Air Bridge
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Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Retired but working
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Air Bridge
I've heard both +'s and -'s about the installation of the an Air Bridge. 
What is the deal on these?
Do they cause a smoother airflow or are they like a lot of add on, do nothing deals.
Also there was someone looking to get rid of one. Another forum member was looking for one.
Is it worth his time?
Thanks
What is the deal on these?
Do they cause a smoother airflow or are they like a lot of add on, do nothing deals.
Also there was someone looking to get rid of one. Another forum member was looking for one.
Is it worth his time?
Thanks
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 12,071
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From: Hoover Alabama
Originally Posted by shurite44
It is a cosmetic mod. No performance gain. Most come with cross flag logo and look nice in the engine compartment.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,887
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From: Macomb MI
St. Jude Contributor
I could swear that after adding my Carbon Fiber airbridge, that I lost power.
I added the BlackWing and seat of the pants, sure felt stronger. After adding the airbridge I could swear that my power just feels flat. With a slight pinging under accelerations. I'm adding LG within the next month and I'll have to do a LS1 on the dyno to try and correct this. Not sure if it leaned it out or what.
I added the BlackWing and seat of the pants, sure felt stronger. After adding the airbridge I could swear that my power just feels flat. With a slight pinging under accelerations. I'm adding LG within the next month and I'll have to do a LS1 on the dyno to try and correct this. Not sure if it leaned it out or what.
Last edited by Sponge Vette; Mar 21, 2005 at 02:29 PM.
Instructor
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Sponge Vette
Sponge Vette, I spoke to the people today at MIT RACING in Atlanta. According to them, when they did a dyno on Blackwing, they actually lost about 8 horsepower. The reason for this is with the hood closed, the Blackwing actually draws in the HOT AIR from the engine. The best one they now use is the Vortex. Just an FYI.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 19,304
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From: San Diego CA
Originally Posted by Sponge Vette
Oh Great 
After about $500 spent on Airbridge and BlackWing, I loose power WTF
Time to add a SuperCharger and be done with it!
After about $500 spent on Airbridge and BlackWing, I loose power WTF
Time to add a SuperCharger and be done with it!
http://www.conceptualpolymer.com/corvette_c5_corner.htm
BTW, since an engine is essentially a big air pump, modifications to increase air consumption, such as heads/cam, supercharger, or turbos increase the need for larger passageways. Opening up the intake and exhaust passageways in a stock engine does create some gains, but even higher gains are realized when the engine itself has been beefed-up.
Example: If you swap out your OEM cat-back with a freer-flowing aftermarket cat-back, you gain a couple of HP at most. However, you can gain 30HP or more if replacing the OEM exhaust on a supercharged or twin-turbocharged engine. The same holds true with the intake components. The potential loss of HP because of using an OEM intake increases as the engine is modified to produce more HP.
So, like an aftermarket cat-back exhaust, a larger airbridge may not provide significant gains now, but beef-up the engine and you'll be glad that the "weakest link" is not the airbridge.
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Race Director
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Originally Posted by Ken1234
Sponge Vette, I spoke to the people today at MIT RACING in Atlanta. According to them, when they did a dyno on Blackwing, they actually lost about 8 horsepower. The reason for this is with the hood closed, the Blackwing actually draws in the HOT AIR from the engine. The best one they now use is the Vortex. Just an FYI.
That is funny!!!
When you are on the dyno it is hard to simulate actual air flow that would occur in real world driving.
When I installed the Blackwing there was a noticable GAIN in power, in no way did I lose power. They must have got a hell of a deal on some Vortex air intakes.
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It's mainly for looks. No real performance gain.
