hi all! i saw in one of the corvette catalogs an air filter with three k&n filters on it that slides on the intake,which is a big improvement over the stock one.the info under the picture says it fits 92-96----Lt1/90-95 zr-1. my question is will it work on my 1990 stock coupe? my problem with the stock one that is on it now is the clamp that that holds the intake duct on the intake housing will not hold it together no matter how tight i get it. what do you think guys? thanks---BW.

 

not sure as to the answer but i would like to see that link if you have it.

 

I'm guessing you're referring to the SLP intake...contrary to what the catalogue might say, there's not really anything out there in the form of an air filter assembly that's a "huge" improvement over stock. If it says it'll fit 92-96s, that means LT1/4s. The 90-95ZR1s (LT5 motor) are another ballgame altogether. If you've got a 90, unless somebody else chimes in with personal experience on theirs, I'd recommend you save your moeny.

The SLP is great for looks...that's about it. You can achieve the same filtering with a drop-in K&N panel filter and an open air lid.

On another note - what's up with titling your threads "blackwidow?" Just curious...

 

I keep seeing the K&N filter/setup referred to as the go-to solution for relatively easy intake upgrades. I am a new vette owner and don't know the drill here. What's the deal?

 

thanks for your replys guys! i guess i was trying to find the answer to the clamp problem on the intake duct-why won't it stay connected.the way it is-grit,etc.can get sucked into the engine. hey Perfusion---blackwidow is my black vette's name.corney,huh? thanks again---bw

 

I have this on my vette, If you want I can take some pictures and you can try to figure out if it will work. Let me know.

 

For early LT1's and possibly all LT1's, the air filter is huge but the actual opening for which it breathes through is tiny. In the case of my 92 the air lid has an opening about the size of a 3x5 note card. This is great, except that it is only a fraction the size of the air filter. As the air enters the air box it will immediately be drawn to the portion of the filter directly in front of it. This will allow your air filter to get dirty in that area very quickly. After the filter gets dirty the air will be drawn in through other parts of the filter, but it must twist and turn all around, it isn't really a straight shot. There is the potential for this to rob some horsepower.

The simplest and most cost effective solution is to replace the stock air filter lid with an "open lid." You can either buy one ready made or you can use a dremel tool to modify your stock lid. Regardless the theory is to open the lid up so that only the edges are there to hold down the air filter. This effectively leaves the entire surface area of the filter exposed for the air to flow through. This allows a greater airflow potential. Logic states that if you have the same volume of air flowing through a greater surface area, less air has to go through any given part. Less air through any given point means less dirt deposited at that point. So there is also the potential that your air filter will last longer before replacement because you are using the entire surface area.

The K&N filter comes into play simply because it is supposed to allow greater airflow than a stock filter. You can look up K&N for all their advertising hype. The K&N is also reusable so eventually you'll recover your costs of buying one over a stock air filter.

As far as actual power results? Well if your car is completely stock, you won't see a huge gain. If your car is heavily modified you might see some gain. I know this because I actually performed a test. I placed my open air lid and K&N filter on a friend's stock car while it was on the dyno. He gained a mere 2 HP. Likewise we put his paper air filter and stock air lid on my heavily modified car, I lost some 11 hp. This means that at some point, there is some power to be gained by going with a different intake setup. That point is somewhere between bone stock and heads / cam / headers. Unfortunately I do not know EXACTLY where that point is.

Also it has been shown that the aftermarket intake setups, be it the SLP, or Vortex Rammer, and the open lid with K&N, are all equally effective. As such the open lid and K&N is regarded as one of the best choices because it is equally effective but cheaper than the other alternatives.

The only aftermarket solution that may provide any additional benefit is the true ram air function that works through your stock front license plate mounting location.

 

That's about all the information you could ever need! Nathan's the man...

 

I have had mine for years it looks good and it definately made a bit of a differance ...I did also have longtube headers high flow cats and exhaust installed ....

 

So Nathan, I am curious to see what your take is on the Big Mouth aid dam? Would it be a good alternative for those of us who do not want to modify the front bumber?
Fred

 

From what I know of the big mouth air dam it simply directs more air into the radiator. The air filter is on the other side of the radiator shroud so I really can't see it making a difference. I've never seen the big mouth in person though so I'm not 100% sure.

 

Thanks for the very informative reply.