I've been thinking. I want to mount one of those portable compressed air tanks under the bed of my truck where the spare tire goes and run a 3/8" air line up to the engine compartment. I can hook this into the air intake between the filter and the MAF sensor. Running 50 PSI of comprssed air through the 3/8" line should raise the pressure in the intake manifold by 6 PSI. It should work the same as running 6 pounds of boost with a turbo and give me 25 more HP for the time the air lasts (about 30 seconds). This would be great for passing on the highway or racing stoplight to stoplight. Does anyone else think that this could work?

-Jon

 

Just some random thoughts...

How much will the tank weigh? A heavy tank might slow you down a bit, but it might help traction back there too.

The compressed air should get cool as it is released. Since turbos heat the air as they compress it the tank idea might be more effective.

If you get a 12 volt compressor you can recharge the tank while you drive.

Watch out for water build up in the tank.

 

i would think it would work, but the tank as it releases air it also causes condensation in the air lines which we all know water doesnt operate too good in an engine. i'm not sure how quickly the water would form in the tank(this all depends on the humidity and the pressure inside the tank)but you can also rig up a water trap on the system. i believe if enough people thought it out and worked all the "bugs" out the system it would definately work

 

your volume wouldn't be high enough to do squat. sorry to shoot you down. too bad it isn't that easy.

 

Unless you have a compressor, you'll only have 50psi for a little bit. The "boost" pressure will continue to drop as you use air from the tank. Plus, you'd actually be pressurizing the intake tube. That means that some of that 6psi will be directed towards the air filter.

I think you'd be better off installing a 50-shot of NOS.

 

It may work if you have a small diameter nozzle pointing down the intake tract. This will help to accelerate the air into the engine and help prevent losing pressure out the air filter assembly.

Shouldn't think water is much of a problem considering many high hp drag race engines use water injection to stem knock. Too much is not good but a little actually steam cleans your engine's internals without causing damage.

Mount an air gun in the centre of a pipe facing one way and blast it with air, you'll see how it accelerates the air in the pipe in one direction.

I have no idea if it will work though.

Good luck.

 

The tank only weighs about 20 pounds so weight is not a problem. I can put a filter on the airline to trap any dirt/oil/water before it gets near the engine. Running 135 psi in the air tank but regulating it down to 50 coming through the hose should give me a pretty long supply of air. Or maybe i could use a scuba tank which i believe gets pressurized to 1000 PSI.

I realize that the pressure might go back through the filter and out the intake but since the engine is sucking in air like a vacuum i think that most of the air will make it to the engine. Do they have any checkvalves that keep the pressure from dropping in a turboed engine?

Volume of air was the only thing i was worried about. The setup would definitely make some sort of difference in power. The only question is will the tank provide enough volume of air to make the difference worthwhile? If there is a nozzle pointed toward the throttle body maybe that fast moving air would create a Venturi Effect and draw more air in behind it?

Any physics teachers in the group?

-jon

 

BTW. I am thinking about all of this because i really don't want a nitrous system, plus they are pretty expensive. I am also running the 4.9L engine which has virtually no performance enhancing parts available to it. Even if it did a turbocharger or a supercharger is pretty expensive.

-Jon

 

Check out this site, www.electricsupercharger.com Sounds like what you might be looking for.

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98 Nascar Edition, Superchip, Airaid, Flowmaster 70 series, bedliner, in bed tool box, Profile bug deflector and window vents, Class III receiver hitch.

 

Or airpacks on our firetrucks get pressureized to 2250 PSI. There are also 4500 PSI setups out there. I forget how much a carbon fiber tank weighs.

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97 F-150 Flareside
S/C
4x4 5.4L auto 3.55 LS.


Mods so far:
K Air Filter
SUPERCHIP!
Westin Grille Guard
JVC 12 disc CD Changer
2 (for now) 165 watt KC Daylighters
Must...Resit...Mudder...Syndrome.....

Future Plans
Hidden winch
Lift
Roll Bar


http://www.f150world.com/sprhck/

 

I agree with WhiteElephant - Unless your tank was bigger than your truck, you would have boost for about 5 seconds and then the tank would be empty. Your truck consumes 14 lbs of air for every lb of gasoline. This is why drag racers don't do it this way.

Ian

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99 Expedition EB
5.4l, 4x4, 4.10 LS
WMS Tube, Bassani Cat Back Exhaust, Superchip Flipchip, PIAA Superwhites

 

HI!... It kinda does work! When I was at LONDON DRAGWAY a few weeks back there was a guy in a MUSTANG running a small portable propane torch tank filled with about 60PSI of air. He told me that when he hits the gate valve that the air is gone in a split second. He did tell me that he consistantly knocks off 2 tenths EVERY time he uses it. There was another guy there also with a N/A EAGLE TALON. He was running the 5 gallon air tank in his car. He told me that he consistantly drops 3-3.5 tenths with his set-up. This got me curious, so I bought a 5 gallon air tank a few weeks ago and am going to try it next time I go to the track. It might work for me or not, I don't really care. I need a portable air tank anyway!LOL! If I could get a MAX of 2 tenths with it then I'd be very happy, but I dought it. If you are going to do it try to put it in front of the MAF sensor. This way the computer can sense more air and add the proper amount of fuel to it. But I do also agree that tapping a hole in the top of the TB elbow and shooting the air directly down the intake would probably see the best results. Let us know how you make out. I won't be able to try my set-up for a few months. Just don't expect to knock off a second with this set-up. Over the years, all the air tank set-ups I've seen are usually good for a tenth, and very rarely 2 tenths. It's good if your like running 14.01E.T and you want to break into the 13's, but that's about it. If you want to drop your E.T's a lot then go with a supercharger or NOS.

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NEAL " THE H.P FREAK" E-MAIL :nnewman@sympatico.ca
'99' F-150 XLT SPORT, oxford white, reg cab shortbox stepside,5.4, auto, 4.10L.S, captain's chairs, bedliner, GTS carbon fiber headlight covers, ***** CEPECK clear halogen driving lights, GTS slotted tailight covers (painted oxford white), fiberglass smooth wiper cowl (painted OXFORD WHITE), FORD locking lug nuts, tinted windows,true duel exhaust with 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes and FLOWMASTER 3 chamber mufflers with 3' tailpipes exiting before the rear wheel like the LIGHTNING, HELLWIG rear stabalizer bar, 3 AUTOMETER guage pods, filled with tranny temp, engine temp, and oil preasure AUTOMETER "PHANTOM" guages,custom fabricated air intake trac and huge K/N filter, TPS mod, BELLTECH 2-inch rear drop, custom programed SUPERCHIP "FLIP-CHIP", BAUMANN ENGINEERING shift kit (on stage 5 setting)BYPASS CLUTCH CONTROL VALVE/PREASURE REGULATOR VALVE, ASP POWER PULLEYS, custom tig welded and ported JBA "JET BLACK coated headers, twin DERALE 16 INCH ELECTRIC FANS, PERMA COOL 14"/10" tranny cooler with 10" electric fan, PERMA-COOL external tranny filter, custom ported (STOCK) throttle body, custom digital air intake temp sensor, custom ported TB intake elbow, relocated ATS, FORD RACING 24LB injectors, RUSSELL stainless steel braided tranny lines with fittings.


FUTURE MODS : BBK 75MM THROTTLE BODY, 80MM PRO-M MASS AIR METER, AADI F1 RAM AIR HOOD WITH CUSTOM FABRICATED RAM AIR SET-UP, CAL-TRAC TRACTION BARS, EXTRUDE HONED INTAKE MANIFOLD, SHM CUSTOM FUEL RAILS, 90/10 FRONT CE SHOCKS, 70/30 REAR CE SHOCKS, BELL TECH 2/4 DROP, EXPEDITION CENTER CONSOLE, HARLEY DAVISON F-150 LOWER FRONT VALANCE (painted oxford white) and a KENNE BELL BLOWZILLA SUPERCHARGER.

ESTIMATED H.P TO DATE : 340H.P / 425ft/lbs of torque.

CURRENT PERFORMANCE : 1/4 MILE - 14.52E.T * MPH - 93.73 * 0-60MPH - 5.8 * 1/8 MILE - 9.2 * 60 FT - 2.0

OTHER TOYS : "83" PRO STREET FORD RANGER : 351-w stroked to 408c.i 625H.P (natural), 875H.P with 250H.P "BIG SHOT" N.O.S kit, tubbed (crome moly tubing), 12 point chrome moly roll cage, 4-link with coil overs, MUSTANG II front suspension, c-4 tranny (race prepped), 4000rpm stall converter(8 INCH), 3" chrome moly driveshaft,AUTOMETER guages, 16.50 MICKEY THOMPSON rear tires, 4" M/T front tires, CENTERLINE CON-VO PRO rims, fiberglass hood - bumper - prostock hood scoop, wishbone trac-link, two chrome moly driveshaft loops, 16 gallon JAZ fuel cell,etc

 

Have you checked out the offerings of these guys?

 

My engine is a 4.6l. That means it pumps 4 and a half liters with each rev... A presurized tank would have to be quite large and move a lot of air to make a difference. I don't doubt Neal in this may make a .1 sec. difference on a race truck off the line but not much real world benefits for a street truck. Save your time and money...

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Black 1997 F-150 Supercab Flairside. 4.6L with Superchip, Jacobs DIS, K&N Generation II, Cat back Exhaust with Flowmaster 40 and MEG'S Stainless tip in front of rear wheel (nice rumble). 17" Off Road wheel pkg. Lots of body mods. 5 yrs old and still turns heads...and now paid for!! New is NITTO NT404 275/65/17's and Hellwig 1/7/16 front and 1 1/8 rear bar.

 

i don't mean to continue to crap on the parade, but i just wanted to save you some time thinking about this one, trust me, i've done plenty. turbos or s/c's pump air directly into the intake which enables a pressure increase unlike a nozzly introduced downstream. the e-ram is no miracle worker either. 1st of all it's a major obstruction when not in use causing a decrease in power. 2nd electricity from an engine doesn't come free inless you use a separate battery that you recharge frequently. when the eram is working, the juice powering it has to come from somewhere, somewhere being your alternator. ...do you see where this is going? yes, using the eram will give you a noticable power increase because when it's running it makes up for the power loss from the stupid thing being in the air duct. i could go on, but hopefully i don't need to.

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98' 4x4 S/C F-150 Flaireside, ORP, K&N FIPK