🚀 go-pugleaf

bryan wrote in message <36CCFAE9.3D38@stuff.com>...
> Why would you put ram-air on a supercharged engine?  Isn't that
>redundant?  I thought about building a ram-air setup for my car but it
>kinda seems like a waste of time.

Ram-air is the most efficient form of forced induction available in the
sense that it doesn't  increase intake temperatures in addition to the
normal conservation of energy that's unavoidable when compressing a gas.
I.e. The more air you can force into a supercharger or turbo, the more air
each can efficiently pump out at higher boost pressures.  The effects of
ram-air however are not always obvious and tend to be less significant on
lower powered motors.


> Because they usually sound like someone humming through a comb covered
>in wax paper :)  They don't shake the ground and roar like a nice big
>v8.

It's always a bit humbling when one of my friends with a V8 240Z blips the
throttle through those dual glass packs.  No 4-banger can touch that.


>They seem to wear out too often too.  Everyone I've known with
>turbos in their car are always whining about having to replace bearings
>and some fan things and ton of other parts.  My friends 240sx turbo was
>nice while it lasted.

And good old American V8s last longer?  You're gonna have a hard time
supporting that one to those of us with relatively fresh 4 cylinders running
smooth with over 100k miles on them.

Turbos do add additional maintenance headaches, but these are less
frequently internal mechanical failures than other niggling problems like
bad oxygen sensors or a weak iginition system.  Murphy's Law is in effect
though with all of those additional parts to worry about.  Of course, just
one ignorant boost happy fool that runs too much boost and the fuel lean
makes for a quick recipe for disaster that's not as easy to produce with a
normally aspirated motor.

My theory is that it's easy to find the next weak link in a turbo motor.
Just turn the boost up!


--
Kip C. Anderson
kca at rio dot com
91 Impulse RS AWD Turbo @ 17 psi, 105,000 miles, and going strong . .