Quote:
Originally Posted by Kap142
Rich, For a non turbo car with a stock LS6 engine should the motor be getting more fresh air. Of course what I'm really asking is what improvement would I see,feel if I did a similar modification?  |
Well, cool air and cool gasoline makes for a denser mix in the cylinders. Cooler heads via the coolant system also helps in this regard. A denser mix of air and gasoline in the cylinders would tend to produce more power. Heck, that's what forced induction does via mechanical means. Force more air into the cylinders, which means increasing the fuel supply from the injectors for a proper AFR mixture. There is a reason that forced induction upgrades always include bigger injectors. That is also the purpose behind the intercooler itself. To cool down the air charge. So pretty much everything points to cooler being better when talking about air coming into the engine.
I've been looking at the PCM tables quite a bit lately, not to mention I can see when that intermittent IAT sensor glitch hits and tells the PCM that my incoming air temps are way high, that the PCM reacts accordingly by pulling timing, and also enriching the air/fuel ratio in an effort to try to keep the cylinders cool. Both of those changes will help reduce cylinder temps, but also reduce power as a result. Heck, one of the tricks back in the good old days was to put a cool-can with ice in it on the fuel line to cool down the fuel right before it hit the carburetor to help increase fuel density and subsequent power. Basically when tuning a car for power, you increase the timing until you start getting the knock sensors screaming, and then you back off a couple of degrees. Cooler air and cooler fuel will allow you more timing advance without getting knock. Heck, that's the reason for higher octane gasoline as well. To reduce knock, which is why you tend to get better performance out of higher octane gasoline.
Now take this all with a grain of salt, of course. There will always be a practical limit to the amount you can advance timing on an engine. This is actually quite a complex topic in it's own right, and I'm still a newbie on the learning curve.
Now, will you see a seat of the pants difference with this front license plate mod?
Beats me. But I can't see any way that it could hurt your performance. In my case, I've got the intercooler smack dab in front of my radiator. So I'm thinking the cooler the air hitting the intercooler, the cooler the air will be when it gets THROUGH the intercooler to the radiator.