some people tell me they are useless others say they are the best cheap upgrade, what do you guys think? which one is the "best"?

 

There is a lot of debate about which one is best.

The only one with substantiated claims in this Forum is VaraRam.
Many complain about its fit , finish, and complexity of install, but no one challenges its claims of reducing 1/4 mile ET's by at least 0.3 seconds and increasing trap speeds by 3-4 mph.

 

Anytime you can get your car to breathe better is a good thing. Just get a Blackwing and be done with it.

 

Darn, doesn't look like a consensus this time it's asked, either... The question of what's "best" is to subjective to get a consensus.

First, don't make the decision to buy an after market air intake based on claims by the manufacturer. Very few actually get anywhere close to the manufacturers claims of horsepower/torque increases. And keep in mind that you have to be operating in high rpm levels constantly to get maximum benefit. Most street cars don't.

HONKER and VARARAM are probably the two that come closest. They actually isolate the air intake from the rest of the hot engine bay. A few others have similar improved designs...HALLTECH and the SLP "Blackwing" if used with an enclosure. Those are generally referred to as "cold air intakes".

Most of the after market offerings are usually included in the "cold air" category, but they're not really the same. Maybe it's more accurate to call them "cooler air intakes". They're improved filter media products, usually oil/gauze (another can of worms debate to follow) which flow better/worse, offer better/worse filtering abilities depending on which internet opinion you chose to believe. If they're not enclosed they still take in hot engine bay air.

An after market filter hanging at the end of the MAF just looks better to most owners. And the rush of air coming in makes an engine sound more powerful. And that's why many owners chose an after market air intake kit. It looks better than oem and sounds better. Be aware that some intakes may cause annoying codes. You'll have to deal with that, usually by an expensive tune. They may also be illegal in some states with strict emissions enforcement.

A 2002-2004 C5/Z06 oem air intake assembly might be another option to consider. They're pretty cheap and easy to find, flow better and look better.

Or, you can modify your oem air intake assembly to allow for more air, more intake sound, better looks and maybe a minor increase in horsepower/torque.

Then there's the group of owners who think a C5/Z06 car should only use oem components, period.

That's the great thing about car ownership, you get to decide what you want for your car.

This is what I decided to use after an SLP "Blackwing" gave me reoccurring lean codes. It doesn't look as good as an after market, but it's better than oem, sounds better and yields no annoying codes. Yes, I know it's wired for 110v...

 

I have one of those that I use to vacuum the inside of my Vette....

 

 

so, how about just replacing the air cleaner with an aftermarket? compared to a new intake.

 

 

There are essentially two groups and at least one intake system that lies in between.

The first group of intake systems or filter elements will allow performance to degrade as underhood temperatures rise. This occurs as vehicle speed is reduced due to various reasons such as traffic, construction, long tube headers, etc. Your engine's computer will retard timing to prevent predetonation and the result can be a 10 HP loss - that's not small change. Typical "warm air" intakes are the Blackwing, Halltech Stinger, and Volant twin filter.

Next, we have cold air intakes like the Callaway Honker, BPP Vortex, and Vararam. These systems allow the engine to pull in outside air and thus prevent horsepower degradation during slow-moving driving. Unfortunately, (non-Z06s) they do nothing to prevent headers and the engine itself from heating up the engine bay to a point where interior computers, plastics, and rubbers (not to mention the battery) will have shortened lives.

The K&N FIPK system is half way between the first and second categories. I call it a semi-cold air system.

I did something a bit different. Instead of isolating the cold intake air from the engine bay, I direct it (via polycarbonate scoop) through a stainless steel mesh screen and into and around my Halltech warhead filter. The engine draws in cold air and my engine bay stays cool, which also assists my catch can in trapping water along with oil.

 

I love my Halltech Venom.

 

Good info!

 

if you want to calculate the increase in cold air temps effect on hp... consider that every 10 degrees of cold dense air increases HP by 1.4 + - .2 .... these are calculation from dyno tests that are corrected for ambient temps.. So lets say you have a stock air box and under the hood the temp is 100 F. and the ambient temp is 70 F. now add a heat extracting hood and this lowers the underhood temp to 80 F.. you have gained about 3.0 HP, not really noticed in the seat of the pants.. now add a cold air box that allowes the ingested air to be 75 degrees. whether or not you used the throttle body by pass... the ingested air is not in there long enough to raise the temp... adding the cold air box will get you another .75 hp making the gain aprox 3.75 HP...

Now take the same stock air box on a 30 degree day the underhood temp is 90 F now add a heat extracting hood bringing the underhood temp to 80, then add a cold air box bringing the ingested air to 40 degrees.. you have now lowered the ingested air down 50 degrees.. yielding about 8 HP but the difference between summer and winter with an extracting hood and a cold air box could be 10 to 12 HP.. this is why the car feels so much healthier in cold weather.. the air being ingested in much denser so you get more air molicules to be burn with the fuel mixture. The same situation occurs whether you have a stock air box or not you can feel the difference in the seat of the pants.. Itsd much more dramatic with an extractor and a cold air box... I hope this makes sense.... take a stock car with 314 at the crankwith air temp at 70 F... add an extractor and a cold air box your going to get 318 at the crank... Same car in the winter uncorrected hp is 316 add a heat extracting hood and a cold air box you are going to see 326 to 328 at the crank.

 

 

is K&N FIPK Air Intake Kit any good? Compared to Blackwing or VaraRam?

 

The K&N FIPK is in between the two. It gets some cold air, although not as much as does the Vararam. The Vararam is illegal in CA, although some smog techs look the other way. I'd hate to have to swap a Vararam out every two years, whereas my Halltech Stinger can be swapped with the OEM box is 30 minutes or less.

 

For non-Z06 owners, put on a Z06 airbox cover, then cut oval openings, not too big, in the TOPS of the fog-light shrouds. That gets you all the cold air your engine can use, it looks perfectly stock, costs very little and you don't have to struggle to get some aftermarket system with questionable quality to fit.

 

Any intake is better than stock. Even the free flip tie mod. I felt a difference with the flip tie mod over stock.

 

I don't want any bottom feeders intakes like Hurricane or Vararam and from what i have read in this thread and the forum would you guys agree that blackwing is probably my best option and its also pretty cheap.

 

Just remember that you lose horsepower when the weather is warmer and you are tooling around in the city.

 

ok after reading all this, i will probably go with the black wing

i only have couple of more questions
1; how hard is blackwing to install?
2: CAI,more specifically the blackwing do any damage to my engine or anything else?
3: and like you said in warmer weather it will cause me to lose HP but do i still get better mileage in the city or highway regardless of weather condition if i take it easy and drive slow and steady?