Researching cold air intakes. Adds claim anywhere from 11.5 hp to 40 hp gain?? Is this proven on a dyno? Some even claim 2-3 mpg improvement. Are these number legit or does a louder intake make you think there's more horses? Thanks for you input.

 

When I had my C5Z I tried 3 different intakes. None will make more than 5-8 hp on a dyno. You are better off just doing the zip tie mod and remove the lid with an exposed K&N filter zip tied to the backing. Cheapest bang for the buck. If you wanna go aftermarket the fastest NA guys usually go with a Vararam. That's what I ended up with. Won't show much on dyno but proven to build hp the faster you go. I could feel it. FACT: guys have registered 2-4 mph in the 1/4 mile and 2-3 tenths with a V-Ram. More power if you do 1/2 drags on closed roads. Yep a V- Ram will get you 30+ hp at high speeds and that's a proven FACT for years. Nothing else will period. Not the best built but the 2nd gen sealed better. I had a first gen and siliconed the filter to the base ( to seal air leaks) just before the coupler near the Throttle body..( a special part number filter) do a search bud and you will find a million threads.

Cheers

 

Most of the claims are bullsh*t. The majority of CAI's add nothing but a louder induction noise at the expense of less effective filtering. It's as simple as that. It has been proven over and over again, the stock C5 intake is more than adequate for a stock LS1 or LS6. An engine cannot ingest more air just because you get a freer flowing filter. Once the theoretical cfm is reached, you can run with no filter whatsoever and nothing will change.

The reason that the Vararam is so effective is because it gets cooler air from outside the engine compartment. Everyone knows that the cooler the air, the faster the acceleration. So, you can go with a Vararam but just be aware that the general quality of the product is not very good.

The other so-called CAI's (with a few exceptions) are just large, less restrictive filters that with no protection (airbox) from the engine compartment heat. You can actually end up losing a few horsepower on very hot days when compared to stock.

So, there you have it. Unless your engine is modified, save your money. As others have suggested, you can go with a zip tie mod if you want to experiment. It's free. Or, if you have a base C5, you can get yourself a Z06 airbox. It looks stock and you get a slight added benefit of a more open airbox.

 

I ran the Vararam for a while then moved to the Callaway setup. I like it much better because everything seals well. It gets its air from the area in front of the condenser.

 

The only reason I went with Haltech was for the looks.....I see zero performance gains.....but then I wasn't expecting any ether.

 

Had Vararam, now Airaid. Vararam does a great job pulling cold air for sure. I never saw IATs fluctuate more than a few degrees in datalogs, even idling. Material construction was "meh" at best. Install was a pain, but it all came together at the end of the day, little tedious. My biggest gripe with the Vararam was it caused the car to stumble or stutter at low rpm and loads.

I always suspected it was a design issue thing and it was causing excessing airflow turbulence across the MAF, which was evident in datalogs. When I switched over to the Airaid, all driveability was restored, overall quality/fitment was much better, easy filter maintenance (dry filter). Has multiple support points (some of the simple intakes literally just dangle off the throttle body). Datalogs show that temps to slowly rise at idle, but once you start moving, they drop back down very quickly. In practice, there is no discernable power difference.

Highly recommend the Airaid setup. They only started selling their "full intake setup" in 2013 so you don't see much about it online.

https://www.airaid.com/ProductDetail...ductID=251-292

 

I had a VaraRam on my '01 and had no issues except for the occasional check engine light that only happened when I used BP gas. I suspect the used more ethanol. The stumble and stall is corrected when you do an idle relearn unless your long term fuel trims were already out of wack.

I have a VaraRam on my '08 Z-06 and have no issues.

 

Thank you for all of your input. I thought that sounded like some pretty lofty claims. As Cybermind stated When cylinders fill on a NA engine that's all there is doesn't matter if it through a stock filter or no filter. I do understand that cooler denser air makes better power. Think I will stay with what I have or maybe modify the stock box. Thanks again