As far as the differences that I can see...some people will say that a Ram air hood will get hot at idle being on top of the hood and will heat soak the air in it, thus being warm air @ takeoff until about a half a mile later when the hood has cooled down. (I am not saying this...I'm just saying SOME people say this...If I haven't seen actual results with my own eyes...it's just smoke up me ****)
Those same people will say that since the FTRA pulls in air from underneath, it will not heat soak thuse giving cool air from the very beginning.

As far as I'm concerned...it's a trade-off. On top of the hood, it's possible that at take-off, the air wouldn't be AS COLD as the FTRA system would allow, but....with the FTRA, it is close to the ground and there is an issue of water being pulled up into the airbox. To be honest...I'm not sure which one is better...at least here is a little bit to think about. Pro's and Con's of both.

-Mike

 

.......a little off topic, but HUH????!!!! might want to read up on that a little more......

You guys are getting waaaaay crazy with this one. Let's get back to the origional question at hand here. Should this guy: Joshs99BlackBeauty....seal off his SS hood or leave it be expecting gains from "ram air" and CAI? Seems to me there's a lot of misunderstanding about how the CAI kits are designed. First of all, the question of directing cold or hot air into the intake is an easy one. The air is directed from in front of the radiator, forward of the heat of the engine AND radiator. Hense, cooler air than the engine bay or on top of the hood. I'm speaking for the 98-02 installs. The question of water; the measurement of the CAI plenum is 2'. Chances of water being sucked up the plenum and into the intake is very slim unless you drive through a 4" puddle at 60mph. That's why they include a block-off plate.
Now for ram air. If you've ever noticed the design of SS hoods underneath, it's not really "ram air". The air is forced almost in a W shape before it even reaches the filter. Not really "ram air" if you ask me. When I think of ram air, I think of a straight shot directly into the intake. Granted the SS hood isn't a bad design, otherwise they wouldn't have produced it, BUT.....that's why there are "aftermarket" improvements. Everything can be made more effecient in the long run. Now what was said about the hot or cold air being "sucked" into the ram air is debatable. The air forced into the opening in the hood is going to be just about the same as that in the CAI no matter what the temperature is outside. Both from a stop and at freeway speeds. The fact that the hood isn't entirely sealed does have a slight affect on how effecient this system is though. As well as the routing of the air channels. I'm far from a total expert on this whole subject, but I just don't understand why everyone is throwing this one around so much. The point is, you're not going to get gains from both ram air and CAI. One or the other will give you noticable gains, but CAI would give you just a tad more. Having both installed isn't going to hurt, and I don't believe the one would cancel out the benefits of the other, but that's probably another thread question.

 

the bottom line is....ss ram air blows big fat *****....get whisper or fast toys ram air.....or now i hear the super sucker is da bomb.....

ss ram air

whisper ram air