I got this crazy idea.
I know that the TranAM hoods have those grills/vents in the front that are actually somewhat functional as far as cooling goes. Anyway, after looking at the metal around the openings, it looks as if the sheetmetal underneath the grill can be cut so that air is directed into the engine compartment more directly. Now, the vents are conveniently located close to the TB. I have a 305 TPI and was thinking that if I can mount some kind of flange/deflector to direct the air into the TB, and mounted a throttle-body-K&N air-filter, I could get some power. OR WOULD I LOSE POWER? Keeping in mind that the Pontiacs have that lame sideways air passage that draws from underneath the front bumper... would this "idea" be worth trying? Has anyone already done this? Comments, ideas, anything~



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Brian P.
'91 TransAM: 305TPI -=flowed=-

 

I did this mod for my '88 TA with 305 TBI. Check out my site at http://members.nbci.com/scauffiel/index.htm under the link for "Original Ram Air Hood." Anytime you are bringing in cool air it's going to be helpful. Every little bit counts.
By the way, that hood with the cut outs is for sale...

Steve

 

Cool page, awesome mod, kick-awesome documentation man... thanks, maybe i'll email you with questions and stuff!


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Brian P.
'91 TransAM: 305TPI -=flowed=-

 

Good luck!

Im moving this topic to the TPI section.

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-86 IROC
Vortech stuffed EFI 406 in progress
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

isn't this the TPI sectionor am I going cr4azy?
by the way, I did cut the matal under the grill to keep the engine cool.

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'88 GTA 350
Headers, catback, free mods, Xtreme energy cam, and intake pieces
13.51@104.27, but can run better as it is.

I just put a new 2100-2300 RPM TQ Converter. I hope a 13.20 or better

RAPTOR, the baddest bird on the planet
AIM HIGH!

 

DAMN, what is wrong with m3?

 

Maybe you could take the upper air cleaner (y-shaped piece) from a tpi camaro, turn it upside down and mount it to the core support. Put some foam on the bottom of the hood to seal it. Anyone know if it is the same width as the TA's hood vents?



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87 IROC-Z, 5.7, auto, 3.27, leather, !cat, Holley fpr, K&N'S, SLP 1-3/4" Jet-Hot coated headers, SLP .218/.224 .495/.502 cam, Comp 1.5 roller tip rockers, $uperPITAram, Edelbrock lower intake, Holley 52mm tb, Dynomax\Flowmaster catback. Coming Soon(?)- Fasttrack/Accell DFI

1989 Pontiac 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am - 160,000 miles, K&N filter

 

I was thinking abotu the camaro-intake retrofit idea, on my 305TPI. I've also seen a lot of those K&N throttle body mounted air filters... if I could direct the grill-air directly into or near the TB-mounted filter, I might be able to boost some intake power. I have a 3'' after-cat (not cat+back) Flow system and the rumble/high end torque is great. But I want some of that 1-2000RPM range power back!



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Brian P.
'91 TransAM: 305TPI -=flowed=-

 

I did this Ram Air Mod a while ago using a Intake scoop like the Camaros that attaches to the rubber TB boot, I'm using a circular foam filter right now - also there is a 1.25 inch gap between the top of the radiator and the hood where the open end of that intake scoop sits- secured by a strip of velcro- and the scoop is about 18 inches wide to cover the complete area behind the vent.

HERE ARE TWO PROBLEMS TO AVOID
1. Since I cut the entire backside of the hood I weakened the area behind the latch and caused a few dimples to occur on the centerline of the hood directly below the vents- If I was carefull to close the hood with two hands this may not have happen.

2. Must clean often- I check It weekly or If I feel a power loss- you'll feel a power loss if a small leaf gets sucked in- a good thing is that air has to travel through the vents and up over the radiator before going to the TB

Outside from that the power is incredible! It felt like at least 20-30 more HP across the board- and gas mileage went way up on the HWY- OK in the city.

If I had it to do over I wouldn't change a thing- for the power I got I'll gladly fix the minor problems

 

POST PICS.

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87 IROC-Z, 5.7, auto, 3.27, leather, !cat, Holley fpr, K&N'S, SLP 1-3/4" Jet-Hot coated headers, SLP .218/.224 .495/.502 cam, Comp 1.5 roller tip rockers, $uperPITAram, Edelbrock lower intake, Holley 52mm tb, Dynomax\Flowmaster catback. Coming Soon(?)- Fasttrack/Accell DFI

1989 Pontiac 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am - 160,000 miles, K&N filter

 

Kenn, you don't have any picture of this modification do ya'? Lemme make sure I understood what you told me. You got a camaro intake that goes from the TB and splits around the hood latch on the camaros. Then you cut this to stop over the radiator and funneled the air in from the hood grills using a circular (carb style?) air filter? You also mentioned that you felt a power-loss because of a leaf?... how sensitive is the air passage is a leaf is going to affect the performance that much? Do you have any other mods on the car? I have a stock 305TPI (205hp/285ft.lbs) with a 3'' flowmaster system... I'm doing this intake mod so I can "balance" out the ins and outs of the engine. If you could email me: pvkn1ght@hotmail.com with more detailed instructions, that would be awesome. Thanks bruh!

 

Kenn, you don't have any picture of this modification do ya'? Lemme make sure I understood what you told me. You got a camaro intake that goes from the TB and splits around the hood latch on the camaros. Then you cut this to stop over the radiator and funneled the air in from the hood grills using a circular (carb style?) air filter? You also mentioned that you felt a power-loss because of a leaf?... how sensitive is the air passage is a leaf is going to affect the performance that much? Do you have any other mods on the car? I have a stock 305TPI (205hp/285ft.lbs) with a 3'' flowmaster system... I'm doing this intake mod so I can "balance" out the ins and outs of the engine. If you could email me: pvkn1ght@hotmail.com with more detailed instructions, that would be awesome. Thanks bruh!

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Brian P.
'91 TransAM: 305TPI -=flowed=-

 

pvknight
the intake is like what you described- except I made one from scratch using strips of fiberglass and fiberglass resin- but either one should work. At the back of the air intake that slides into the rubber boot from the TB I placed a circular foam element

that foam element is parallel to the TB and is 3.5 in dia to match with the diameter of the scoop and if a leaf gets sucked onto it the cross-sectional area of that leaf is a major air obstruction- causes a slight power loss

My engine is very sensitive to changes in that intake scoop - In the begining I ran it open (no filter), and tried other filter elements like cotton, stocking material now foam and I noticed different power levels from each one- I'm still not satisfied that I found the best flowing/filtrating filter for what I have

I got
355 TPI, Edelbrock base runners, AFR 190 58cc, 1.6rr, LPE .525/219, 52 BBK TB, Edelbrock tes headers -dual 2.5in exhaust and H-pipe, 24lb inj 48psi, Tremec and 3.08 gears
and other suspension mods

this was one of the best mods I made so effective that on the highway my MAT reads the same as the outdoor temp - OK pics soon

 

The camaro air inlet where the filters are is a little wider than where the vents are on the TA. Its centerline is about 3" past the centerline of the vents on each side. I dont know if its what Kenn did, but I think you could cut the camaro air inlet where it hits the hood on the TA (right where it curves down) and take the air in by cutting slots in the hood rather than removing the entire section across there. This should prevent the hinge problem. I dunno what to do about a filter yet.

For those of you with camaros.... I had NO idea that inlet was so restrictive where it curves upward from the filters. I can barely get my fingers past the gap in there, so I wonder really how much better than the mail slot on the TA it is. Not sure if there is clearance from the hood on the camaro, but that has to be a restriction for sure, its not a good design at all.

 

Before you start calling this a "ram-air", you might want to consider this: to truly ram air into the inlet, you need to interrupt the air stream. The air, in this case, glides over the hood with virtually no interference until it hits the windshield. I think that if you placed a differential pressure transducer on the opening you would measure little, if any, difference in pressure on teh top versus bottom of the hood. This is, however, a "cold-air" induction. CAI is much more responsive than ram-air effect becuase cold air is more dense. Thus, the best name for this mod is the "cold-air" induction.

Since I have a hood scoop on my '84, I've actually made an aluminum and foam box that mates the carb to the scoop. I scuttled the original cold-airpieces and I can now see the wingnut of the air cleaner through the scoop fromthe driver's seat. I have a drainback hole cut in the box and rain has NOT shown to be a problem at all.



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Daniel Burk http://www.isthq.com/~dan/fcar.html
'84 Trans Am WS6/L69
KB SFC, Moser axles, Torsen Diff. PST suspension, Braided stainless brake lines, Koni struts, 11-inch rear disks,Spohn Adj. torque arm,
Ported 305 heads w/1.94"intake valves, Comp Cams XE262H, Griffen alum. radiator,
Turbine Technologies 2500 stall converter, underdrive pulleys, Crane Hi-6 & more.
1.05g skidpad verified.
New best E/T! 14.039 at 100.82 MPH in 41 degree air at Stanton, Michigan.

[This message has been edited by ws6transam (edited November 27, 2000).]

 

bringing this one back,

reading up on this rather simple mod. now, i've had cooling issues the whole time i've had this car, both fans run constantly, and with a 160* tstat, it will run at 220 ish in the city where i drive alot,(i deliver pizza in 14 second gta, how sweet is my life )but on the highway it climbs to 240, i have the air deflectors, and i've removed the rear seal of the hood to hopefully create airflow, but it isn't enough. now, my idea is to use a hole saw, to drill some 1-1 1/2 inch holes behind the stock hood vents, and then i want to drill some quarter inch holes underneath said vents to drain off water should some come in, no ram air or whatever, just outside air running directly over the plenum to keep it cooler, my plenum gets as hot as my exhaust manifolds and cools of slower too!

what do you think of my idea will it work okay? my biggest concern is the water coming in but it would hopefully drain back down right by where the hood latch is,i could actually probably drip it right throught the hole for the hand latch.