Since this is the most restrictive part on this year, what is the best manufacturer to go with?

 

This will be fun!

 

I should have known better...LOL. I hate when a newb over on svtperformance posts a basic question like this w/o searching. Sorry guys. I was just leaving work and in a hurry. I will search first. Not knowing anything about Vettes, I feel lost. Ask me anything about SN95 Mustangs and I can fill you in.

 

Vararam, halltech, callaway honker......all will provide sufficent airflow along with the bridge

 

I actually spent over an hour searching and didn't really find a whole lot of valuable info on what CAIs are best and what kind of improvements have been found.

 

I just did this intake yesterday actually. Pretty great looking and good performance results. Plus its the most inexpensive air intake out there. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-z...ir-intake.html

 

As far as I'm aware, no independent and sufficiently well-controlled performance comparison has ever actually been done. So inevitably, in threads like this where someone asks what is "best", everyone just chimes in and cheerleads for whatever intake they're currently running... not especially helpful IMO.

These are three of the most popular choices. However, for the best bang-for-the-buck intake, do a search for "zip tie mod" or "flip tie mod". It'll only cost you two large zip ties. If I had a stock 01, I would get a smooth air bridge, upgrade the MAF to 02+, and do the flip-tie mod, but that's just me.

 

SKMCOBRA, I did my own comparison....this was a while back. I traded in a 2000 Vette (6 speed) for an 01 Z06.

When I test drove the Z06 throttle response was very crisp and response was instant. Keep in mind the 2000 had 4.10's, LS6 intake, ported throttle body and the Vararam. The 01 Z just felt like it would destroy the 2000. The only mod on the Z06 was the Black Wing Air Intake.

I did put the Vararam on the 01 Z06. The first thing I noticed was the sluggishness only when you were driving lets say normal . The Vararam has been on the Z06 for about three years now.


A couple weeks ago, I decided I was going to compare the Vararam to the stock air box. I drove the Z with the Vararam first, obviously, drove around town and then did a couple pulls. Felt great from mid to full throttle. Went home pulled her in the garage and removed the Vararam and reinstalled the stock 01 air box. Drove around town, throttle response was better around town. I then did a couple pulls, through 4th gear, and the results were exactly the same as the Vararam (same mph and the same feeling as if you insides were being moved around).

With the Vararam there was no seat of the pants difference for me. I actually felt a more positive seat of the pants difference with the stock air box and the Black Wing. I think the Vararam may pull to much air for a stock car. This is my second C5 with the Vararam and both felt sluggish after the install.

I would say, if you don't race just keep the stock air box.
If you're a weekend warrior or the occasional track day, Black Wing
If you race and your car is modified then I would say Vararam.

Just my opinion and I do know that opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one and they all stink.

 

I have an 03Z with LG pro's, catted x pipe, corsa extreme, HS trunion upgrade, textralia OZ700 clutch, SLP Black Wing and a ECS full street tune...The CAI is awesome for immeadiate response and off the line go. Where as the varaRAM is exactly that a ram air intake so at idle is just as restrictive and quiet as a stock airbox, now at 40+ MPH it starts to pick up HP finally.

 

I'm new to the Vette world. What is a smooth air bridge? I need to clarify that I will be buying a 2001 Z06 shortly. Just want to get the best mods done right the first time. I plan to open track her this spring.

 

The air bridge is the piece between your throttle body and MAF. It will have an accordion section that impedes airflow. I went with the Hurricane CAI (Craigslist FTW) and it's a pretty neat piece. Not many people here seem to run it. It replaces your factory radiator shroud with a 2 piece shroud. The only air it draws is from in front of the radiator, so always cool. It's also drawing from a high pressure like the Vararam, but with a less ghetto filter setup (from what I've read about the Vararam). I don't believe either will produce a higher than atmospheric pressure in the intake (haven't logged this yet), I've heard rather that it prevents the drop in MAP at high RPMs rather than merely staving it off to a higher RPM.

 

My 03 Z06 has a vararam CAI, Corsa Extreme X Pipe and Catback exhaust and ran lean at anything over 3,000 RPM. A tune fixed that and now it runs like a scalded dog.

I think if you do any intake/exhaust changes, you should get a good custom tune as well.

 

Something like a Blackwing will work well, but it hotter climates it can be bring in hotter less oxygen rich air. The Vararam is a major pain in the but to install according to most everyone that has done it. I own 1 of each, I plan on installing the Blackwing this Winter. If I start tracking at some point, then I'll probably install the Vararam....

A good tip to increase under hood airflow and cooling is to remove the aft most cowl rubber piece that spans the width of the hood.

 

Tests have been done on this (my buddy and I did this on his Cobra a few years ago too) and air actually gets sucked into the engine bay from a rear cowl or any kind of rear hood opening. You can tape strips of streamers and watch them get sucked in at speed. A rear cowl opening is for looks but has no real functionality for cooling. You don't want to increase air pressure under the hood as it creates lift in the front at higher speeds over 100mph. A stock hood on my 1997 Cobra creates 300 pounds of lift at aproximately 150mph due to being a bottom breather for radiator cooling and has no way to evacuate heat or air pressure.

 

Well I have not tried it yet and you can always re-install the rubber piece. I got a tip sheet from one of the vendors that mentioned it. The C5 front end much less blunt the Mustang, I would expect a low pressure area at the base of the windshield that would help to extract the air from under the hood. Not to the extent of the C7 and help downforce but should help in under hood air extraction. Do some tests and check it out.

 

Sorry guys, this one's a monster. Blame the coffee.

Not entirely true, if you head over to the 1/4 mile section and do a good search there are a number of people claiming .2-.3 second drops in 1/4 mile times but that the differences don't really indicate that on the dyno thus indicating that the reduction in pressure drop is actually working.

I think the reason you saw what you saw is because you didn't tune for the CAI. They tend to make the MAF read lean.

Unless that vendor was someone as knowledgeable as LG or Pfadt, I wouldn't believe it for a second. They're likely just regurgitating the same misinformation that everyone falls for. Ever see the raised back of the hood in the drift scene? Same misinformation, just a bunch of tools following other misinformed tools. Even if it's not as high a pressure area as the Mustang, it's still going to be a high pressure area PERIOD. It therefore cannot be a low pressure area which evacuates air from under the hood. This is a fact on pretty much ALL cars, if not ALL cars. The air builds up in that exact spot because of the transition that all cars have from the hood to the base of the windshield. If your car doesn't have a windshield, then I'd be more inclined to believing the possibility of that being a low pressure area assuming airflow was good behind it.

 

I have read that Vettes are not bottom breathers for cooling like Mustangs are and therefore do not need ventilation to relieve air pressure build up under the hood. I would think a vented hood for cooling purposes would be beneficial to extract engine heat, but my friend ran a 2002 Z06 in NASA last year and said he had no over headting issues with the bone stock cooling system. Don't the Z06's have a "belly pan" under the front which keeps air from entering from beneath?

 

No, they definitely exhaust out the bottom. They draw all their air in from the bottom and spit it right back out the bottom. The C5 Z06s don't have a front belly pan, but they do have a flat bottom section in the middle. They have fender vents too, but when you take a close look at them it's questionable how much they actually do. Without a hole in the hood, any car is a bottom breather (I assume you're referring to where the radiator exits when you say bottom breather) and even with a hole, if it's not all sealed, only some of the air is coming out the top but some will still inevitably exit out the bottom. Once I cleaned my radiator out, my car would run in the 220s on track, so not overheating here. A vented hood would definitely help as power is definitely left on the table running that warm.