Carbon filter

[LCDRChemEng]

But what if they’re lame (laminar airflow manipulation equipment) instead? Obviously don’t ‘trap’ anything. Lol.

You be testing my fluid mechanic skeelz? Oh young Grasshoppa, 2x check my username...

I consulted with my good friend Daniel Bernoulli, who checked with his good friend Osborne Reynolds, who quite assured us that the obstruction posed by the activated carbon strip and its supporting plastic accordion does NOT promote laminar flow, quite the opposite: it creates an area of turbulence right behind this contraption that increases drag and makes it harder to pull in air into the manifold. It is known.

I can't speak for gains or losses posed by the dead bug though, need modelling data for that.

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[Zig]

You be testing my fluid mechanic skeelz? Oh young Grasshoppa, 2x check my username...

I consulted with my good friend Daniel Bernoulli, who checked with his good friend Osborne Reynolds, who quite assured us that the obstruction posed by the activated carbon strip and its supporting plastic accordion does NOT promote laminar flow, quite the opposite: it creates an area of turbulence right behind this contraption that increases drag and makes it harder to pull in air into the manifold. It is known.

I can't speak for gains or losses posed by the dead bug though, need modelling data for that.

Lame normally doesn’t aid

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

You be testing my fluid mechanic skeelz? Oh young Grasshoppa, 2x check my username...

I consulted with my good friend Daniel Bernoulli, who checked with his good friend Osborne Reynolds, who quite assured us that the obstruction posed by the activated carbon strip and its supporting plastic accordion does NOT promote laminar flow, quite the opposite: it creates an area of turbulence right behind this contraption that increases drag and makes it harder to pull in air into the manifold. It is known.

I can't speak for gains or losses posed by the dead bug though, need modelling data for that.

Very good point. That begs the question then why not replace the whole intake system with a smoother path for the air to enter both throttle bodies? It will have less restrictive air flow but won’t increase power 95% of the time. I’m waiting to see when aftermarket catches up and produces one to see if gains are possible. I highly doubt it since there’s more than enough air flow getting into a small displacement engine for its needs. I know some manufacturers actually have used the ridges in the intake tubing to disrupt airflow so to catch the oil that has been introduced via the pcv valve. GM comes to mind and that was a disaster of a design idea. I don’t think Ford was thinking this and I’m not sure where the pcv dumps back into the air intake but if it’s before the carbon traps then that should capture the oil droplets making it’s way into the air intake.

 

[Zig]

…should capture the oil droplets making its way into the air intake.

Would that in turn make the non-serviceable part an oil soaked rag hanging inline? Both capture and dissipate?

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

Would that in turn make the non-serviceable part an oil soaked rag hanging inline? Both capture and dissipate?

Yes, it would. That’s why I’m still trying to figure out why they are there in the first place. If they disrupt the air, which they do, that should cause a loss in power and performance along with fuel economy. On the other hand, if the are there for capturing whatever then why is it a non serviceable part? I have too many questions and not enough answers. I know engineers spend millions on r&d but for the life of me I can’t understand why these are there.

 

[Zig]

…engineers spend millions on r&d but …

Reinforces the possibility of actual documented justification.

if it was epa / emissions a catch can would prove more effective., they don’t cough cough, sneeze, sneeze, sniffle, sniffle, burn anything.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

Reinforces the possibility of actual documented justification.

if it was epa / emissions a catch can would prove more effective., they don’t cough cough, sneeze, sneeze, sniffle, sniffle, burn anything.

Very true. I’m hoping the other person replies that’s a chemical engineer. Maybe he’s got some insight as to what they serve.

 

[Skye]

I know engineers spend millions on r&d but for the life of me I can’t understand why these are there.

The traps are an effort to capture or block unspent fuel vapors which normally waft out of the intake once the car has been turned off. For the people which have removed them , take a quick sniff.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

The traps are an effort to capture or block unspent fuel vapors which normally waft out of the intake once the car has been turned off. For the people which have removed them , take a quick sniff.

That’s interesting. One would think that with the high temperatures in the combustion chamber and intake manifold that the vapors would burn off before escaping out of the intake. So how many ounces of vapor are these able to capture before they become useless?

 

[Bikeman315]

Yes, it would. That’s why I’m still trying to figure out why they are there in the first place. If they disrupt the air, which they do, that should cause a loss in power and performance along with fuel economy. On the other hand, if the are there for capturing whatever then why is it a non serviceable part? I have too many questions and not enough answers. I know engineers spend millions on r&d but for the life of me I can’t understand why these are there.

And you never will. It’s one of the mysteries of life. And automotive engineering in the 21st century.

 

[Skye]

So how many ounces of vapor are these able to capture before they become useless?

IDK.

With respect to the Mustang, they are a non-serviceable item. I checked the 2022 and 2024 Owner's Manuals. There is no mention of these traps.

My truck is a 2008. Toyota has a fabric-like screen installed, just behind the intake filter. I've never messed with it. Never replaced. nothing in the service manual.

As the air enters the intake, it hits the standard air filter first. I suppose long-term and with a lot of abuse, the carbon trap could become fouled in some way.

In the other direction, whatever vapors that continue to exist in the intake system after shutdown are impeded or stopped. The material could be electro-static. The filter might be impregnated with something to absorb vapors. And the shape. I don't have a CFD machine or wind-tunnel at home (LOL). The ones I've seen, they are wound, like a corkscrew, in a crinkle pattern, for maximum surface area.

With countless vehicles (300M in the US alone) on the road, the idea is it is preventing a lot of unspent fuel and vapors from exiting into the air.

Some might be old enough to remember the carbon canisters which were present on vehicles. They were not part of any maintenance schedule, but would be replaced when they'd become plugged or fouled in some way, often over a good many years.

 

[Zig]

In the other direction, whatever vapors that continue to exist in the intake system after shutdown are impeded or stopped. The material could be electro-static. The filter might be impregnated with something to absorb vapors. And the shape. I don't have a CFD machine or wind-tunnel at home (LOL). The ones I've seen, they are wound, like a corkscrew, in a crinkle pattern, for maximum surface area.

With countless vehicles (300M in the US alone) on the road, the idea is it is preventing a lot of unspent fuel and vapors from exiting into the air.

A waf[t] against a vacuum would require a puddle.

:sitting down:

 

[Mastermind46]

You be testing my fluid mechanic skeelz? Oh young Grasshoppa, 2x check my username...

I consulted with my good friend Daniel Bernoulli, who checked with his good friend Osborne Reynolds, who quite assured us that the obstruction posed by the activated carbon strip and its supporting plastic accordion does NOT promote laminar flow, quite the opposite: it creates an area of turbulence right behind this contraption that increases drag and makes it harder to pull in air into the manifold. It is known.

I can't speak for gains or losses posed by the dead bug though, need modelling data for that.

Frictional losses are negligible to your boy. The reduced efficiency is probably that much lower being a compressible fluid.

 

[ElektroSmokes]

You be testing my fluid mechanic skeelz? Oh young Grasshoppa, 2x check my username...

I consulted with my good friend Daniel Bernoulli, who checked with his good friend Osborne Reynolds, who quite assured us that the obstruction posed by the activated carbon strip and its supporting plastic accordion does NOT promote laminar flow, quite the opposite: it creates an area of turbulence right behind this contraption that increases drag and makes it harder to pull in air into the manifold. It is known.

I can't speak for gains or losses posed by the dead bug though, need modelling data for that.

This reply made me cringe. First line literally gave me fight or flight response.

 

[LCDRChemEng]

This reply made me cringe. First line literally gave me fight or flight response.

And your avatar does not?

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