K&n
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
K&n
I got a question for someone. I am thinking if I should get a K&N for my 2007 C6. Is it going to be worth the money spent? A friend of mine when to UTI and they test several cars on the dyno. He learned something interesting after puting a WS6 on the dyno with and without cold air from K&N. Without the K&N 313 HP. With the K&N 301 HP. It was due to the fact that the air had to travel farther than the stock setup so they lost HP after spending $200. I want to make sure that a K&N is better than my stock filter before I buy.
Thanks.
Rmots
Thanks.
Rmots
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,905
Likes: 1
The test results you list are lacking some info. In my 2000 WS6 Ram Air, the K&N replacement filter (for the stocker) showed a consistant 3-4 rwhp gain(this was before I was FI). If the tester you mentioned used a cai and routed it further away from the TB, you could possibly see a little loss, but more than likely the loss was the computer adjusting, esp if they did back to back testing. In my C6 I have the K&N cai, which provides plentiful air and is less restrictive than the stocker, but I cannot attest to the RWHP gain, but there is no loss that is for sure and for the $$$ it's something to further build more mods that require more air.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,210
Likes: 9
From: CA
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,089
Likes: 14
I've witnessed dyno tests on a couple of different C6s where the car was run stock, then the air cleaner housing was completely removed and the car was run again. There was no power increase within the limits of accuracy of the dyno. What that says is that the air cleaner/filter is not the flow bottleneck in a stock C6.
Now this is a separate issue from whether warm underhood air or ambient outside air is drawn into the engine. A setup that draws air from outside the engine compartment may have an effect on IAT, and thus on spark advance. But air cleaner flow restriction is not something you need to be concerned about on a stock or mildly modified C6 engine.
On the topic of IAT, logs show that IAT runs within a couple of degrees of ambient with the stock setup at highway speeds. The only time CAI makes a significant difference in IAT is when you're stopped or moving slowly in traffic. Other than at launch on a drag strip, this is of no practical concern either.
In short, lots of people are spending lots of money on dubious bits of plastic ducting for dubious real world driving benefits. You'd be better off putting that money toward something that actually shows real flow benefits, ie heads/cam, intake manifold, headers, etc.
Now this is a separate issue from whether warm underhood air or ambient outside air is drawn into the engine. A setup that draws air from outside the engine compartment may have an effect on IAT, and thus on spark advance. But air cleaner flow restriction is not something you need to be concerned about on a stock or mildly modified C6 engine.
On the topic of IAT, logs show that IAT runs within a couple of degrees of ambient with the stock setup at highway speeds. The only time CAI makes a significant difference in IAT is when you're stopped or moving slowly in traffic. Other than at launch on a drag strip, this is of no practical concern either.
In short, lots of people are spending lots of money on dubious bits of plastic ducting for dubious real world driving benefits. You'd be better off putting that money toward something that actually shows real flow benefits, ie heads/cam, intake manifold, headers, etc.
Last edited by shopdog; May 13, 2007 at 03:11 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 27,420
Likes: 64
From: San Clemente CA
I've witnessed dyno tests on a couple of different C6s where the car was run stock, then the air cleaner housing was completely removed and the car was run again. There was no power increase within the limits of accuracy of the dyno. What that says is that the air cleaner/filter is not the flow bottleneck in a stock C6.
Now this is a separate issue from whether warm underhood air or ambient outside air is drawn into the engine. A setup that draws air from outside the engine compartment may have an effect on IAT, and thus on spark advance. But air cleaner flow restriction is not something you need to be concerned about on a stock or mildly modified C6 engine.
On the topic of IAT, logs show that IAT runs within a couple of degrees of ambient with the stock setup at highway speeds. The only time CAI makes a significant difference in IAT is when you're stopped or moving slowly in traffic. Other than at launch on a drag strip, this is of no practical concern either.
In short, lots of people are spending lots of money on dubious bits of plastic ducting for dubious real world driving benefits. You'd be better off putting that money toward something that actually shows real flow benefits, ie heads/cam, intake manifold, headers, etc.
Now this is a separate issue from whether warm underhood air or ambient outside air is drawn into the engine. A setup that draws air from outside the engine compartment may have an effect on IAT, and thus on spark advance. But air cleaner flow restriction is not something you need to be concerned about on a stock or mildly modified C6 engine.
On the topic of IAT, logs show that IAT runs within a couple of degrees of ambient with the stock setup at highway speeds. The only time CAI makes a significant difference in IAT is when you're stopped or moving slowly in traffic. Other than at launch on a drag strip, this is of no practical concern either.
In short, lots of people are spending lots of money on dubious bits of plastic ducting for dubious real world driving benefits. You'd be better off putting that money toward something that actually shows real flow benefits, ie heads/cam, intake manifold, headers, etc.
SUBVETTE
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,841
Likes: 93
From: San Diego CA
I kept the stock setup and just dropped in the K&N replacement filters. I did this after deciding the K&N total cold air intake wasn't worth the money to gain almost nothing until above 5000 rpm. Look at their promotional chart and you will see that a max of about 12 HP is obtained only in the very high rpm ranges. If you drive all out most of the time, maybe it's worth considering; for me and my driving style I figure I get as much bang for the buck out of the drop in filters.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
I kept the stock setup and just dropped in the K&N replacement filters. I did this after deciding the K&N total cold air intake wasn't worth the money to gain almost nothing until above 5000 rpm. Look at their promotional chart and you will see that a max of about 12 HP is obtained only in the very high rpm ranges. If you drive all out most of the time, maybe it's worth considering; for me and my driving style I figure I get as much bang for the buck out of the drop in filters.
I don't think it is worth it considering how high to get that extra power in a higher RPM range. Seems to be alot of these aftermarket products are like this.
If you have problems finding the stock air filter this might pay itself off and you don't mind washing it.
