I'm a rookie. Please be kind.
I am tryin to understand the airflow to the ac condenser and radiator vs the air to the engine fuel system. I can't see where the engine air comes in?

Thanks

Gil

 

What is your question?

 

Have you found the inlet to the ac condenser and radiator under the front bumper? Have you found your air filter for the air inlet to the engine?

 

These cars are bottom feeders. All the air comes from underneith the front bumper by the way of the air damn

 

At the air dam, to my eye, all of the air looks like it goes to the condenser and radiator. I don't see how air gets to the air filter, looking from the bottom. From the top I see the separate flows to the radiator and to the air filter. Just curious where the air filter intake is. Thanks.

Gil

 

The air intake for the engine is under the hood and forward and above the plastic radiator housing. Early C4's will have a metal cover with slots and the later C4's will have a cover with "humps" and openings at each end.

 

Now I see! It wasn't like what I was expecting. I used to hear about corvettes suffering engine damage due to water intake, but I can't imagine how water could get to where those humps are, and I live where deep water on the streets is common.

Thanks again for answering an elementary question.

Gil

 

The picture below show a 91 air intake. The air is routed by the front spoiler to the slots, through the air cleaner and through the "snorkel" to the throttle body.
If you remove the upper ***** and the clamp at the throttle body you can remove the entire assembly to see how it functions.
Do not overtighten the ***** when you put it back on as you can easily strip the threads.
While you have it off you might want to take a shop vac and suck out all the road debris and leaves that accumulate between the AC condenser and the radiator.

 

This covers the air filter:


Pic of my old 87 showing the crud between the radiator and the AC condenser.

 

as you can see, air enters thru the bottom... gives the engine cool air .. CAUTION,,, That is the reason you do NOT drive corvettes, or other bottom feeders, thru deep standing water. They suck up water - engine broke.

 

No it doesn't. "Cold" air, does goes through the bottom, and through the AC condenser and radiator. The air intake has no deliberate air path from outside to the filter. It sits in a space ahead of the radiator separated from "cold" air by the radiator shroud, itself. The filter gets some air from the engine area, some from "leakage" of cold air through the hood/bumper cover gap, and other fit/finish short comings around the radiator shroud.

There is no deliberate/managed air path for cold/outside air to get to the air filter.


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Using the ^above picture^ -or any picture of a stock car, someone please point to the ducting, channel or "path way" for the air to follow, from air dam, to filter inlet....




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Years ago, someone posted pictures where they cut large openings out of the shroud, on either side of the air filter; early car I believe. Then they sealed the whole "area" with foam; normally used to seal Hood scoops. I think there was a piece across the top of the Radiator Shroud, and two pieces on either side of the openings. This limited the air to the intake to fresh air from in front of the Radiator. Surely it was cooler than air from the engine compartment, and Radiator.

 

This topic was discussed at length in a previous thread "performance upgrades" not too long ago. I don't think an agreed upon explanation was reached.

 

You're right, an agreement didn't happen. However what ALSO didn't happen was someone explaining or pointing out specifically where/how cold/outside air got to the filter assy -even after I asked that question multiple times. I was waiting in that thread...I'll wait in this one too. That explanation can't happen, bc/ the filter is physically located in, and open to the engine compartment.


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I'm the one that started this thread several days ago and your most recent posts get to the root of the question I originally asked, so now I feel not so dumb. To. summarize, the engine air intake and air filter is above and in front of the top of the engine and draws its air from the engine compartment. The air filter and its housing are easily removed by removing the three hand nuts HOWEVER this does NOT access and has nothing to do with the airflow from the bottom thru the condenser and radiator, except to the extent that the radiator exhausts to the engine compartment where the engine air intake draws from. When you remove the air filter housing, which is easily done, you will then see the plenum that encloses the condenser and radiator air system. This is the cover to be removed to clean out the leaves and dead mice. Unfortunately this cover looks to be much harder to remove. There are 3 nuts on each side down low in a difficult location. Also I think several water cooling lines and air conditioner lines will have to be disconnected. Another thread had several work around but none of them seem all that easy. l am also thinking about installing a removable cover n the plenum (it will be concealed by the air filter housing to not offend the purists). First tho I'm going to try to find one of those "flexible scopes" with a light to snake up into the plenum from the bottom to see if I have a problem at all. I may also be able duct tape a short length of garden hose to a shop vac and clean it from the bottom. I'll let everyone know how this works.

 

BINGO! Someone "gets it".



You can remove the radiator/condenser shroud w/o disconnecting any lines, and pics in this thread show the easiest way to access those hard to reach bolts...

Radiator shroud removal

 

The more I read an the more I see, I'm starting to agree with you. Although I wish it were true that it was getting ambient air from in front and below.

I hope I haven't offended you or any other poster with my previous replies.

 

On my 86, if you place a light in the airflow path in front of the radiator you can see a slot behind the bumper about 1 1/2 inches wide the full width of the radiator. Hard to see with the air filter housing in place but it is there. It is more than enough to feed the air cleaner. The air pressure is higher in front of the radiator than in the engine compartment. I placed a digital temperature recorder by my air filter and found it to read no more 10 to 12 degrees above ambient as long as you are moving. Definitely not hot air coming from the engine compartment. It does climb slowly at extended stops but not much. That's close enough to a cold air intake for me.

 

That was suggested earlier in the other thread, and that "jibes" with one of the posters (Ardwolf) measured inlet temps with his earlier car too. The later car has no such gap or vent for the intake. While your observed design (it doesn't seem like all early cars have this gap, from my searching), may provide cold air while underway, and hot air when stopped, that is fine on the road course...but not a "CAI" when at the drag track. At least not until you pass the 330' mark or so. So to ME, that's not really a "CAI".


Thanks for the comment, but I don't believe you were offensive in any way. It was pretty much Bow Tie Guy and Moto-guy who loved to huck the slander...but wouldn't answer any of the questions or stay objective.


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Oh god..here we go again. See 91 black convert...you weren't the problem in the other thread....

That's not true at all. First the pictures don't show anything clearly -they're terrible pictures. One is a blurry blotch of light in a black who knows what. What I DID do, is ask you if that car had been modified. Twice, I believe. YA NEVER ANSWERED.


I don't recall you actually asking a question. I recall you trying put me down for having such an "outlandish thought". The "physics" would be that the air filter is located inside the engine compartment. It sucks air. Some of that air -most of it at low speed and stopped for sure, comes from the compartment that the filter is located in. That would be the engine compartment. Pretty "hi tek physics" there.



Unfortunately, you don't know what a fact is. What you just posted is your opinion. You "know" that because...you have what qualifications/knowledge on this subject? That you opened the hood of you car and stared at the air intake? Where does this positive pressure come from in an enclosed space? The FACT BTG, is, neither of us knows. Neither of us have measured the IAT...well, wait, that's not true; *I* have, using a scan too/data stream. I posted my results. Where did you post yours?



Picture please. My 92 has no such gap...and I already posted pics (clear ones) of that, for the forum. You're turn. No modified cars, no blurry pics of blotch of light please. No "air flow diagrams" to "slam dunk your case" for the C4...of a C6. Cool?

I've got no horse in this race as you seem to. I'm totally open to what ever. But show me something real. A blurry blotch of light ain't doing it. Take some clear pics of your neighbors car for us. Let's see it.



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