I have a 2009 vette and want to put a cold air intake on it. Was woundering which one you guys would recommend. Thanks for the input.

 

As long as you're wasting money, might as well go for the most expensive one you can find.

Really, the stock OE LS3 air breather is a top notch performer, and the stock OE Donaldson PowerCore filter element is the best out there, both in air flow and filtration.

 

For a true CAI you can go LPE, Callaway or Vararam, maybe a couple others. Or install any other intake like Airaid K&N with a Vette air scoop but all these options require cutting shroud which is no big deal. If your not gonna cut than stick with what you got!

 

I don't know why JoesC5 says your wasting $$... if all you plan on doing is driving on the street, he may be correct... but if you plan on racing it the Vararam "WILL" make a difference...

My car ran 12.60 as it came from the showroom...with just a Vararam, and a "Tune" it has run 12.0x on many occations... But if I was not going to race on a track I probably would stay with the stock air filter...

I have many time slips that give me 60' 330' 660' 1000' & 1/4 mile time.. so I can compare very accurately.. After the install of the Vararam my car picked up over .20 from 330' to the 1000' timers... it works best after the car is moving at 40 mph +

There are many forum members who drag or road race, that can verify the improvement you will get from a Vararam...

And YES you have to be careful NOT to drive through 10" deep water, stay out of deep puddles and you'll be fine!!

 

I only say he's wasting his money as he most likely will not see any improvement on the street. On the strip, he most likely will see some. But you can purchase a Vette-Air for $100 and use it with the stock intake and also see gains on the strip.

If you see a .2 improvement with the Vararam(don't add in what a tune can also provide as a tune will also provide improvements using the stock OE intake) that's approximately 2 car lengths in 1320 feet. On the street, most people won't run WOT for 1320 feet. More like 600-700 feet, and that's at a much lower speed, before the Vararam helps. 0-80 MPH might be 1 car length, if that much, with the Vararam. Difficult to feel that on the street.

On my Z06, the bottom of the front spoiler is about 5" off the ground. The bottom of the grille opening is about 8.5" off the ground and the bottom of my Vette-Air scoop is 10.5" off the ground. Going through water at 6" deep, or a wake from a passing car, the water will be shoveled upward into the grille opening. With the bottom of the Vararam mounted at the bottom of the grille(8.5"), there is no place for the water to go, except into the mouth of the Vararam. With my Vette-Air, I have 2" of open grille below the scoop for the water to run back to the radiator, instead of into my scoop. 6" of water can cause problems with the Vararam, where as it would take at least 10.5" to get in my Vette-Air, If I Did scoop some water into my Vette-Air, there is a place for it to exit the scoop before it could get onto the air breather. In my case, I have a flat diffuser mounted on top of the Vette-Air discharge so it would almost be impossible for water to be scooped into the air breather.

The OE Donaldson Powercore filter element will last for 50,000 miles before replacement, so there won't be many of us changing it out because it's dirty. It will take me ten years to get 50,000 miles. I understand that most cotton gauze filter elements need to be cleaned around 12,000 miles. You remove the filter, wash it, wait for it to dry, and then oil it. If you over oil it, you could cause problems with the MAF; if you under oil it, because you are afraid of over oiling it, you will lose some of the filters ability to filter the air. No such problem with the Donaldson filter element.

Ah, the debate goes on. Ain't life wonderful.

 

i picked up a halltech air intake ONLY because I have an LS2 and I got it used for $150. if i had an LS3 or had to pay $400 for it, i sure as hell wouldn't have gotten it!

use the $ for something else like good tires, that will make more of a difference

 

I picked up a AIRAID CAI for $245 bux from one of the vendor.Im happy.