Complete 08 Ram air mod.

[High-Gain Busa]

I just answered a post about the 07 VS 08 seals but went much further so I am posting a seperate post. Below is my previous reply.

I just installed the ram-air seals on my 08 but went a few steps further. I have a UV pressure tester I use to test the products we manufacturer for leaks. I plugged the air box breather, air box drain hole and capped off the throttle bodies. I sealed off the front air tubes and fitted our tester. It was depressing to see all the leaks.... The seals alone may have helped but in no way is it the solution.

The air tubes are a 2 piece design and our tester blew smoke out everywhere. It was so bad I sealed the leaks one at a time until they were fixed (to a point)

1. I sealed the air tube seams with Permatex black sealer everywhere except for a small section at the bottom of the water traps so they can drain any small amounts of water.

2. I sealed the seam of the air tubes where they insert into the frame with a black radiator hose repair tape from the inside and outside.

3. Sealed the air tubes where they insert into the frame with Permatex black sealer.

4. Modified the 08 air box for the seals and installed the Schnitz Motorsports seals.

When finished, If I leave the breather plugged and the drain hole plugged I can stall the engine with cellophane laid over the intakes (front fairing off) Now that is a tight ram air system.

Someone needs to design seals that fit the 08 without the hack... I bet I put 4 hours into the tube modification to make it look as nice as possible. I am assuming they were made for the pre-08 and slip right over the intake tubes. If I ever do this again, I will design my own seals before I hack a brand new air box.

 

[busaville]

Pics please....?

 

[Robot]

Leaks would obviously influence ram air pressure, it would be interesting to know by how much. A 5% loss of ram air benefit? A 30% loss? I could live with a small loss. Perhaps at higher speeds you are ramming so much air that the leaks are insignificant?

 

[High-Gain Busa]

I'll take some mouldings off this weekend to take pics. Right now it has stopped raining and I'm riding

 

[DE44Magna]

Hummmmm.

 

[vasilis]

High Gain Busa, ur posts and info are always a "cheat mode" for most of the rest of us...thank you

I would be very willing to pay for a mod that fixes this issue without much hassle...and i am sure so would many others.

 

[nailhead432]

Noticed any difference in power, sound, or fuel ecomony after the mod has been done?

 

[Rapstar]

I may be wrong but even if the box leaks...Its air! Is their less air making it to the intakes if the system leaks?

 

[NunyaBinnez]

 

[bigbadboy]

def. need some pics so i can do this mod

 

[V8Pinto]

Thanks for the idea to check for leaks using a gas tester. I put a lot of effort into sealing the air ducts on my bikes before every race but don't really have a way to test them.

Without a UV gas tester, what would you suggest to use?

 

[V8Pinto]

Forgot to ask - how did you seal the ducts to the backside of the nose?

 

[BIKE DUDE]

You are always on top of this stuff. Thanks.

 

[High-Gain Busa]

Here are a couple pics that help show what was sealed. I have matched the number with the mod.

1. I sealed the air tube seams with Permatex black sealer everywhere except for a small section at the bottom of the water traps so they can drain any small amounts of water.

2. I sealed the seam of the air tubes where they insert into the frame with a black radiator hose repair tape from the inside and outside.

3. Sealed the air tubes where they insert into the frame with Permatex black sealer.

4. Modified the 08 air box for the seals and installed the Schnitz Motorsports seals.

 

[High-Gain Busa]

Parts pic....

The sealer applied very neatly and injected right into the seam perfectly.

The duct fits into the frame fairly good already, so a 1/4" bead of sealer around the end of the duct rolled nicely at the frame. I'm not one for taking my finger to sealer after applying; I nicely laid bead looks better.

The radiator repair tape was chosen because of it sealing properties, nice gloss black color and ability to do exactly what I needed.

The Schnitz Motorsports seal is 2 pieces, the plastic piece slides over the modified 08 duct and seals with the same Permatex sealer. The rubber seal fits over the plastic piece and rolls tightly against the frame. No sealer is applied to the rubber seal anywhere. Hard acceleration will only pull the Schnitz seal tighter against the frame.

I also removed my secondary throttle plates as I never use B or C mode... Anything in the way of air flow is a restriction. Throttle plate screws are usually spread on the bottom to lock them in and will loose small bits when removed. If you decide to do this, do not open the throttle until you have sucked all chipped off screw bits out first and don't use an air blower.

 

[High-Gain Busa]

Neatness counts  

 

[High-Gain Busa]

Thanks for the idea to check for leaks using a gas tester.  I put a lot of effort into sealing the air ducts on my bikes before every race but don't really have a way to test them.  

Without a UV gas tester, what would you suggest to use?

I used my leak tester to view what I figured was already a problem... The closed cell foam that Suzuki puts on the tubes of the air box was a good effort and actually leaked very little compared to the duct seams and where the duct inserts into the frame. The EVAPro/2000E injects 15" H2O of pressure which is only 1/2 psi so don't hook 150 psi of shop air up to your air box unless you want more leaks then you already have.

Knowing where the leaks are is half of the solution, and I have already done that for you... sealing them is the other half. If you want to see the ram-air leaks up close, the EVAPro/2000E is only $1800.00 and you will be able to use it to diagnose many problems.
http://www.vacutecstore.com/products2.html

 

[turbogpz]

High-Gain Busa...

I always look for your posts, being an M.E. I like doing this type of thing myself. But your posts are so good your making me lazy...lol

 

[christianjax]

I may be wrong but even if the box leaks...Its air! Is their less air making it to the intakes if the system leaks?

Because true Ram Air pressurizes the air coming into the air induction. Much like a poor man's supercharger. Thus increasing horsepower. If it is leaking then you are not truely pressurizing. While it does still act as a cold air intake which benefits performance, you are missing out on the free boost you get at higher speeds as the air box would become pressurized. Make sense? Ideally you want more air pressure than the engine sucks normally. That's why it's call Ram Air.

 

[Munchie]

AM -->

1443629[/ATTACH] AM]
I may be wrong but even if the box leaks...Its air! Is their less air making it to the intakes if the system leaks?

Because true Ram Air pressurizes the air coming into the air induction. Much like a poor man's supercharger. Thus increasing horsepower.  If it is leaking then you are not truely pressurizing.  While it does still act as a cold air intake which benefits performance, you are missing out on the free boost you get at higher speeds as the air box would become pressurized. Make sense?  Ideally you want more air pressure than the engine sucks normally. That's why it's call Ram Air.

Free Boost!