A question was raised about the length of the ram tubes used on the mechanical fuel injection systems on race cars like the AWB Dodges and Plymouths of the early/mid '60s.

An overly short answer is the question, "Where do you want to make your power?"

Long tubes (as seen on the "Yankee Peddler" AWB '65 Dodge we saw at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show) were used to get more low-end torque out of the engine, especially if that car was running an automatic transmission.

This was for the same reason that you saw the long ram intake manifolds on the Chrysler 300E, 300F and 300G "letter cars" of yesteryear...the pressure wave inside the tube took longer to return to the intake valve than a shorter tube would, which helped fill the cylinders with the magic air-fuel mix at lower RPMs...like off the starting line on the strip, or on a freeway on ramp in the case of the "letter cars."

Short intake tubes (as seen on the Sox & Martin AWB '65 Plymouth), on the other hand were there to boost top end (high-rpm)  performance...as in the case of a manual-transmission car that would be shifted at or near the engine's redline. The pressure wave inside the tube takes less time to return to the intake valve, which results in the opposite effect of the long tubes...namely, more power at high RPM. (Need I mention what happens when you add a driver with the quick-shifting reflexes of Ronnie Sox?)

"Short ram"  was the same idea used in the intakes that you saw on Max Wedges starting in '62....for high-end power.