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Ram air intake ducts for VNL

Discussion in 'Volvo Forum' started by sirjeff, Oct 7, 2015.

  1. Oct 7, 2015 #1
    sirjeff

    sirjeff Medium Load Member

    375
    1,080
    Dec 1, 2013
    Kelowna, BC
    0
    Hey all,

    Just thought I'd throw this out there to see if there would be any interest in these pieces a buddy of mine made up. They wouldn't be too cheap in fiberglass (around $200, unpainted gel coat), but with enough interest we could make a bunch out of plastic and cut the cost quite a bit. In conjunction with an aftermarket air filter and turbo bag I've found them to work great; Cool the intake charge by insulating the turbo under the air box and cram the air (rather than suck it) through a better filter, right? I never did any controlled testing, but the truck likes it and I picked up a few lbs of boost (hitting 40psi) on an otherwise stock D16 XE500.


    IMG_1784.JPG
    IMG_1785.JPG
     
    sirjeff, Oct 7, 2015
    sirjeff, Oct 7, 2015
    #1
    KB3MMX Thanks this.
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  3. Oct 7, 2015 #2
    1smellytrucker

    1smellytrucker Bobtail Member

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    Mar 4, 2014
    0
    Sweet, I'm interested
     
    1smellytrucker, Oct 7, 2015
    1smellytrucker, Oct 7, 2015
    #2
  4. Oct 7, 2015 #3
    flood

    flood Road Train Member

    4,026
    3,766
    Dec 25, 2010
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    i'll pass
    it's not sticking out enough to really get that much more air
    your power is coming from the new air filter and turbo wrap
     
    flood, Oct 7, 2015
    flood, Oct 7, 2015
    #3
  5. Oct 7, 2015 #4
    bubbanbrenda

    bubbanbrenda Road Train Member

    1,388
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    Feb 27, 2011
    Middletown,Oh.
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    Excellent idea, I have never owned or driven on but it seems to me like the "open" intake on the stock hood, would probably scavenge air out to some degree. I had a similar idea on my T600 on the passenger side "intake" it has a little cover that is open at both ends. It seemed to me like all the air rushing through that small cover would just create a vacuum as it blew across the end of tubes. So I sealed the opening in the back of the cover and my boost went up 3-5 psi according to the gauge, and the pyrometer didn't change much cruising on flat ground but seemed to take a little longer to heat up in a long hard pull, but I just kind of blew it off as my imagination until I turned on the HVAC, huge difference. @flood is correct the opening probably needs to stick out a little farther and If it were me I would make it kind of bell shaped on the end to get it to grab a little more air. But you have definitely stopped or at least slowed the scavenging.

    Also you might want to look at 3-D printing as a production option, some kind of paint ready plastic. And of course you will have to offer a chrome one
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
    Reason for edit: Sometimes I just cant keep my mouth shut
    bubbanbrenda, Oct 7, 2015
    bubbanbrenda, Oct 7, 2015
    #4
  7. Oct 7, 2015 #5
    RubyEagle

    RubyEagle Medium Load Member

    631
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    Apr 17, 2010
    0
    Looks great. I would be interested for sure.

    Speaking of the intakes how did you get yours off? My hood pin came apart and the large but fell into the hood. I am trying to pry them off but don't want the break anything or damage the paint.
     
    RubyEagle, Oct 7, 2015
    RubyEagle, Oct 7, 2015
    #5
  8. Oct 8, 2015 #6
    marek4792

    marek4792 Light Load Member

    62
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    Mar 21, 2011
    Chicago, IL
    0
    Have you noticed any improvement in fuel mileage with this mod?
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2015
    marek4792, Oct 8, 2015
    marek4792, Oct 8, 2015
    #6
    KB3MMX Thanks this.
  9. Oct 21, 2015 #7
    sirjeff

    sirjeff Medium Load Member

    375
    1,080
    Dec 1, 2013
    Kelowna, BC
    0
    Thanks for the feedback and my apologies for not getting back sooner wow!

    Ive looked into the 3D printing option as bubbanbrenda suggested, unfortunately not a cost effective option. Shipping mine to a printer large enough to do it in one piece in addition to the cost of having someone draft it up and make any changes would likely make the fiberglass seem like a bargain. Too bad! That would have been cool. As for flaring them out more, I agree it could be beneficial but my truck is happy and sucks up enough stuff as it is so I haven't thought about it much since putting them on. This is where a buddy with a 3d printer or fiberglass shop would sure come in handy.

    Regarding fuel economy improvements; For my application (southern BC super b chip haul) I would guess I picked up 1-2 tenth with the ducts, turbo blanket, and air filter. It's hard to say for sure as I was still breaking the truck in during the tail end of winter so I never bothered to track it closely.

    RubyEagle, I believe I gently pried in addition to a little bit of heatgun on the edges... the factory ones are just stuck on there with nasty double sided stuff.
     
    sirjeff, Oct 21, 2015
    sirjeff, Oct 21, 2015
    #7
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