"ghetto short ram"

[do2mind]

Okay guys... I've read a few posts throughout your site, I think I've got a handle on this, but just wanted to get some feedback to be sure of what I'm doing. I'm on a budget, so I can't afford to screw up my car.

I've got a '93 Accord LX, pretty much stock at this point except for wheels.

My first project, I think, is going to be what I see you guys calling a "ghetto short ram".

This was inspired by the fact that my cousin-in-law raved how much better mileage and power he got by installing a short ram.

- I bought a K&N 3" cone filter...
* It's pre-oiled, right?
- At the point at which the stock piping attaches to the filter box, can I unhook there and remove the filter box and attach the cone filter, and voila, I'm done? As my very first project, I don't want to be messing with vacuum stuff, etc.
* I'm thinking I'll cut off the tubes which go from the old filter box in towards the wheel well & around the battery, etc. at the point at which they enter the engine compartment just to keep things looking clean. Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? (i.e. is there possibly some reason I might find out stock is better for me and I'll wish I hadn't cut them?)
- I see that both the filter and the stock piping I hook into are "female", and so therefore I need a double male to mate them together, correct? I've seen somebody say they used an olive can for this, and somebody else a pint paint can...
* would I be able to go to a muffler place and ask them to bend me an 7 or 8" piece of 3" pipe about 25 degrees... that seems like the best way to get the filter over into that same area where the box is now... and keep it away from engine heat a little. Decent idea?
- At this point, my car doesn't attract much attention from the police... the "Seattle Gray" paint I think has something to do with that. Are they going to start noticing me more now with a louder presence on the road? From what I've seen it seems like most cops have their windows down when they do radar... I'm guessing I'll have to start driving slower to stay ticket free, right?
- I saw in another thread that because of increased airflow, the fuel system may kick in more fuel, and the car may run richer, and actually lose gas mileage. For the true tuners... is this a possibility, and if so, can I lean the mix back down again? I'm looking for a mileage boost more than horsepower.
- Two years ago I was very close to the limits on a couple of emissions categories [HC and NOx]. I have to get inspected for my bi-annual in two months... will this mod affect emissions in a negative way at all? I would say my emissions issues should be handled separately, but I wanted to make sure I'm NOT making it worse with a better air filter. I doubt it, but gotta check.

I think that's it... thanks for your help, guys.

D

[Leung]

just go onto Ebay and buy yourself one of those cheapy $10 SRIs and use the rest of the money to buy a K&N air filter because if those guys gave you a cone filter it's prolly a crappy one. any how the point of buying a cheap SRI intake is just for the tubing. tubing is just tubing colour is a whole different matter.

from what i've seen the SRI basically sits right behind the battery because in our accords, the battery is on the left if you're looking at it. i'm about to order one off of ebay and yes i'm going to remove the filter box BUT i'm going to put it somewhere safe should i ever sell this car. you really shouldn't have to cut anything. i don't think you should worry about vaccums line or anything unless you're installing a CAI(Cold Air Intake).

umm AEM , i believe they have a sticker on their product that says it 48 state carb legal.

[Ralphie]

check it out man this is my sri. Its just a filter attached to the oem tubing thats already in your engine bay. What Leung said is true....tubing is tubing is tubing. Why spend any money when it can be custom. On top of that, the oem tubing has the mounts for all your vacuum lines and such.

I did NOT have to cut ANYTHING to do this. Just remove stock air box and the extra tubing that runs inside the quater panel above the wheel well. There was some sort of sensor there so i plugged it back together and left it where it was. Thats about it.



excuse the messy engine bay, i have yet to clean it and start work on getting it nice. Its hella rough.

Yes it will run a little richer and the sound will deff change. Its deff not going to be that noticable to cops. I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for their intake. Just exausts and stereos. As far leaning the fuel mix back, im sure it can be done but i dont know how that would work so maybe someone else will have that answer.

And we dont have emissions in Ga or Fla so i dont worry about that but yea AEM's intakes are labeled as 48state legal so it should be ok.

Maybe a good tune up and a new exaust will help you move out of the "close" area when it comes to inspections


EDIT- a second note as far as the sound goes, mine sounds stock when i cruise but when i redline or get on it, you can tell it sounds beefier then stock. So no worries with cops unless you race one

[do2mind]

Thanks, Leung... I'll check e-Bay.

As for the vacuum lines... if you read the DIY's out there on how to install a short ram, they have you plugging one of the lines or connections either on the ram or from the car with foam. For some reason that's just not my style unless I really know what I'm doing. Ironically, I'd rather go ghetto and leave all the factory attachments alone, I figure Honda put stuff there for a reason. I guess I'm not a true tuner yet.

When my cousin's husband installed a short ram on a LX '93 Accord (Automatic), he said his gains in both power and mileage were substantial. But he did not plug any lines. If I remember right, he saw that he had an extra vacuum line coming from the car, and I think he used a T to somehow tie it in. Maybe that's why he seems to be more enthusiastic about his results than some of the posters here ;-)

[do2mind]

Hey, Ralphie - yeah, your setup is kinda what I was thinking of...

Are you getting more HP (mid or top end?) and/or better mileage?

But I figured that since I have to use tubing anyway (to hook together the OEM intake tube and filter because they're both 3" female)... while I'm at it, I might as well stretch it a few more inches to the left to get it further from the heat. Maybe later I'll isolate it from the rest of the engine compartment like I saw in another post.

[Big Body LX]

Are you getting more HP (mid or top end?) and/or better mileage?

negligible

[Leung]

you could avoid all that extra tubing by making/buying a "heat shield."

[PR CB7]

naaaaa man loooks nice,

u know, whe i was back in the island, we used to do that, but with, PVC tubing, their the best, especially when u dont like 2 show ur engine bay

[do2mind]

Okay, well, I did it... damn, that was easy. There's not as much room in there as I thought, glad I tested it out with a green beans can before I tried to have a pipe cut for me. I used a little masking tape wrapped around the can a few times on both ends to make the can diamater big enough to "fill up" the two ends they went into, the can was about 3/32" too small. There's no major contact with the tape and any air going into the engine. Is this an okay temporary solution for a couple of weeks?

All the old stuff came right out, no cutting required. I think I'll stash it in case I ever resell... who knows whether someone else will appreciate my effort and beautiful work!

It looks pretty similar to Ralphie's setup, but sticking out a little more. I think my "final" setup will be about an inch and a quarter shorter than my current "can" solution, but an inch and a quarter longer than bumped right up against the OEM tubing... I do want want some room to make some kind of heat shield. But I might forget about it, who knows.

Does anyone else lose quite a bit of power on really hot days? Especially up steep hills with the revs not high enough... seems to lose low-end torque. : ( I'm not sure if my new mod will make that worse... I'll see next summer, I guess.

[do2mind]

Remind me to post a pic.

D

[do2mind]

The filter comes from K&N pre-oiled, right?

I looked through the directions and it didn't say to oil it, it only mentioned maintenance cleaning and re-oiling.

D

[do2mind]

Results !

Hey... after a day of driving, I have to say I can definitely notice the difference... more so torque than horsepower, I think.

The biggest benefit: there's a 3 mile long hill on my way home from work that used to bog the engine down to the point where I'd take off cruise control, and sometimes even downshift (on the interstate). I drove it twice today, both times I kept it in cruise in 5th without feeling bogged down.

And I'm also a lot more aware of exactly how hard the engine is working, even though it's not much louder, the sounds I do get are more distinctive to what's specifically going on under the hood.

I'll know what it does to mileage in a couple hundred miles.

[Ralphie]

Hey... after a day of driving, I have to say I can definitely notice the difference... more so torque than horsepower, I think.

The biggest benefit: there's a 3 mile long hill on my way home from work that used to bog the engine down to the point where I'd take off cruise control, and sometimes even downshift (on the interstate). I drove it twice today, both times I kept it in cruise in 5th without feeling bogged down.

And I'm also a lot more aware of exactly how hard the engine is working, even though it's not much louder, the sounds I do get are more distinctive to what's specifically going on under the hood.

I'll know what it does to mileage in a couple hundred miles.

basically!!! Its a good mod. I dont know how much HP/TQ improved but i can tell you throttle response improved. Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me but it seemed to anyway, and as far as mileage it slightly improved but its shit right now cuz ive got an oil burning problem somewhere and she needs a super duper tune up!

[simactive]

When my cousin's husband installed a short ram on a LX '93 Accord (Automatic), he said his gains in both power and mileage were substantial. But he did not plug any lines. If I remember right, he saw that he had an extra vacuum line coming from the car, and I think he used a T to somehow tie it in. Maybe that's why he seems to be more enthusiastic about his results than some of the posters here ;-)

He prob just used a vaccme line T to hook it in. I use it for Phneomatics labs and setups and such haha. its basically like a T in any system, orrr you could drill another hole inside the tube and add a nipple for the tube to attach to haha. six or 1/2 dozen really.

[do2mind]

basically!!! Its a good mod. I dont know how much HP/TQ improved but i can tell you throttle response improved. Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me but it seemed to anyway, and as far as mileage it slightly improved but its shit right now cuz ive got an oil burning problem somewhere and she needs a super duper tune up!

Yeah, I noticed the throttle response also... I'm more confident when I'm sitting at a stop sign of a busy cross street... you know the ones where you have to wait for a gap in traffic then pop the clutch and jump in the hole? I'm much more confident that when I say go, the car is going to go. I think that's a combination of the quicker response and better torque. You can just feel the difference.

I've got an oil burning problem also... any idea how I can limit that when I go for emissions inspection? I was thinking of switching from 5W-30 to 10W-40 for the inspection... hopefully heavier oil would be less likely to blow by the rings? Or is it more likely to stick to the cylinder wall, and therefore MORE likely to end up burning in the combust chamber? A ring job is much bigger than I want to tackle right now (I'm a noob!).

I like the contrast between your white wheels and the dark car. And it also looks good without going super low profile on the wheels, which means the fillings on your teeth don't get shaken out.