Hello all! I'm sure this topic has been beat to death but I'm kind of at a dead end with my own research. I recently picked up a 99 FRC that was mildly built (FRC heads, cam, exhaust, etc) by the previous owner and I'm trying to figure out what he did with the intake. If it were up to me, I would've just kept that stock but there appears to be some sort of cheap(ish) aftermarket addition. Given the under hood temps, I highly doubt it's contributing much to my power and the mounting system is a little hokey. I've looked into the other aftermarket options and the only ones that seem of any quality are the Callaway honker and the Vararam. My only problem with the Callaway is I hate that you have to cut up factory parts and I've heard about a lot of fitment issues with the Vararam.

I guess I just don't like hacking things up if it can be avoided and I equally dislike poor quality aftermarket stuff. I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point haha thanks! (Here are some pictures for reference..)

 

That actually doesn't look like too bad of a setup. The Halltech KB2 is one of the best flowing intakes you can buy, and other than have a bigger air bridge and the newer style MAF, its essentially the same concept

 

Hmm, ok I gotcha. Well maybe I should just look into why it keeps popping off the mounts and see if there's any better alternatives.

I guess I'm just leery with intakes after I got out of my "tuner" phase. Specifically cutting holes in the sides of engine bays for CAI's lol

 

If you replace that odd ball filter with an SLP Blackwing filter it will fit properly and not pop up on you at the air bridge.

The filter does look like a Halltech filter or a knock off of it that would as mentioned earlier have a different much better air bridge to go with it.

 

I installed a Callaway Honker on my 02Z 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier with it. And Saturday at Carlisle I picked up an excellent used one for $30 just in case I ever want to go back.

 

Once upon a time I had a Callaway Honker. That or the Vararam would be my choice if I wasn't running under positive pressure influence.

 

Nice! Yeah I’m considering the vararam again but I just want to confirm there’s no modifications necessary.

 

No, Vararam is a direct installation. Callaway Honker requires you to template cut the front lower shroud (the big piece your current air filter is pressing into.

 

I have an older Halltech that resembles yours but without the taper and is identical to K&N’s I’ve seen. I replaced the airbridge with a stock one like yours because the Hall version contacted my hood, slightly raising it in the middle and ruining my hood blanked graphic. I can see that your airbridge is not secured at the bracket, which I’m guessing is due to the shape/size of the filter itself?
I don’t like the Vararam, tho’ lots of people do. I just find that it’s a misnomer. Where/when is the ‘ram’ effect? At 90 mph? I guess that it’s a true bottom feeder possibly decreases the intake temps but I wonder how much once it makes it’s way into the engine compartment. To me, the Honker or even the ‘Flip tie’ mod provide more air to the intake as directed by the under-bumper air dam than the small intakes on the V-ram. I have a very good friend with MUCH greater credibility than I who feels that the Corvette engineers knew what they were doing, and lot of these mods are just ‘feel good’, and I can admit to being one of them.

 

There is a ram effect for products like the VeraRam, at 70 mph it is .75 hp and at 140 it is 4 hp (from early testing of Ram Hoods by the drag race community). However, the real effect is cooler-ambient air is more dense than engine bay heated air. Since each cylinder only holds about 43 cu in per stroke, it is minimal. When monitoring my IAT temps with the VeraRam is is usually 75-85F in the summer (Michigan) vs older readings of 145-175F with the stock systems. While I do not drag race very much it was consistently .2-.3 seconds faster in the quarter. How much of that is the tire I do not know.

 

Any aftermarket intake sometimes causes the mounts to pop like that. I am pretty sure you can redo the connections to the maf bridge and it will be better.

 

Gordy, thanks for the thoughtful response that makes sense.
Tabruzz, when I remounted my stock airbridge, I had a similar problem and in areas requiring greater holding strength I don’t trust the plastic ‘push in’ holders. As a former Metal shop teacher, I have lots of ‘backup’ supplies. I found appropriately sized plastic washers and black screws and pulled it down to fit properly on the radiator cover. However, I think the filter pictured by Brain was larger on the vertical measurement than mine, which maybe would end up with me bushing it higher.

 

As mentioned many times before, you aren't going to rotate the earth with an air filter on these cars.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I went with what is simple and it just works. It's a good quality filter from SLP. It fits perfectly and there is no air bridge popping up ever.

Kind of a shitty picture but you get the idea.

 

Also OP, not a huge concern at all, but your MAF and IAT wiring are not routed correctly.

 

This is my set up. My car is a 98. Duel K&N, LS6 MAF, Larger tunnel ram, Smooth coupler too the TB, LS6 Intake manifold. In 98 that duel K&N was all that was available. It was the very first Mod i did to the car. All I read about these cars when they were new was how restrictive the air box was. Also did a tune and PRT cat back.

 

Thank you. I'm assuming that clamp needs to be in the small hole near the air bridge mounts?

For the most part this car seems to be pretty well put together but it's always difficult to find the small discrepancies when getting a used car, especially since I've never owned a corvette before lol

I'm giving a lot more thought to the vararam but mostly just cause I like the way it looks and I like the idea of lower intake air temps. I was just hesitant due to the fitment stories I've read.

 

Love the look of your setup. Did some research on CAI’s and read the dual cone units are the least desirable due to the air turbulence within the tubes where the air from both filter joins together at the bridge. Any insight to this would be appreciated. As of now sticking with oem. Thanks.

 

Yes. The main harness should be coming out from the intake under the throttle motor on the throttle body and in between the power steering reservoir and intake coupler. It will be almost under the airbridge all the way to the MAF.

I was pretty fortunate that my car was bone stock and unmolested at 28k when I got it last year just for my knowledge of how things were from the factory. Now I have similar mods to your car with heads and cam.

One of the reasons I stayed away from the vararam was I didn't want to deal with the fitment and hassle to install for not much gain. Just my opinion of course. The vararam is not a bad system it just has some quirks for some guys.

 

Anything and everything is better than stock. I also have heard about the duel cones. But over the years I have seen that setup on many exotics. So they must not be that bad. Everything I have done to my car has woke it up compared to stock.

 

Its just a C5 corvette. They aren't valuable or collectable. They are just a sports cars. Hacking up a radiator shroud isn't going to devalue your car any more or any faster than it will naturally lol. Might as well just enjoy it and go nuts. Order a factory shroud from VetteNuts if it makes you feel better.

While the stock airbox is a pile of horse excrement, you're not going to break the dyno with a new air filter. If you're going to shell out cash for a new intake, get one that removes the air bridge and sucks air from the bottom of the car. And is at least well made.

Therefore, Callaway Honker by a mile- it's the only intake that removes the wonky air bridge, moves the MAF, and it's the only intake that actually draws in cold air- as these cars are naturally bottom breathers. And it's the only intake that doesn't look like the plastic molds came from a Rover factory located in the Midlands during the 1970's. It also looks stock and it's clean. If you didn't know, you'd think the car came that way.

The Halltech is a close second.

Third place is build your own but that requires more hacking- the benefit is you can use any sized filer you want and you can get really creative with the routing and its much cheaper.

Jumped from a Blackwing to a Honker after I installed a cam. I didn't get the appeal of the Vararam intake and in the 10 plus years I've been driving on the track did anyone "pull away from me" because they had a Vararam. It was the dudes running ITB's and FAST intakes on a bit beefier engines- those guys pulled away on the straights.

Meanwhile the Blackwing, Vararam, and Honker dudes were too busy comparing subjective dyno charts and aligning their Chakras in the pits.