Q987 YRX
1310cc a series, kent 600 cam (like a 276), single hi44 carb, s close ratios and 3.44 final drive. (did have a k&n stub stack but see below)

Ive been very pleased with the power this combination gives between 3500 and 6000rpm
BUT was going to take out the engine and fit a kent 256cam as i do lots of town driving.
im sick of slipping the clutch all the time.

whats easier? taking the engine out or putting on a 17 inch ram pipe?
youbetcha - the second option.
The difference is amazing. I know have bags of torque at 1500 rpm.
to do this:
Ive fitted : a 180 degree bend 45 mm i.d. silcone hose to the carb , a length of 45mm o.d. aluminium tube and a remote air filter.

Have you got a hairy cam and are sick of it round town?
dont take the engine out! - fit a ram pipe!

Ive had to seriously file down the carb needle (BBC needle) AND change the distributor advance so that there is less advance at 2000 rpm but more at 4000 rpm.
But all the fitting and fettling has taken me much less time than swapping the cam over.
i removed the radiator overflow tank thingy last year - otherwise there would be nowhere for the air filter to fit.
i hope i can attach a picture. here goes:

i did attach a picture . wheres it gone?
im sure its because im a numpty.

This may help posting-pictures-t70.html

Nelly now has a kent 256 cam (rather than a kent 600) and ive been experimenting with rampipes. she is still 1310cc "a" series, and now has 1.3 rockers. 1.4 inch inlet valves.

The really long 17 inch rampipe with bend still gives a huge boost at very low revs.
But it picks up the air from inside the engine compartment which is hot.
not ideal. in fact it is too good with the 256 cam and i get pinking at 2000rpm.

I made a hole in the back so i can run a straight rampipe that draws from the rear baggage compartment
(still have a filter on rampipe).

The three rampipes i have tried are all 45mm internal diameter made of aluminium.
they have nice radius on the end.
here are my thoughts.
1. four and a half inch rampipe - feel it boosting torque at 3500 to 4500 rpm - no use for road.
2. six and a half inch rampipe - i really like this as it boosts from 2000 to 3000 rpm but is quite noisy - with a sort of booming resonance going on at all revs.
3. six and a half inch rampipe with special pipercross 1 3/4 radius stub stack fitted to the end - doesnt really help until 3000 rpm but is very quiet - which is weird cos its exactly the same total length as pipe number 2.
i will try

if you are prepared to cut a hole in your rossa you can experiment with rampipes that are straight and a good length.
cos they give such a huge boost in air flow ive found the ONLY needle that works well is the metro turbo needle. as it richens the mid range. ive got a modified hif44 with standard spring.

another thing that i do , that ive not ever read about is i adjust the needle up and down in the carb rather than using the adjusting screw. i leave the fuel nozzle HIGH (within 1mm of the bridge) . this seems to help as the fuel issues nice and high right into the airsteam.

im gonna get pics up of the three rampipes.

best wishes to the rossa owners.

Peter Dickson.
PS im the man with the rossa roll bar on ebay auction ends sunday 26th august 2012

here are the pictures of the three rampipes that i talk about:

http://s1072.photobucket.com/albums/w37 ... sa%20pics/

i hope the link works.

i have had a chat with my bike tuning mate and checked on the net. it is clear that elyptical style
flared ends DAMP out air resonances. which is why my pipe two makes more noise than pipe three.

i think the resonance that my pipe makes IS HELPING torque a lot between 2000 and 3000rpm.
and i like it.

Interesting, some background info to back it up http://www.emeraldm3d.com/articles/emr-adj-length-intake/.

Al

i really like that emerald link. thank you for posting that up! im making a seven and a half inch rampipe ! will let you guys know how i get on . . . .

When are you guys going to stop bragging about the size of your rampipes? It's interesting stuff though - when I had a 240Z with triple 40's (heaven....) the length of rampipes used made a noticeable difference particularly if I was using the deep K&N filters that I sometimes fitted to prevent the inner wings getting scorched I think it was something to do with the longer pipes being too close to the plate on the end of the filter and affecting the airflow so the results were the opposite with the filters on. Maybe not relevant here but just thought I'd mention it.

the original builder of Q987 YRX has just got in touch with me via linked in!
he built her in 1990 and sold her in 2000 (im the fourth owner and bought her in 2001)
im sooo chuffed! cant wait to meet him!
nelly is a real state to look at but im really proud of the way she runs.
more ram pipe info in a second . .. .

new pics
http://s1072.photobucket.com/albums/w37 ... sa%20pics/
the new pics are the lying down pipes.
longest one is 7 1/2 inches
the second longest is 6 1/2 inches and you have seen that before
the shortest is 4 1/2 inches you saw it before and i have retired it and reused its end bit to make the 7 1/2 incher.

i havnt tried the new 7 1/2 incher properly but HOPE it will boost 2000 to 3000 with a peak at 2500.
my fave up to now is the 6 1/2 incher that i mention earlier in this thread
it gives a lovely boost from 2500 to 3500 with a peak at 3000
the 6 1/2 incher with sexy pipercross flare does NOT resonate as i said before.

the emerald3d article is FASCINATING. well worth a read.
(remember we are pulling four cylinders through one pipe so its not quite the same)
heresy : i think vizard is wrong : you CAN shockwave tune a 5 porter cos i think im doing just that. . . discuss . . .

how did i make these pipes? cut aluminium to length then used a large 35MM socket that fortuneatley had exactly the right flare . used this flare and a huge hammer to flare out the end of the aluminium pipe a bit . pipe fits over the socket while you hit the other end of the pipe. or hit the socket. the curved flare on the socket does the work. im gonna have to put a pic up as this makes no sense! pic coming- then scoured aldi and found a cheap 59p 500 grammes of salt. poured the salt into a pint glass. cut the bottom off the plastic salt bottle off. the bottom of the salt bottle is the mould you need to make a nice flare at the end of the pipe. it fits VERY well with the 45mm ally pipe that ive just flared using the 35mm socket. used standard body filler and my mould to make my flare. then glued the other end into a standard 1 3/4 phenolic spacer using best quality araldite. you need to angle the pipe a bit down (5 to ten degrees) or else your pipe and filter will hit the boot lid.
take your time and fettle and its all good.

to recap:
1310cc "a" series close ratio box 3.2 final drive.
12g940 head with 1.4 inlet valves, 256 cam, 1.3 rockers, ford orion 1.6 backbox, single hiff 44 carb with butterfly modded, lightly modded turbo needle, minispares water heated inlet manifold, AND resonating 6 1/2 inch ram pipe. . . .

ok ive put up the pics of the socket that i use to start the flare of the pipe.
cos the OD of the pipe is 45mm it fits in a standard 1 3/4 inch phenolic spacer easily.
and you make sure you angle it (5 or ten degrees) before gluing it to the phenolic spacer or similar. if you dont do this angle then depending on your inlet manifold and angle of your engine the pipe and or air filter will hit the bootlid.
so long as you are prepared to cut a hole in your rossa this is a cheap way of boosting torque.
you are using the phenolic spacer "diagonally" and may need to enlarge its bolt holes.
the fact that the inner diameter of these pipes is a bit less than 1 3/4 inch is not important
they absolutely DO NOT restrict flow at the power levels we are interested in.

im off to try my 7 1/2 incher on the road , think the 6 1/2 incher will be the one i settle on but theres only one way to find out . . ..

ha ha
that was brilliant.
i tweaked the distributor forward by 3 degrees and went to the airport (manchester) with the 7 1/2 incher.
nelly now feels MUCH faster in top gear than my mates mx5 1.8 from 40mph to 80mph. thats 2000 rpm to 4000rpm
really chuffed

although she doesnt bark and resonate like with the 6 1/2 incher . . .
(why not? - no idea)

Wow, a VERY interesting read.

I am new to the GTM world and to the A+ series engine. I bought my Rossa about a month ago and have been TOTALLY let down by it.
I was told by the seller "that's how they are being old tech". - NOT THE CASE from reading your thread and now I've gone from being deflated to bloomin' excited.

Are you open to answer some questions about your project? There are a few points that I cant get my head around, like where in the system do you put the air filter when using a RAM pipe? In the end? Well, no... otherwise you wouldn't have flared the end of the pipe.....
Also the cooling. My car over pressurised and overheated to the point that on my second run I thought the head gasket had gone (even though I kept the temp gauge mid way using a manual override switch for the rad fan). There seems to be no pressure relief cap on the rad or the expansion tank - hoses were bulging and steam was escaping.

All though I have very little experience with petrol engines, I did get an NVQ III in HGV servicing and repairs after leaving school (quite some time ago but didn't end up being a "fitter") so I would hope that I'm competent enough to apply what I learn..... and I have a lot to learn.

I really hope that you're still using the forum as I enjoyed your writings immensely.
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Leon