Hello bigmikie, I was having a chat with a Cummins engineer in Indiana when the conversation turned to the poor design and restrictive properties of the factory air box. This guy stressed that these engines need a good supply of air and remarked that in 'real world' applications out there on the road is where you will notice the difference, not on a static test like a dyno. His reasoning was that we are RAMMING into the air that the engine needs when going down the hwy and the easier it is to supply the air the better... especially a cooler source.
So, I got my brain in gear and decided to take out the factory box and try a K&N Cone shape velocity stack style filter... model RE-0680 with an adapter from 3"to 4" and slid that into the turbo inlet hose and clamped it. I noticed two things... 1] slightly louder turbo. 2] Quicker spool up of the turbo. I then got my thermal thermometer and hung the sensor between the filter and turbo and then tried this with the factory air box... I placed the sensor beside the air box and inside the air box. I did city driving, hwy driving and loaded driving. The temps with the Cone filter now known as the Scotty Air where lower at all levels of driving. To enhance this even more I fed the filter with cool air from the fender opening for the factory box and from the front by the right tow hook using metal 3" dryer vent hose. Again an improvement. I also see between 1-2 lbs of boost increase.
Then, another BOMBer [Evan Beck] pointed out a better filter application that I was not aware of.
It is the RE-0880 which does not require the adapter to fit. It simply slips inside the turbo inlet hose and clamps on. Something else that is a benefit... its seals better then the factory box does and I have not seen any dust inside the turbo hose or any 'film' on the turbo fins.
I had concern about getting the filter wet or having it splashed from below... I was constantly getting out and looking under the hood after a big puddle and during driving rain on the hwy... all was/is fine.
Now I have taken it a step further. I have designed a double walled heat shield for the K&N RE-0880 with an awesome air induction system that FEEDS the air into this unit.
I just installed the proto-type yesterday.
So far all testing shows more improvement.
This is called the Psychotty Air and the acid test will be the trip from Calgary to Long Beach.
I should also point out that you will benefit from this even more if you choose to do modifications to the fuel supply... more fuel needs more AIR.
There is still a bit more fine tuning to do but I will try to have a couple of units along with me at Dieselfest. as soon as it appears to be accepted and passes some testing I will make this available at a reasonable price for all my fellow RAMMERS.
Remember B. O. M. B. stands for Better Off Modified Baby!
BOMB ON
SCOTT
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