alfie_fraser Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 A few things to think about: I have been to the local "weber garage" here in Chesterfield(Chatsworth motor spares) to discuss putting some K&N air filters on my twin 40's and he agrees they are the best for the job, I went in the car to see which would fit best before I part with any good hard earned cash. He had a look and the first thing he said that I should have the inlet manifold machined to produce an incline of 5deg to 'tilt' the webers this is for a saftey reason as it could leak neat fuel into the engine bay while blating around town i.e. slowly as not to use all the fuel in the float chamber as it would on a good out of town blat. He could do the job costing around 15-20 quid (not expense and worth while with a fireball-westie in mind, not good). Any body know of this and has anyone done it? I then started talking about cutting a hole in the side of the bonnet to allow the filters to poke out some-what........ he turnned to me and said "do you really want to cut the body for this" and I liked his comment as the last thing I want to do is cut the body at all, I like the clean lines etc. I explained that I have spoken to other owners and explained, what is the usual explainantion I recieve, that I would be better getting cool fresh air from out side the engine bay which in turn would improve the running. He replied....... the thinking may be good for track use but for 'dirty' road use all I will be doing is clogging the air filters over a smaller timescale - his remedy........... keep the body intact and allow the hot air within the engine bay to escape i.e insert an escape route at the back of the bonnet bulge see pic. with the thought of hot air rises, and release the pressure etc. I am going to do this any way as it makes sense I suppose and it can't hurt. probably even add a little diflector on the inlet area as well in time to assist in directing cooler air to the air filter area. Bulge pic His take on the length of ram pipe, this has no effect on the power etc the important thing is the radius at the end, although he sells different lengths with differing types of radii (nice word). Open for comment really. Enjoy your stella. Cheers Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 allow the hot air within the engine bay to escape i.e insert an escape route at the back of the bonnet bulge see pic. with the thought of hot air rises, and release the pressure etc. I am going to do this any way as it makes sense I suppose and it can't hurt. probably even add a little diflector on the inlet area as well in time to assist in directing cooler air to the air filter area. With a full screen, at any pace much above 20-30mph, air won't be escaping, but the high pressure air at the base of the screen will be bleeding into the engine bay. The "colder air" thing is something I have trouble with too. My green car has no hole in the bonnet either, and it seems to have little effect on the power. Indeed, the only "air" temperature worth measuring is the temperature of the air/fuel charge that actually gets combusted. I'm betting that the air/fuel charge is pretty cold. If you're looking to wring every last HP out of the engine, then cut a hole. If you don't think the extra HP or 2 will make any difference (and it won't) then be happy with the clean lines, and don't cut a hole in the back of the bonnet..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 His take on the length of ram pipe, this has no effect on the power It does. Your man has advised you incorrectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Agreed. The 'colder air' thing is great in theory-and in practise. But I have not seen ANY hard evidence yet that carving a big hole in your bonnet and poking air filters/trumpets out will increase power when the vehicle is moving. I have seen evidence (on vehicles other than Westys I hasten too add) that showed a decrease in power just by poking the filter through the bonnet... However, altering ram pipe lengths will make a difference. The old school of thought was that longer pipes meant more bottom end power at the expense of top end, but in reality playing with inlet lengths can show gains (and sometimes losses) everywhere. Ideally, it is something that should be experimented with on a rolling road. But it important to remember that the carbs are likely to want refettling too, and in so doing, can cost a lot of money to potentially see little gain. You *may* get a big gain, but you wont know until you try... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westfieldman Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 If you are fitting a new air filter you need it to be 55mm or more from the face of the ends of the trumpets so with say a 55mm trumpet you need a 110mm deep air filter and if this is pocking throug the bonet line it need to pock through all the way for all it length like my car [ will put a link in later ] The better filters are the ITG ones as used by SBD and Dunnell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Green Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 I have dealt with Ike at Chatsworth over the last 5 years or so and I have to say this man is the oracle when it comes to Weber carbs. I have taken his advice on certain issues I had which transformed the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfie_fraser Posted June 26, 2004 Author Share Posted June 26, 2004 Thanks guys for all your input, Bob, Ike seems to a great character and was 'interrested' in the car and helping me to get it running correct and more important address the safety issue he has raised. Let me know if you come up this way maybe could meet. Cheers Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilwillis Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 If you have to buy the filters and trumpets, then I'd get them short enough to fit inside the bonnet, and keep the bonnet intact. I had longer filters and trumpets, so I got the dremmel out. In all honesty, the extra power gain/loss isn't worth a. the money, or b. the hassle. IMHO of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfie_fraser Posted June 26, 2004 Author Share Posted June 26, 2004 Cheers Neil I think thats the way I am going to go. Has anbody heard of the safety issue regards to horizontal mounting? Cheers Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilwillis Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 If the carbs are set up correctly, I'd not be concerned about raw fuel draining from the trumpets. I'm sure if it was an issue, there'd be something in the Motorsport Regs regarding carb mounting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.