Cowl induction or Ram Air II
#1
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Cowl induction or Ram Air II
Hey everyone, I'm saving up for a hood but I do not know what to get. I'm going strictly for looks, because I want that aggressive and badass muscle car look, if that makes any sense. I'm choosing between a ram air II style hood and a cowl induction hood. I don't really care about functionallity, as I will be doing an engine swap in the next few years, and plan on gaining enough HP out of that. I'm also swaping out my 89 bumper for an 84 with the solid body colored inserts if that makes any difference. Anyway I'm really interested in any imput anyone has. Thanks.
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Car: 1984 chevy camaro
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
i love my 4 inch glasstek hood. its really light, and looks badass.
#3
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Car: 1985 Pontiac Trans Am
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
I don't like the looks of either the cowl hoods or the Ram Air II. The regular Ram Air hood looks better to me.
#4
Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
I vote RA2 but you almost need a 82-92 4th gen style spoiler or 4th gen spoiler to make it match the rest of the car.
Whatever aftermarket hood you go with, consider getting hood pins or dzus fasteners. The top layer of fiberglass hoods have been known to separate from the bottom layer or the hood latch at high speeds resulting in a hood flying off. Doesn't happen too often but can happen.
Whatever aftermarket hood you go with, consider getting hood pins or dzus fasteners. The top layer of fiberglass hoods have been known to separate from the bottom layer or the hood latch at high speeds resulting in a hood flying off. Doesn't happen too often but can happen.
#5
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
None of the aftermarket hoods really match the body lines... The RA I hoods probably come closest. An aftermarket hood over a stock drivetrain is silly. Historically it's always been to either create clearance, or as a gimmick intake. Aside from weight reduction it does nothing for performance.
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
the RAII has no place on a 3rd gen, period
RAI works really well on 91-92 birds
Cowls are hit or miss, i have a 4" VFN cowl and like it, actually matches the fender line pretty well, so it works, but i needed it for clearance and really had no choice.
the factory powerbuldge hood is good too, and vfn apparently makes a glass version, but i have never seen a pic of it.
honestly, i would wait until you know what you are doing with the engine before buying the hood. A cowl is pointless without a need for it, especially on a fuel injected car with the throttle body in the front of the engine, and the flat hoods wont work with a tall intake setup.
RAI works really well on 91-92 birds
Cowls are hit or miss, i have a 4" VFN cowl and like it, actually matches the fender line pretty well, so it works, but i needed it for clearance and really had no choice.
the factory powerbuldge hood is good too, and vfn apparently makes a glass version, but i have never seen a pic of it.
honestly, i would wait until you know what you are doing with the engine before buying the hood. A cowl is pointless without a need for it, especially on a fuel injected car with the throttle body in the front of the engine, and the flat hoods wont work with a tall intake setup.
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
If I were to get a new hood, I would go with the cowl induction type. I think that the 2" or 2 1/2" cowl hoods are too small, while the 4" or 6" are way too tall. However, there is a 3" that seems perfect, IMO. I think Harwood makes one for the Camaro, I do not know about the Firebird.
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#8
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Car: 86 Trans Am, 92 Firebird
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
harwood has a firebird cowl, should be a 3" or maybe a 2.5
#9
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Car: 1985 Pontiac Trans Am
Engine: 305TPI
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
the RAII has no place on a 3rd gen, period
RAI works really well on 91-92 birds
Cowls are hit or miss, i have a 4" VFN cowl and like it, actually matches the fender line pretty well, so it works, but i needed it for clearance and really had no choice.
the factory powerbuldge hood is good too, and vfn apparently makes a glass version, but i have never seen a pic of it.
honestly, i would wait until you know what you are doing with the engine before buying the hood. A cowl is pointless without a need for it, especially on a fuel injected car with the throttle body in the front of the engine, and the flat hoods wont work with a tall intake setup.
RAI works really well on 91-92 birds
Cowls are hit or miss, i have a 4" VFN cowl and like it, actually matches the fender line pretty well, so it works, but i needed it for clearance and really had no choice.
the factory powerbuldge hood is good too, and vfn apparently makes a glass version, but i have never seen a pic of it.
honestly, i would wait until you know what you are doing with the engine before buying the hood. A cowl is pointless without a need for it, especially on a fuel injected car with the throttle body in the front of the engine, and the flat hoods wont work with a tall intake setup.
#10
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
2 in. Goodmark Cowl all steel hood. Its 3in. at the rear vent.
Last edited by Ron U.S.M.C.; 01-06-2010 at 09:29 PM. Reason: add info.
#11
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Car: 1989 firebird
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
I guess a ram air II hood would look a bit out of place. Yet I feel as though the ram air I hoods look a little weird and not very aggressive. I think once I stuff a fat engine in there (383, 408, big block etc.) I will go with the harwood 3 inch cowl hood. I've always thought that a hood bird would look cool on a cowl hood too.
#13
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
for a bird, Ram air I all the way, the ram air II is ugly as sin, I don't even like them on 4th gen birds.
for a Camaro, a small cowl hood, 3 inch max (unless the motor has the ***** to back it up)
for a Camaro, a small cowl hood, 3 inch max (unless the motor has the ***** to back it up)
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Car: 1989 Iroc-Z Camaro
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
Heres one more showing how when the hood closes my TBI pulls from the Cowl.
Last edited by Ron U.S.M.C.; 01-06-2010 at 09:44 PM. Reason: add image
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
Ram Air I
Ram Air II
Ram Air II-style only looks good, when it had all 4 nostrils, like the 4th gens do. Like on my old 97 Tahoe.....
Ram Air II
Ram Air II-style only looks good, when it had all 4 nostrils, like the 4th gens do. Like on my old 97 Tahoe.....
#18
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
I suppose an ss hood could look cool on a firebird, although I've never really seen that before.
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
yeah, transmaros are lame ! Does anybody think that a hood bird on top of the cowl hood would look cool, or maybe even a skull or some other decal? I've always thought something like that would be awesome!
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
#24
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Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
I actually love the way your IROC looks ssean92! I think it does take quite a bit more than a hood to make a transmaro. Anyway, love the look of all of the hoods everyone has listed, but I'd have to say that the cowl is my favorite right now. It has that awesome "get the hell out of my way" look to it, which is what I love about our type of cars in the first place . I'm basically sold on it if it would look good with a hood bird, although I don't know if it would. Any ideas for a cool cowl hood design?
#25
Re: Cowl induction or Ram Air II
Sinister's yellow Camaro is one of the coolest designs that I've seen used on a cowl hood car. But the car also has the Camaro hockey stripe going with it.
And it looks like a 5th gen owner has copied his idea. Hockey stripes are supposed to stop before the door handle, but whatever, still looks alright on a 5th gen.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25830
If you are wanting a hood bird, maybe consider cutting a hole in a base 82-92 firebird hood for a shaker like what the 2nd gen trans ams have.
This is the Bandit II thirdgen by the way, I believe this shaker is just stuck on to the stock hood:
I think a hood bird could work on a RA2 hood also, but probably not with a 2nd gen decal, don't think it would fit.
And it looks like a 5th gen owner has copied his idea. Hockey stripes are supposed to stop before the door handle, but whatever, still looks alright on a 5th gen.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25830
If you are wanting a hood bird, maybe consider cutting a hole in a base 82-92 firebird hood for a shaker like what the 2nd gen trans ams have.
This is the Bandit II thirdgen by the way, I believe this shaker is just stuck on to the stock hood:
I think a hood bird could work on a RA2 hood also, but probably not with a 2nd gen decal, don't think it would fit.
Last edited by Firebat; 01-07-2010 at 11:11 PM.
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