortec engine,it would take some work but you could still take a airbox off a Ram Air Fbody and make it work on a S10 style Ram Air hood.I had a link to a sight were a guy made a functional Ram Air hood using the Fbody air box.I have tried to find it but I can't but if I do I will post it for those who might be interested in it.It looked bad a** too.He made it look almost like a factory option.Again I will try and find it if it's still available.
That's an idea I was looking into (but for a cowl induction hood) when I still had the Powerdyne. With the way the Wynjammer intake runs, it's a little more difficult to figure it out, but I'm still going to try. I actually need a HOOD first, but that's in the works. If nothing else, the benefits I've blabbered on about above still come into play, so it'll still amount to a hp gain (however minimal). A little flex-tubing does wonders, though.

[20Xtreme02]

I know this subject is about dead, but here's a couple of pictures of the intake portion of the cowl induction hood. (One of the Admins may have to re-size these.) You'll see that it extends enough to nearly cover the wipers. I tired to postion the car so the sun would illuminate the screen in the opening but it's too low in the sky at this time of year. I had hoped to show you how far recessed the intake screen is. I will look later this year and see if its worth attempting to draw air to the intake from the induction part of the hood. I'll have to fabricate an airbox or filter arraingement that would sit in the hood scoop and draw from the cowl area.

[20Xtreme02]

Looks like the pictures didn't upload. Any of you helpful Admins have any suggestions?

[Mr Bravada]

hey maximus, if you come across that link post it up, but i'll look for it as well later this week to see if I can come across it. That would be a pretty sweet looking set-up, because on the F-bodies they look hardcore! if that is an option (which it is now I guess) I would be leaning towards a Cervini's SS style.....

[T Man]

hey, i have my stylin customs mag here, anyone want me to look for hoods for their trucs?

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

Looks like the pictures didn't upload. Any of you helpful Admins have any suggestions?
Email them to me -- I'll do what I can to post 'em up.

[20Xtreme02]

Here's another attempt at getting the pictures to you guys. I think the file sizes were too big before.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

Pics -- revisited:

http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=612


http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=613

http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=614

[20Xtreme02]

Thanks, Supercharged!