I see where some is cutting holes in their air box to bring in more air.
Why can't you just pick up a little 12v fan like in a computer that will fit inside the air box. It would draw in more air and force it into the throddle body.
Then you wouldn't have to cut the box.

You would have to tie into a power/wire that would come on when you started the engine.


Just a thought.

 

Essentialy that would be an electric supercharger. My understanding is that none of those will work as a fan even if it provided high cfm's in an open space won't be able to cause a increase in intake manifold pressure. From what I've read the first problem is the fan it's self can't actually compress the air the second problem is that if you did get a compressor type fan, it would take more power to run it than your car can provide unless you hook up multiple alternators and batteries. Do a google search if you want to find out more on it. I looked it up at one point but I can't seem to find the page I read it on and I have to get ready for work now.

 

It does take quite a bit of power to compress the air to provide a significant power increase. I remember Ford disclosed some numbers for the Eaton supercharger used in the Thunderbird Supercoup; at a full 7 pisg boost, the supercharger takes about 20 hp. I think at 7 psi boost, that engine put out about 70 more HP than the non-SC engine. And this is one of the more efficient superchargers on the market.

To get 20 HP of electric power, I think the engine has to actually generate 40 HP. There will still be a power gain, but it will be about 20 HP less than a directly driven compressor.

 

Well I guess I don't understand but I can't see where a little fan would draw more power that turning on the radio. I was just thinking how to pull in more air without destroying the air box.

I had two other ideas I was thing about.

One is to take a V-bracket like on a Carburator to hold the air cleaner and hooking it to the throddle body to put one of them small air breathers on it. Fan is optional.

Two is to cut a hole in the Cowl Vent Grille, Put on a scoop, run a hose from it throught the underside and hook it to the throddle body. And once again Fan is optional.


Just some Ideas,

 

Well either of those might work if you include the maf sensor in the routing. My plan/thought on how I'd like to modify my system is to replace the air hose running from the throttle body to the maf with 3" mandrel bent pipe. I allready have a k&n filter and have removed the silencer cone and cut another hole in the airbox. I think if all the ripples in that tube were removed it would cut the restrictions and increase power a bit. Only thing I'm not sure on is where to find and buy 3" id rubber hose to use as a gasket to clamp the pipe to the throttle body and maf. Just my 2 cents

 

At your local Hardware/lumber yard.

Also I would just leave the MAF in the air box where it is. It's just to read air flow and it should work fine leaving it where it is.

 

i'm not too sure about the fan drawing more current than the radio. however, i think that it would block more air than it could draw in, unless it was a very high rpm fan. i have a 10,000 rpm 12 volt fan that draws a very small amount of power, i might put it on just to see, and post the results.

 

I was amazed at how small the openning is in the air box, and that baffle plate in front of it. I removed the plate, but noticed no perceptible change in power. Then I temporarily removed the air box completely, and still the buttometer showed no additional power.

The secret is the tiny throttle body; it is a major restriction that will not allow significantly more air into the engine no matter how big you make the upstream paths. On the other hand, if you manage to get major compression upstream, like with a supercharger, you should see significant power increases. BBK sold a Roots type supercharger with the 4.0 liter engine in the Rangers and Explorers. It was driven by the engine; not an electric motor.

They also sell a bigger throtle body, which could help a little more if the manifold openning was opened up to match. Their TB openning is a little bigger than the manifold openning, and the step formed at that joint creates enough turbulence to actually whistle with air flow, with or without supercharging. I can't believe that that helps performance.

An interesting tidbit is that the MAF sensor on the 4 liter engine is the same size as that on the 5 liter HO engines that came with Mustangs. So this means that it should be able to flow enough air to support at leat 200 hp. However, I don't know if the programming in the Aerostar computers will support that.

As a side note, Mazda is working on a higher powered version of the RX8 that will be turbocharged. The twist with this one is that the turbocharger will have an electric motor to help spin it up faster to reduce turbo lag. The electric drive will not be the primary power for the compressor.

 

ram air induction is the only way to go! see how below!

i never thought of the scoop-in-the-cowl approach, thats better than what I did on my 91 3.0 when i had it.. (GREAT IDEA JTHill24) !!

i started with a cone shaped filter with the same ID as the throttle body's OD, clamped right onto the TB... since there is no MAF sensor in a 91, I scrapped the whole rest of the intake network. noticible difference in MPG, not so much power difference.

BUT,
I got a subaru WRX hood scoop, and narrowed it a little. my buddy is good with fiberglass, and he shaped an open topped box basicly that fit around the cone shaped filter, and was angled to meet the bottom of the hood. we put automotive door weatherstipping around the opening on the box to make a tight seal. with the WRX scoop over that box, with a hole in the hood of course...

at freeway speeds the passing power was incredible. you could ease the throttle up without letting the tranny kick down into passing gear, and blow by anything. it was awesome, and I got 31 MPG. @70 MPH, flat road, constant 280 mile trips, consistantly.

I also cut out the cats, and split the exhaust into 2 at the "Y" past the O2 sensor. also had brass dist cap and rotor. the ram air was the LAST of the modifications done, and the most rewarding!

more fun to see peoples expression when they see an aero with a hood scoop though.

anyways, I sold that baby, and got a 95 with a 4.0, its got all the sensors and stuff, so I dunno where to start. Ill post when i do though!

 

Koalamazed:

Well I'll have to give Ford Credit for that Idea. My first auto was a 54 Ford Pick-up.
Factory Automatic. 6 volt that was good for 2 starts then the battery was too weak.
I sat a 12v behind the seat to jump it with when It wouldn't start.

It had a Vent scoop on the cowl with a lever inside that would lift it up and lower it close. (Where the Idea came from)

I still remember........Pull out the Choke, Pump the gas 5-6 times, turn the key to ON(right side of steering wheel), Press the starting button(Left side), Hold down the gas peddle and push in the Choke.

While other kids where getting newer running cars for Graduation, My Dad came pulling this one in. He paid $90.00 dollars for it in 1974 in Santa Rosa, Ca.
It Had throwed the timing chain.

Well it cost me $110.00 for the truck ($20.00 for the parts & I had to fix it myself)

I asked him how come I had to pay for the truck & fix it when my Friends were getting cars given to them. He gave me the best answer that I fully didn't understand then but I did later on.......

"If I give this to ya you'll just take it out and tear it up But, if you have to pay for it and put your time and sweat into it you'll take care of it"

I did and I fixed it up and traded it at a car lot in Santa Rosa for a 66 Mustang Convertable with a bent driverside door & no damage to the frame anywhere.
It had a 200 6cyl & 3-speed on the floor. (Sloooow! What a Dog)
Which I took out & put in a 65 260 v8 & Automatic out of a wrecked Rancho. When you stepped on the gas the Backend squated down & took off like somebody poked it in the rear.

Ok I'm done.......

 

First just forget the fan. The engine sucks more air in at idle than a little fan can generate. Second Koalamazed air scoop is quite like an other hair brain idea I have had. Get an air scoop from JC. whittney. Put it on , cut a hole in hood. Put a cone filter on the MAF aand either by turning the air box over and cut off the bottom or build a box and seal it to the hole. Many people have modified their MAF and made a steel or plastic pipe to the throttle body and use a cone filter without Koalamazed's success but picked up a little torque.

 

JTHill24 Look at this

http://www.tornadoair.com/index.php

is just an option.

 

mvlr5000:

Yeah I've seen these before.....As they say "A fool and his money.....

 

The Tornado is a joke. If it actually worked, don't you think that all the auto manufactureres would be installing it standard to keep the EPA off of them?

On the Tornado topic, I love the infomercial where they interview a Corvette owner that took his 'vette into the dealer to have the Tornado installed because he thought it would be too complicated. I bet the tech laughed his butt off on that mod.

 

I agree with 93 nighthawk. The tornados are a complete joke. You might as well light a couple of twenty dollar bills on fire. Also I dont think that the "electric supercharger" fan would work because real roots type superchargers are compressors and an electric fan would not compress the feul air charge into the cylinder. the only thing it would do is possibly mimmick a ram air setup, given that it pushes enough cfm.