Author Topic: Explain air boxes please.  (Read 704 times)

eamartin

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Explain air boxes please.
« on: April 09, 2020, 02:29:27 PM »
Could someone please explain air boxes on these scooters.  Sure, they contain and protect the air filter.  But there's a whole lot of air volume enclosed on both sides of the air filters.  Why are the boxes so large?  And shaped as they are? 

TBR125

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2020, 03:21:31 PM »
Hi Eamartin,

Some of the airbox shape is required for the engineered optimum flow/volume, however, a lot of it is simply cosmetic. Often several breather lines go into the airbox and the large volume might help mix the vapors with more air for less effect on the fuel mixture. Thanks for raising the question, now I'm curious. I would like to hear others thoughts on it.
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eamartin

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2020, 04:03:24 PM »
Thanks for the quick reply.  The comment about the breather vapors makes a lot of sense, requiring volume to minimize effect on mixture ratio.  The flow/volume dynamics would be interesting information, although I might not be able to understand it if presented in engineers' terms.  This subject began for me when I picked up a scooter which had no air box. Pod filter alone did not work well.  It seems like a tube is needed and tube diameter and length are critical.  There's a lot more to this than I thought. 

TBR125

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2020, 05:24:56 PM »
The airbox is part of the entire system. If one aspect is changed without adjust the remaining system then it might not function as a whole. The picture is the clamp-on filter I am replacing the airbox with. Due to the higher flow the carb has to be re jetted and a larger exhaust is helpful to keep the system in equilibrium.
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eamartin

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2020, 05:41:36 PM »
What are you working on?

TBR125

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2020, 07:06:30 PM »
A 2016 Kymco Agility 125. The carb in the picture is an old one I was using for size fitting. I have a 1 inch muffler system which helps the upper rpm power as apposed to the 5/8 inch stock catalytic converter output. Here is the thread about it that I will update this weekend when my exhaust gasket arrives.

https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=29459.0
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scooterfan

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #6 on: April 12, 2020, 11:11:35 PM »
Thanks for the quick reply.  The comment about the breather vapors makes a lot of sense, requiring volume to minimize effect on mixture ratio.  The flow/volume dynamics would be interesting information, although I might not be able to understand it if presented in engineers' terms.  This subject began for me when I picked up a scooter which had no air box. Pod filter alone did not work well.  It seems like a tube is needed and tube diameter and length are critical.  There's a lot more to this than I thought.

I recently stumbled across an oldish, smallish air cooled Chinese scooter with a very interesting air box. The air box had an original "ram air" intake pipe which I thought should be very efficient - specially at speed. The scooter did not have any brand name or model on it, so I am not sure whether it was a carburetor or fuel injected model. Judging the size of the scooter, I thought it probably came with a 150cc engine with carburetor.

I think while riding at speed air boxes like this will have a bit of pressure inside the box, which could add a pony or two to the engine. Question is whether a standard carburetor can handle such an air box.

A photo of the air box can be seen below.

P.S. Having had a close look at the photo just now, I noticed the scooter had a "Jonway" sticker on it before. Johnway is a well known Chinese brand in our country.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2020, 11:16:10 PM by scooterfan »
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Stig / Major Tom

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2020, 12:47:30 AM »
Back in 1971 I added a little 8" air scoop in front of the windscreen of my Beetle.
The extra performance gain from the forced air* was......
 iffy.
Stig
*into the cabin😊
« Last Edit: April 13, 2020, 10:50:00 AM by Stig »
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TBR125

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Re: Explain air boxes please.
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2020, 03:10:26 AM »
I was curious about ram air and after studying the topic of scoops and performance gains I learned that it boiled down to highly advanced physics that I couldn't begin to understand. I will reassess the topic after finishing calculus 3 based physics for engineering:)
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