SU Carburetter Ram Pipes

[Lin]

I have short ram pipes inside my K & N air cleaners on the Bugeye. I just saw these ram pipes available from Burlen for the HD8 carbs in both 50 and 155 mm lengths with filtering screens. What are your thoughts on using these ram pipes?

https://www.burlen.co.uk/newsDetail.aspx?newsID=31

Lin Rose
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[Keoke]

Hi Lin, if the ram pipes were preceeded by an external filter like on your Bugeye they may be ok. Otherwise, I think they would do little to keep dirt out of the engine.---Fwiw--Keoke

 

[tahoe healey]

What do they do that taking the filters off doesn't? I use to race my MGB with-out the filter using only a piece of fiber glass screen bolted in place. (I saw no difference in proformance) But, yes, the rams look cooler.
In re-thinking about a big Healey it would help access the carbs when they need work (ie,balancing). I hate those tight spaces. I always get bloody getting the filters off.

 

[bob hughes]

Had them on my 100/6 in 74 and now have them on my BJ7, I can't say they did any harm, the new ones from Burlen do have a mesh on them, as you say, so rocks will not enter, my early ones did not. Sure makes a great sucking sound when you put the pedal down. I suppose it all depends what the roads are like, over here, they are all tarmac or concrete surfaced unless you go off-road.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif
Bob

 

[Michael Oritt]

[ QUOTE ]
What are your thoughts on using these ram pipes?

Lin Rose
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

[/ QUOTE ]

Lin--Well they certainly look very cool. A friend of mine drives a Chatterham Super 7 and he has velocity stacks that project out some holes of the bodywork, over which he has foam filters covered by a yellow gauze material with elastic around the edges--kind of like a miniature hair net. He claims that he had to relieve the filters somewhat to let the car breath properly.

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Lin,
Ram pipes on SU carbs "might" possibly increase maximum air flow a bit. IMO, they must be used in conjunction with effective filters. Good filters will likely double engine life. It may be that in the UK, everything is "always" wet enough that there is never any dust. Likely the reason that the cars originally came with no effective air filtration.

In the States, there is always enough dust to cause engine wear. Even on paved race tracks & highways. So good filters always help preserve the engine. A small foam filter on the stack, if it is effective, will get plugged pretty quickly & need to be constantly cleaned.

Short ram pipes inside of good filters such as K&N won't hurt anything, but not gain much either.
D

 

[Lin]

To all who replied:
Thanks for your feedback. I pretty much felt the way Dave and others did - that if you want to preserve the life of the engine it would be foolish to go to the stacks for a minimal gain in HP. I will stick with my air cleaners. They do look cool though, don't they!
Lin
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[jollyroger]

The best "ram type" device for an S.U. is a sub-stack. It looks like half of a donut(sliced like a bagel) that precisely fits around the entry to the carb. The air cleaner mounting bolts go through the raised portion of the unit so it holds the cleaner base on too. It should have a large radius to smooth out the airflow going into the carb. Some MGB's came with such a device under the stock air cleaners. This will make more HP and torque than a velosity stack and fits nicely under many air cleaners.

 

[Keoke]

Hey TH!, what you think you got that SU tuning kit for,? you do not have to pull the air cleaners and you do not have to retune the carbs like you do if you remove the air cleaners for tuning and balancing.---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif

OH I will be at the Lakeside Inn so let me know when its time to start shoveling snow for "COCO"- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tahoe healey]

On occasion I use the Unisyn but mostly the wire things so I really don't need to take the cleaners off.