Cold air intakes?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 182
Likes: 0
From: Savannah Ga.
Cold air intakes?
I just bought another Vette, 2003 50th Anniv with 16,500 on the clock, bone stock. I've been looking at cold air intakes as an easy mod. Is the factory intake THAT bad? Doesn't seem there are many parts to these intakes. Are they another example of snake oil?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 4
From: North Port Fl
I've also got a Blackwing, They call them cold air intakes but they're really not you're still sucking air from pretty much the same spot as the stock intake. There are a couple that are true cold air intakes, Vararam for one. These aftermarket intakes do add a small amount of HP but it is at the upper end of the RPM range. I've got the blackwing for a couple of reasons, it looks cool, uses the stock mounting and you can clean it reuse it. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't waste my money unless it was to go for the true ram air, cold air intake Vararam I'd just take a hole saw and cut some holes in the front of the air filter housing, and if you want a reusable filter go for a K&N or similar filter that fits the stock housing you will accomplish the same thing for a lot less money
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Drifting
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Henderson Nevada
Pro
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Virginia Beach VA...originally Burtonsville, MD
Vararam is the best performing hands down. Blackwing will take you about 20 min. Vararam about 2-3 hrs. So its all about how much youre lookin to gain and how much wrench time you want to put in. I've got a vararam on mine. Good Luck
Jim
Jim
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2007
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You'll get lots of opinions on this topic!
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,257
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From: Granite City Illinois
Callaway Honker
Photo by Bret Kepner Gateway International Raceway, and featured in Vette Magazine - The Fast Lane, September 2008 issue. 12.223 @ 111.06 MPH. Stock LS1 with Callaway Honker, TTS Longtubes, X-pipe and Cut-outs on the stock mufflers, stock 2:73 gears and the stock factory tune with MT DR's.
Photo by Bret Kepner Gateway International Raceway, and featured in Vette Magazine - The Fast Lane, September 2008 issue. 12.223 @ 111.06 MPH. Stock LS1 with Callaway Honker, TTS Longtubes, X-pipe and Cut-outs on the stock mufflers, stock 2:73 gears and the stock factory tune with MT DR's.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 25,889
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From: Virginia Beach
CI 3-5-6-7-8 Veteran
I had a BPP Vortex Rammer for 4 years and recently switched it up to the C6 K&N filter stup just for the looks.
Many people on here believe in the myth of ram air and will blindy chant Vararam!
In reality any intake that draws in outside ambient air will make more power. If you remove the front plastic inserts around your fog lights and drill holes in them or better yet get Z06 screens all that fresh air goes directly to your air intake.
Many people on here believe in the myth of ram air and will blindy chant Vararam!
In reality any intake that draws in outside ambient air will make more power. If you remove the front plastic inserts around your fog lights and drill holes in them or better yet get Z06 screens all that fresh air goes directly to your air intake.
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Bel Air (by way of Fort Worth, TX) Maryland
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I had a BPP Vortex Rammer for 4 years and recently switched it up to the C6 K&N filter stup just for the looks.
Many people on here believe in the myth of ram air and will blindy chant Vararam!
In reality any intake that draws in outside ambient air will make more power. If you remove the front plastic inserts around your fog lights and drill holes in them or better yet get Z06 screens all that fresh air goes directly to your air intake.
Many people on here believe in the myth of ram air and will blindy chant Vararam!
In reality any intake that draws in outside ambient air will make more power. If you remove the front plastic inserts around your fog lights and drill holes in them or better yet get Z06 screens all that fresh air goes directly to your air intake.
The C5 didn't come with screens to prevent water ingestion issues. Unless you are adding a H/C sway or a S/C you really don't gain very much with just an intake. Put on a Z06 airbox lid, leave it alone or add a CAI in conjuction with a real power adder, otherwise you are just wasting money.
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You'll get some benefit out of an aftermarket intake. I ran a Blackwing on mine and liked it. If you want a true cold air intake, look at something like a Vararam. It will probably give you better performance overall, but has a much more involved install.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
From: Maryville IL
Vararam takes longer to install, but it isn't really difficult.
The simplest way to go about modding an engine is to think of it as an air pump. The more air you can get in, and out, the more power it is going to make. To make more power, get rid of your biggest bottleneck. The intake is a great place to start. Headers are great to do next. Then your heads and cam become your next bottlenecks.
The other things to consider are strength of your drivetrain, gearing, traction, and weight savings.
The simplest way to go about modding an engine is to think of it as an air pump. The more air you can get in, and out, the more power it is going to make. To make more power, get rid of your biggest bottleneck. The intake is a great place to start. Headers are great to do next. Then your heads and cam become your next bottlenecks.
The other things to consider are strength of your drivetrain, gearing, traction, and weight savings.