Modifying Ram Air

Has anyone ever modifyed their ram air intake system taht comes stock with the 3.4L. I have a 2003 GAGT1 and i want to modify my ram air, because i believe it is better then a CAI if i add a performance chip to it. I know basically you ahve to open it up so that more air can come in, but are there any ways that work better then others? ALso i was thinking about taking out my MAF screen. Any thoughts or ideas towards this, please contribute.

thx, brandon

I know people take out the MAF screen, might damage the MAF though. But i would buy a cold air intake, they very easily out perform the stock ram air system. And you said something about a chip? dont bother with anything like that (im guessing you are talking about the cheap resister that goes on the IAT sensor)

if you want awesome intake performance you should try what I have wanted to do for awhile. (different cars but same idea) If you ever see a rally car, some of them have a short ram intake that has a shroud/tube thing around the filter, which runs to an opening in the grille. this gives it fresh air from outside while blocking the engine heat. pretty awesome idea. i just dont have the means to make it. the rally cars have ones with a little butterfly in it to block the water from getting in.

Hmm, now i have mixed ideas, which is good, but the chip i was talking about is the one that tells your intake system your bringing in colder air then you are. As far as the cold air intake, ram air is the ultimate intake system in my opinion, because it sucks in air even when your going 60 or so mph, giving you great top end. But please tell me how the CAI is better. (not trying to be a dick here or anything) The chip will make my ram air, a cold air intake. The rally car idea is good, but i would have to see pictures of it, because i dont know what it is or looks like off the top of my head.hehe

thx, brandon

The chip is junk.. all it does is "trick" your ECM into THINKING that the air is colder, so the ECM will change the A/F ratio supposedly giving it more performance. Colder air is denser and the ECM will put in more fuel to maintain the factory preset A/F ratio... that's why your car feels more powerful in cold weather, as it's getting denser air and more fuel into the cylinders. The problem is in their theory... they think that cars will run faster on just more fuel... that's not true.. cars have more performance if they are a little bit lean (less fuel), but go too far in that direction and you'll seriously hurt your engine. So, by tricking your engine.. the ECM will give it more gas, but the air is actually still WARM... making your car run rich (too much gas), which can actually hurt performance...LOL. That's why they only cost $5 or so... They are counting on people who think that if it doesn't work then they'll only be out $5. and it's working.

That's why CAI's are soo popular... they actually take in air from outside the engine compartment (well... most factory setups do that too, but CAI's tend to flow much better).

But the GM engineers (and other manufactures too) have actually designed a feature into the cars that totally negate the "COLD" part of that mod. Designers have actually made a Coolant line run through the throttle body to WARM up the air to make the engine run better in cold weather. Bypassing the coolant line is your first step in the direction of performance, otherwise you're not getting the full benefit of anything you put on. But you might have problems driving in colder weather.

FYI... Ram air IS a form of a CAI... as they both take in air from outside the engine compartment... It's just that the stock RA setup doesn't flow worth a damn. So getting a better flowing RA setup would benefit you more. But still only small gains.

Good Luck :2cents:

I'm with Madcat on this one, the stock ram air setup is junk. If you ever have the opportunity to remove the entire raim intake from your car you will see why. It is extremly restrictive. Get a good hood scoop (a real one, not the stick on ones that are just for show) and a WAI. Install the scoop over the area of the WAI and make a nice sealed box for the filter on the WAI with no top on it (so when you close the hood the box will seal up against it and all the air coming in from the scoop will be forced into the filter and down the engines throat). That will give you a real nice ram air setup.

Hmm all these explanations are great and i appreciate them, but still no one has told me how to modify my ram air. What are some good things to do to the ram air to get it to flow better. Is a K&N filter worth 40$ compared to a 5$ filter? How can i make my ram air hood functional?

If you want to try and put more air into it easily put an air hog or k&n filter in it.

The K&N filter is much better than the cheap paper filters. For one, its reusable (just clean it and reoil it), thus saving money in the long run, and two it flows much much better, thus allowing more air into the motor. Normally aspirated engines are terribly ineffiecent as they only draw in about 80% of what their acutal displacement is. Ram Air helps that by forcing more air into it, but most of the factory setups are restricted to the point where they dont' make all that much of a difference.

question, how hard would it be to make my fake ram air hood, useable? I've looked at what is underneath the holes and its just a plastic covering from behind it, which i can easily take off and then air would flow through it. I guess thats a start. But after that i wouldnt know where to get the parts that would fit it and the piping, etc to force the air into the intake system.... any ideas? help?

question, how hard would it be to make my fake ram air hood, useable? I've looked at what is underneath the holes and its just a plastic covering from behind it, which i can easily take off and then air would flow through it. I guess thats a start. But after that i wouldnt know where to get the parts that would fit it and the piping, etc to force the air into the intake system.... any ideas? help?


actually the ram air is not through the nostrils on the hood (which are just for show) but through the holes in between the head lights. If you take the plastic pieces off the nostrils on the hood it would do nothing for the ram air, except to put a lot of water from rain storms into you engin, cuase you then would have to redirect the air, with little or no room, into the air box/filter which the ram air does any ways. With the K&N filter it adds 5% more horse becuase it lets more air into the system.

hmmm so your saying i shouldnt fool with opening the nostrils for more air? Is it even possible?

I took my complete ram air system out when I bought my CAI. It was a pain because you actually have to pull the front wheel and take a bunch of crap out for in front of the wheel. and remove the battery and take stuff out of there. It's a real pain in the butt

Has anyone ever modifyed their ram air intake system taht comes stock with the 3.4L. I have a 2003 GAGT1 and i want to modify my ram air, because i believe it is better then a CAI if i add a performance chip to it. I know basically you ahve to open it up so that more air can come in, but are there any ways that work better then others? ALso i was thinking about taking out my MAF screen. Any thoughts or ideas towards this, please contribute.

thx, brandon
Simple , block off the lowwer secondary intake to the filter housing(The non ram air part). Thats what the Mach 1 guys do and it works like night and day difference. Dont worry about making the intake bigger its big enough. I heard the MAS screen removal is a big no no but i did it 3 years ago and had it on a diagnostics pc and it said my A/F was fine to spec. To each his own the screen straightens the air for better accurate readings for all 3 coils. Luckily my intake is so close to the mas that the air goes in straight even without the screen. JMO and it will cause flamage lol