AIRFLO air cleaner insert
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,020
Likes: 1
From: Nederland Texas
Originally Posted by 540 RAT
Anyone tried that new AIRFLO air cleaner insert that goes over the mounting stud? They claim 7-10 more hp from smoother air flow into the carb.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: harrisonburg (JMU) va
just looked it up on google, heres a pic and link to the website i found it on, hopefully this is what yall are talkin about...looks kinda neat...
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp...qx/product.htm
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp...qx/product.htm
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 8,897
Likes: 1,356
From: Santa Ana CA
Recognize that the "General" did his homework in this area in the old school. Look at the stock air cleaner lid used on the high performance engines (e.g., LT-1, L-46) and note that the top follows a similar arc to the plastic insert they are marketing. The lid in the picture does not have this curve, so probably gains more benefit from teh curvature than a stock hi-po lid would.
However, this is a very important area and there are gains to be made here that are almost free, and may do about the same thing..., maybe more.
If you use a drop-base air cleaner, like I do, you will note that there is a gap at the rolled-edge where the lip sits on the carb. Air follows the bottom radius and slams into this gap creating turbulance. If the gap could be smoothed, the air could flow in relatively undisturbed. Car Craft Mag found a 10 hp gain on a BB by better fitting a base to the carb smoothing this interface area.
I cut a piece of outdoor 12-gauge, low-voltage electrical cable (fat black insulation) long enough to go around and fill the gap making the transition smooth. The cable was "glued" in-place to the base using black silicone gasket sealent.
Another point of turbulance is the flat surface at the stud base. This can be smoothed out by simply taking a nut of the proper size (shown in prior picture) and grinding it into a "nose cone" sort of like the air foil we put in the C-4s. I used an aluminum nut as it is easy to grind.
The threads on stud also create turbulance. Here, I placed a piece of heat shrink tubing to smooth the area all together (over the nose cone). Note how is smooths the area (and looks alot like that aftermarket product). Leave just enough thread exposed to install the wing nut.
However, this is a very important area and there are gains to be made here that are almost free, and may do about the same thing..., maybe more.
If you use a drop-base air cleaner, like I do, you will note that there is a gap at the rolled-edge where the lip sits on the carb. Air follows the bottom radius and slams into this gap creating turbulance. If the gap could be smoothed, the air could flow in relatively undisturbed. Car Craft Mag found a 10 hp gain on a BB by better fitting a base to the carb smoothing this interface area.
I cut a piece of outdoor 12-gauge, low-voltage electrical cable (fat black insulation) long enough to go around and fill the gap making the transition smooth. The cable was "glued" in-place to the base using black silicone gasket sealent.
Another point of turbulance is the flat surface at the stud base. This can be smoothed out by simply taking a nut of the proper size (shown in prior picture) and grinding it into a "nose cone" sort of like the air foil we put in the C-4s. I used an aluminum nut as it is easy to grind.
The threads on stud also create turbulance. Here, I placed a piece of heat shrink tubing to smooth the area all together (over the nose cone). Note how is smooths the area (and looks alot like that aftermarket product). Leave just enough thread exposed to install the wing nut.
