Open Road Honda in Mandan ND (right across the Missouri River from Bismarck) had a dyno shootout on Saturday. I was curious about the ram air and wondered if it made much of a difference. It's probably a weird thing to do, but Friday I took my 200 mph Stihl leaf blower over there to blow it in the ram air system to see if there was a difference. Of course when the bike is on the dyno the ram air has no effect because the bike is sitting still. Shawn, the dyno operator, said the numbers were going to be low today because it had just rained about an hour earlier and the humidity was so high. Just so everyone knows, the 1st pull was without the leaf blower. On the 2nd pull, I put the leaf blower into the ram air intake and held it wide open, 200 mph wind.
1st bike was my sons 2005 ZX-6R 636 with a slip-on. Without ram air - 101 horsepower. With ram air - 105 horsepower.
Next up was my friends 2015 BMW S1000RR with a full Akrapovich exhaust. Without ram air - 174 horsepower. With ram air - 180 horsepower. Next up, my 2012 ZX-14R with Brocks full Alien Head exhaust. Without ram air - 188 horsepower. With ram air - 195 horsepower. So I guess ram air does make a difference. You probably think I'm weird for sticking a leaf blower into the ram air. Oh well, so be it. It was just something I was always curious about. Now I know.
It's too bad the weather conditions weren't better. I was hoping for higher numbers from my bike. These are all SAE numbers. STD my bike would be 206 horsepower.
Now I can put my theory to rest.

Good test.That hp for you zx is normal.My 2013 was pulling REALLY strong.Plenty of power.I dynoed it just for the heck of it...187HP.Full brock's system.I was a tad disappointed.But who knows the conditions at the time?It was about 9 in the AM.Three pulls.Not so sure about the operator...probably did it right.

"You probably think I'm weird for sticking a leaf blower into the ram air."

Not really. It makes perfect sense. 186mph @ 10k rpm is like a 200mph blower into a ram, where the dyno is going to read the linear HP at said cutoff of the rpm> So it's pretty much close enough for junk science for me. Even if it was a 186rpm blower, it still shows the ram effect, i.e., 'pressure behind the closed intake valve.'

You probably think I'm weird for sticking a leaf blower into the ram air.

No not at all. I've heard of tuners doing that to simulate the ram air effect.

So about 4% more hp with ram air? I always wondered how much the increased aerodynamic drag costs us? Sure more hp is better but at 200mph it takes a heck of a lot of hp to overcome the drag of the air.

* Last updated by: Rook on 9/16/2019 @ 2:41 PM *

Nah... its not weird, its a poor man's supercharger.

Thanks for taking the time to answer what a lot of riders wanted to know. Is it ram air real or marketing hype ? On a lighter note you'll be able to dyno those sleds next week in Bismarck !

It's something I've wondered about for a long time. My friend with the S1000RR BMW thought it was a cool idea. He was pleased his hp increased by 6 with the ram air. He's a roadracer and excellent rider. He takes his bike to Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. He's going there this weekend and he can share what he learned with the other riders. About dynoing sleds next week, I think we might have to wait a little longer. It was 87 degrees yesterday, about the same today, and it looks like it's going to be in the 70's going into October. I'll take it.

* Last updated by: mokaw on 9/18/2019 @ 4:18 PM *

Especially effective at over 120 mph. Before that, not so much.

Does ram air work?

My 2 cents........

Yes and No.

Yes/No = As in a forced air induction creating some "boost" kinda.
There's really not much increase in PSI until high speeds and at those
speeds the aerodynamic effects of having a gaping hole in the front of
your bike makes any performance gains a wash at best. Would be better without it.

Surprising enough though the numbers you saw come out pretty close
to what the math says.

Pressure increase .0000176 x (200mph x 200mph) = .704

.704 / 14.7 = .047

So should see around a 4.7% increase in HP

Yes = What I think the main design was intended for. An air scoop.
It brings in the coolest most dense air possible.

Imagine converting your bike to foam socks hanging off your throttle bodies behind
the engine.

I'd imagine you could see 100 degrees difference in intake temps.

Rule of thumb is like 1% hp loss per 10 degrees, so you would have around a 10%
hp loss across the board if not for the ram air.

* Last updated by: piken on 9/20/2019 @ 1:29 PM *

Interesting tradeoffs. If I go turbo, I might get a fairing without a ram air hole. The ram air intake does look pretty dang cool though.

Ram Air is old tech. Kawasaki proved it back in the 80’s. In addition to pressurising the induction system the engine also benefits from cool(er) intake air rather than heated air from behind the engine.

On one hand I tend to agree with the thought that the engineers know what they are doing, especially when you consider that other manufacturers do the same thing (eg the GSXR1000 has the same ram air intakes).

On the other hand, its possible that ram air and the increased power it produces is more for marketing than for actual performance gains.

On the other hand, its possible that ram air and the increased power it produces is more for marketing than for actual performance gains.

+1. Given that the gains are right at the top end and relatively small no one can seriously claim they can use or even notice it on the road. On the drag strip then maybe and it’s a big maybe.
When it comes to engine stats, bigger numbers sell bikes.

I firmly believe the ram air works at the drag strip , .. My gen 2 picks up 25 to 30 mph in the second half of the 1/4 . from 120mph to 180,ph , it feels like a turbo In fact it does not begin to flatten out untill 190 +

Just something I thought I'd throw out here. I was comparing dyno sheets with my nephew who also had his 2006 ZX14 at the dyno shoutout. His - 2006 ZX14, 5,000 miles, Brocks full exhaust with pc and Brocks map. Mine - 2012 ZX14R, 9,000 miles, Brocks Alienhead 2, no pc, ECU flash by 2wheeldynoworks. At 100 mph, his was making 110 hp. Mine was making 130 hp. At 120 mph, his was making 150 hp. Mine was making 175 hp. At 150 mph, his was making 175 hp. Mine was making 195 hp. His had dynoed at 175 hp , mine at 195 hp, so both bikes hit their peak hp at 150 mph.
I thought it was interesting to compare the 2 bikes.

I was watching a video from Brock Davidson at brocksperformance and he was estimating a pick up of 5 to maybe 8 hp going down the track.

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