Air filters, salt in motors and will a sock be enough?

[SPARKY]

counter point---down low the intake can be in a high pressure area from the tire
"bow wave" might help aero

On a Lakester there is going to be salt everywhere at one time or another

[Koncretekid]

You might consider some kind of centrifugal filter that swirls the air before entering, theoretically throwing the salt to the outside.
Tom

[Tman]

Sparky, timely thread revival. Tauruck and I are working on these same issues right now.

Another Q? Do turbos like straight ducting or an airbox?

[tauruck]

I've been looking and found this. It worked for Williams F1. Where it's situated for your application isn't good but may be a starting point.

[donpearsall]

I thought that running a K&N filter on my turbo bike would keep the salt out, but no. The up-pipes and intercooler were full of it. The low position of the filter meant that the intake was being force fed salt spray at over 200mph.

I spoke to a K&N engineer and he said there was no way that their filters would keep all salt out. The particles can get so small that they will pass right through the filter pores.

So I reworked the whole intake so the intake opening was a NACA shaped opening on the front of the fairing about 3' off the ground. I just had a screen to keep big stuff out. After about 6 runs, no salt after teardown!

So now even if I run naked, the intake is going up high.

Don

[Stan Back]

And added to the problem with an open front-wheeled vehicle (lakester, roadster, etc.) is the blast of salt when turning out after a run.  It can effect your salt readings.

I've tried spinning it off, but probably not recommended for long-wheelbase vehicles.

Stan

[SPARKY]

Would a box like this up high  "Trap" the big chunks enough?  would you put a cone filter on the end of the turbos or a flat filter up top?


________/         ________
l                           l           l   ->
l_______________l_/    /__l
                           /     /
                         /    /
                       /     /
 Turbo l ___    /     /    
                           /
         _________/
         l

[SPARKY]

Yeah you are right Stan  --- on a long wheel base car it just stirs up more Salt for the engine to try to swallow---mine didn't like it  :| ---that is why I dug this out--lol 

[Buickguy3]

  Give K&N your engine specs, and RPM, and turbo info and they will tell you how many square inches of filter you need. We ended up with 5 K&N filters. Beats the alternative.
  Doug 

[wobblywalrus]

Both oiled gauze and oiled foam filters have been tried.  The oiled foam ones have worked the best, by far.  The filters are over twice the size they need to be.  This way, they can clog a bit with no performance loss. 

[Buickguy3]

  We have also found that the air contains a lot of salt vapor and some of it condenses on the downstream side of the filter and if you don't wipe it out of the pipes, eventually it ends up going through the turbo even with a filter system.
   Doug 

[Stainless1]

We have always used a KN filter Dry for our NA motors, knock the salt out every run.
For the turbo we fed a box with our NACA scoop, the turbo intake was in the box with a Cone filter on it.  Never saw salt in any of the motors, intakes, throttle bodies. 

[Buickguy3]

   After talking to K&N here's what we ended up with. Twice the surface area we started out using. The front wheels really do throw up a lot of junk.
    Doug 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

"...This way, they can clog a bit with no performance loss." 

I think, WW and others, that I remember being told that air filters (maybe oil, too) are designed to be better at doing their jobs when they're about 20% clogged with crud.  They gain filtering ability as the large passages become slightly clogged, so build them a bit on the "loose" side and accept the fact that they'll catch some stuff.  Within reason, of course, but a little dirt/salt in there is a good thing.

[dw230]

If 20% clogged is good for performance 80% clogged is worth 2 MPH.

DW