ram air ?

[The Radium King]

this may be a stupid question, but i see all these folks doing everything they can to improve airflow into the engine - desnorkeling, dremmeling all the seams smooth, new air filters, more direct intake piping, larger throttle bodies, more aerodynamic intake plenums, etc.; what about just shoving more air in there? fabricate a replacement side vent that grabs more air? most other mid-engined cars (lotus, lambo) reach out and get it - why not the boxster?

otherwise, half the side vent is obstructed with those plastic vanes; any benefit to removing them? that should double airflow right there, no?

[Lobo1186]

there are already "ram" air scoops out there for the boxter there was a member who had carbon fiber ones im sure you can find it with google he had some pictures in a thread about him installing JRZ remote resevoir coilovers so maybe a search for that would bring it up.

[Lobo1186]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Whew... this has been a long and difficult journey for me. I haven't really been able to drive the car since January. But it's gotten to a good point of completion as most of the exterior work is done. I'm just going to enjoy the car now for a while and save some money!

So here's the latest pics... I got a carbon fiber license plate frame for the front. Not sure that I care for it though. I've got the Gemballa GT side skirts on and the new paint has been polished out. I got a lower spoiler for the bumper painted and installed, but I probably won't use it too much as it's WAY low. I already removed it in these pictures. Finally today I got the Kokeln carbon fiber air scoops. I'm pretty impressed with the overall quality of the Kokeln parts.

All that's left is an alignment tomorrow to hopefully resolve a rub issue in the rear. Then me and my Assistant are off to the coast this weekend to take in the mighty redwoods and get some good photos of her with the car. So more pics to come next week.

Later this summer maybe I'll play with the stereo equipment. I've got a load of amps and processors, some brand new, that have just been taking up space in my garage for years. I used to compete in car stereo years ago. I'm getting the itch to at least drop in some decent subs. I just hate to hack into the Becker DSP system as the time adjustment for position on it is actually pretty decent - as good as my Alpine time delay processor.

here you go the thread is called Kirks ride

[landrovered]

I like the look of the Gembala side skirts but wonder are you ducting that air anywhere? I was thinking it could feed the rear brakes but have never seen a set in person to see how it would work.

[Lobo1186]

well that isnt my ride lol its Kirks but i have no clue where he routes it lol

[The Radium King]

cool. i like it. problem is, the actual opening looks smaller than stock? prolly not a problem at higher speeds when the air is getting jammed down there, but at slow speed/high rpm might it be an issue?

[chaudanova]

There was also some information on one of the forums regarding the placement of the intake side vent, and it's height/position being suboptimal... Perhaps someone remembers this...

[stephen wilson]

The problem with aerodynamic issues, including "ram air", is that there's virtually no way to know if it's working without wind tunnel testing. Going by intuition can sometimes create the opposite of the intended result.

Oh yeah, by definition ram air is ineffective at lower speeds, so that's a non-issue.

[5:04]

What auto-xer's or Track cars have the budget for wind tunnel testing. There are a few tools you can use to figure out if something is having an aerodynamic effect.

The first is a magnehelic gauge to see the pressure difference

Another option is stringing a car

Finally there is paint that people make that will slow dry and wash off when you're done.

All of these can tell you if your parts are making a difference.

I plan on using a boxster to pick up where I left off on my Miata with aero work. I wondered about the scoops as well.

[stephen wilson]

True, all of those flow visualization techniques will help, they're just not what I would call definitive. But, you work with what you have!