Cold Air Intake System Really Not Needed

[gw33gp]

I have a good friend that has a stock 64 Falcon Sprint. He always uses premium gasoline and nothing say can convince him he is wasting money on premium. Remember, it has a 260 cu. in. engine. Even if the premium fuel does help (which it doesn't) it still isn't going to make much power. I had a 65 Mustang convertible powered with a 260 between Viet Nam tours. It was fun but not a performance machine. Of course, that didn't prevent me from driving it like it was.

Would someone explain how cooling the fuel increases performance. You can densify it by cooling to get more fuel in but that just makes it more rich resulting in less power. That is not difficult to do anyway. Bigger jets will do it on carbs and reprogramming the ECU on electronic fuel injected engines.

I know cooler air is more dense and can get more oxygen in into the engine which lets you also add more fuel to maintain the best air fuel ratio. Kind of like turbo or supercharging. I just don't get the cold fuel trick. I know at one time when F1 didn't allow refueling and they had to carry all their fuel with a maximum capacity tank, some teams were caught cheating by filling with cold fuel right before the race. That allowed them to use more fuel because it would expand as it warmed up. It didn't improve performance though. The extra fuel just let then drive harder longer than the teams not cheating.

 

[Dirtman]

Ok im not a scientist here but if i understand the principle, when gasoline is colder its denser obviously but unlike air it doesn't change the effect of the fuel/air ratio. Cold dense air = leaner fuel air mix. Its not the same for gasoline, 1 gram of gasoline will always require 14.7 grams of air whether that gas is zero degrees or 100 degrees. But at zero degrees the gasoline has more ummm "explodey bits" tightly packed in it than the gas at 100 degrees. So you're not just adding more fuel like you would with larger jets, your adding more explodey bits per volume of fuel.

Im quite positive @RonD has a much more coherent and correct answer.

By the way "explodey bits" is now a registered trademark...

 

[RonD]

Yes, "explodey bits"™ is the key

And its how many "explodey bits"™ you can stuff into a cylinder while maintaining the 14.7:1 ratio

A engine cylinder has a VOLUME
Air:fuel ratio is a WEIGHT
So the denser(heavier) the air or fuel is, the more you can stuff in to that VOLUME

And the more "explodey bits"™ there are in that VOLUME the more power is has in pushing down the piston

Air has quite a large change in weight with temperature and elevation
Fuel not so much but it ain't 0 either, lol

Is it worth it, its an edge, and racers are always looking for an edge

Dirtman, I did add ™ to your registered trademark

 

[Dirtman]

I tried reading an article explaining the principle on cold gasoline and how the hydrocarbons and octane things did something with volumes and densities at different temperatures. There were sciencey words, and charts, and math...

I couldn't get through it, after the first page I started eating my keyboard and passed out. So I'm sticking with the explanation of there being more explodey bits®


Also were talking back in the good old days of carbs with low pressure mechanical fuel pumps. Back then it it was important to keep the fuel/lines cool to prevent vapor lock. Usually just keeping the lines away from the exhaust & headers and/or well insulated was enough but a dry ice cooler would also certainly help temporarily as well (until the dry ice evaporated). Modern engines don't have this problem since the lines are under enough pressure to prevent the gasoline from vaporizing in the line.

Surprisingly, you can still buy these things....

Canton Racing Products 80-500: Fuel Cooling Tank Universal - JEGS

Get the Best Performance with Canton Racing Products Fuel Cooling Tank Universal 80-500 parts at JEGS. Shop Now at the Guaranteed Lowest Price!

www.jegs.com

 

[Grumpaw]

I have a good friend that has a stock 64 Falcon Sprint. He always uses premium gasoline and nothing say can convince him he is wasting money on premium. Remember, it has a 260 cu. in. engine. Even if the premium fuel does help (which it doesn't) it still isn't going to make much power. I had a 65 Mustang convertible powered with a 260 between Viet Nam tours. It was fun but not a performance machine. Of course, that didn't prevent me from driving it like it was.

Would someone explain how cooling the fuel increases performance. You can densify it by cooling to get more fuel in but that just makes it more rich resulting in less power. That is not difficult to do anyway. Bigger jets will do it on carbs and reprogramming the ECU on electronic fuel injected engines.

I know cooler air is more dense and can get more oxygen in into the engine which lets you also add more fuel to maintain the best air fuel ratio. Kind of like turbo or supercharging. I just don't get the cold fuel trick. I know at one time when F1 didn't allow refueling and they had to carry all their fuel with a maximum capacity tank, some teams were caught cheating by filling with cold fuel right before the race. That allowed them to use more fuel because it would expand as it warmed up. It didn't improve performance though. The extra fuel just let then drive harder longer than the teams not cheating.

All very true. But remember, I'm talking 1964-65. Anf if the racers used Sunoco 260 then it was good enough for us. And, also, no computers/internet/google...our "google" was reading Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines, and word of mouth from guy's who "had done this or that".
We were teenagers and if it sounded to good to be true, we did it anyway. Hell, back then just putting a Moon Eyes or Headman Headers decal on your side windows mad your car faster.

 

[sgtsandman]

People still seem to believe stickers make your car faster. As Honda Cvic owners.

 

[Dirtman]

You can't prove they don't!

 

[Grumpaw]

Stickers make car go Varooom !

 

[Grumpaw]

Anyway, as to my original post and the Scan Gauge ll, if your not fimilar with it, google it up. You cansee what parameters it can be set up for. Everything from fuel system loop status, ignition timing, even HP ratings.
When you initally install/plug it in, it will give you RPM, water temp, speed, and mpg. From there you can scroll thru an entire menu of readings. Some you have to enter via their instructions, and some are not available due to the particular ecm in your truck. Some ecu's do not have sertain sensors feeding info. As an example, I have one in our 2012 E-450 based motor home with a V-10, and I can access trans temp. But I haven't been able to program that on my 4 cyl Ranger.
Still, it gives you instant readings while you driving on the usual stuff that you would get from aftermarket guages or idiot lights, but much more accurate.
Runs around $140-$150 on Amazon.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You can do pretty much do the same thing with a blue tooth OBD adapter and your smart phone... right?

Does this scan gauge have any diagnostic capabilities? Read and clear codes? Perform any set up/programming functionality?

 

[G8orFord]

If you think the Scan Gauge II is cool, you should try a BT OBDII adapter and Torque Pro, Forscan or one of the many other OBDII reader apps out there. That setup and your smartphone or tablet is a lot less than a SGII and, IMO, easier to use and more thorough. Especially Forscan on a Ford. Pre-1996 guys are SOL though.

@Uncle Gump beat me to it.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Yeah... I just asked because I'm playing with my new stuff. It's pretty cool... I'm still no expert but with my tablet mounted the MX plus adapter and all of the other apps available including Nav... this seems like a better move for me personally.

 

[Grumpaw]

You can do pretty much do the same thing with a blue tooth OBD adapter and your smart phone... right?

Does this scan gauge have any diagnostic capabilities? Read and clear codes? Perform any set up/programming functionality?

Yeah Uncle, it does read and clear codes.
If your referring to reprograming the ecu like a "tuner", no it dosen't have that capability.
It will get and display any codes or readings from almost all sensors that feed info to the ecu
I', not into blue tooth or smart phone adapters, but I know there are programs that do the same thing. I just like the Scan Gauge as it is just a nice compact unit. Have had one on our motor home since 2012 and I'm just used to it.
As for "blue tooth"...we used to get that years ago by drinking Grape Nehi.

 

[Orca]

As an example, I have one in our 2012 E-450 based motor home with a V-10, and I can access trans temp. But I haven't been able to program that on my 4 cyl Ranger.

In case it's helpful, the Transmission Fluid Temperature (TFT) PID on my 2004 Ranger (V6) is Mode $22, PID $1674. Formula is "AB/8", in degF. I suspect that it may be the same on your 2009 4-cylinder Ranger's ECU.

I admire the ScanGaugeII but don't own one, so you'd need to translate that info into ScanGauge-friendly "TXD" and "RXF" (etc) commands, but their "XGauge Coding Information" manual has all the necessary info and I suspect you may have already done it for other data points (e.g. your motorhome).

 

[Uncle Gump]

yeah... I can appreciate where you are coming from. I'm an old dog that doesn't like many new tricks out there. I really didn't even want a screen in my vehicle... but I'm tired of fighting it. I also have trouble seeing the small screen on my phone so I put my tablet into it.

As a kid,,, my favorite was NuGrape. One of these hung in the corner store... I wish I could find one at a reasonable price.