Hi gang,
I am new to the forum and recently bought a 1994 Chevy C2500 (Silverado pkg). It has the 454 Big block as an engine.

Please see attached pic. This weird metal thing is attached to the body of the air cleaner. It rests on the TBI. I have never seen this before and do not know what it does.
Does anyone have an idea. Can I remove it from the body of the air cleaner?

Thanks

 

It appears to be one of those add-on Vortex air intakes. They claim to boost mileage and horsepower by redirecting the airflow. They're legal in all 50 States because they don't really do anything at all.
I would remove it.

 

Thanks for the reply Photon. It will be be part of a delete this weekend.

 

I have heard of them, but this is the first time I actually saw one.

There are people out there just waiting to get into your wallet with useless add ons !.

 

The idea is if the air is spinning (like a vortex), its speed will be increased and, in theory, more air will enter the combustion chamber, resulting in increased fuel efficiency and engine output.

The problem is the throttle plates immediately interrupt any change in air direction or speed, so any theoretical gain is lost before it even gets past the throttle body.

The theory itself isn’t anything to argue with - it’s why many vehicles utilize plastic molded intakes that force the air into a full or semi-circular path, or have runner control valves - but theory and application are 2 different things.

This is, however, the first time I’ve seen one on a TBI. Someone was hoping for a miracle.

Add a few zeros to your MPG/HP/torque ratings and you’ll get the same deluded sense of relief as the PO got when they installed that thing.

 

Probably the reason those things have shown to be useless in tests is because of the speed increase. As you increase the speed of a given volume, the density decreases. Twisted intake paths often have as much to do with packaging the engine under the hood as with efficiency; often times the same engine will have different intakes according to the vehicle that it is fitted to.

 

Please explain further. I’m by no means an expert in physics but I had to take technical physics for my degree and my understanding is that as the speed of a given mass (not volume) increases, the density increases.

 

I am not a physicist either, but I know the basics from an interest in aeronautics and understanding the Bernoulli principle and how it applies to a carburetor venturi.