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Just purchased a 2002 coupe 26k miles and spent much time here reading threads and have worked through a few small issues to get the car lined out.
I have seen several times posted in comments about cars “ I’ve added a cold air intake? Is there an intake upgrade that is common for us C5 owners and if someone could explaine why? I am a decent gear head so do most of my own work just trying to get acquainted with this beautiful rocket ship and want to be sure I make any mods needed for correction of problematic issues. Thanks!
I'm convinced that you really don't get the gains you think you'll get that are in your head, if youre not tuned. That being said, the factory non Z06 intakes are probably some of the most restrictive in the business. There is no where for fresh air to enter from outside the car really.
IMO the best CAI is the Vararam if you want to retain your foglights, but some people have had quality, fitment, and other issues. Some people love them.
I like the look better of no fog lights so I removed them, although you can retain them for what I did personally by also removing the fog light bezel inserts. I also did the zip tie mod (well, metal zip ties wrapped around the claps and handles to look stockish) and find it works well. I might put in a 02+ Z06 airbox and Z06 vents in the future.
In both of the above scenarios, there is now actual air from the outside entering the air box
Last edited by 02torchred; Oct 13, 2019 at 02:13 AM.
Great info, thanks! I don’t quite understand the “ it’s not getting cold air” I was looking at my set up and the tubes running from the fog light recessed area drive air into the filter housing? Maybe this has been modified?
I'm not a C5 owner yet, but can't the stock air intake on C5s be easily modified to open it up for more air flow, similar to the C4? On a C4 it involves removing most of the metal deflector lid covering the air filter.
When changing your air intake cleaner the air then passes thru your MAF sensor. It measures the velocity and temperature of the air entering the engine and sends that information to the PCM. The PCM takes that information and makes changes to the engine management system, on many variables as to how much gas is to be injected, how long it will be injected, how much timing the engine will be using, etc. You can add a scan tool to the Corvette and actually measure the temperature of the air entering the engine. If the outside (ambient) temps are 75 degrees, and you have an air intake that pulls outside air (Callaway, VeraRam, Ice Box, etc) you temps entering the engine are going to be 75-80 degrees. If you use any engine bay air cleaner (most of the popular air intakes) you are still using engine bay heat--in the range of 140-190 degrees. Simple physics tells us each cylinder can only hold 43.25 cu in of air/fuel, it also tells us that cooler air is more condense (has a higher Oxygen content per cu in.) and will be more efficient. How much hp will you make...about 3-5 hp. Will you notice the difference..no. When adding a tune, and other changes you might add another 6-15 HP. HTH
I have an 02Z that is currently all stock, and in the foreseeable future all I plan to do is just longtubes and a tune. I don't want to go through the hassle with a Vararam and have been looking into an Airaid non-oiled CAI but have heard the gains are little to none. I know with the Airaid intake and Blackwing, you might run into water issues especially if you open the hood while it's wet. I am wondering if an Airaid replacement filter into my 02Z air box will provide all the realistically attainable gains?
I have an 02Z that is currently all stock, and in the foreseeable future all I plan to do is just longtubes and a tune. I don't want to go through the hassle with a Vararam and have been looking into an Airaid non-oiled CAI but have heard the gains are little to none. I know with the Airaid intake and Blackwing, you might run into water issues especially if you open the hood while it's wet. I am wondering if an Airaid replacement filter into my 02Z air box will provide all the realistically attainable gains?
One item to remember, a True Cold-Air will PreventHP Loss from Heatsoak. Very Important..
Tangible Gains Depending on Setup are Bonus,,,
Who says it doesn't Look Cool lol
Although my LS2 GTO's were Intake Limited stock, is this not the case with this ?
My Stock 03Z with modified airbox, K&N Filter, worked well enough because no budget
And this was the GTO with a poor (relatively speaking) Lingenfelter CAI Kit. I did drill some metal to some aid in Cold Air scavenging (but these cars need OTR (Over the Radiator) Induction for CAI)
I am sure that the cold air intakes like the Vararam are better and I have one installed. When I measured my air intake temperatures with the stock C5 air filter assembly there was only a 1 deg difference in temperature between the MAF and outside air temp sensor. After the Vararam was installed the Vararam the MAF temp was maybe 1 deg lower than the outside air temperature sensor. My car did have the Z06 screen and fog light vents installed when I measured the temps so it might have helped lower the temps with the stock air filter. I fooled around with the MAF placement and when mounted near the throttle body the MAF temperatures were higher after after shutdown and a restart after soaking for a while.
Last edited by C5MSG2004Vert; Oct 23, 2019 at 12:11 PM.
Cold air intake, what?
