View Poll Results: Do Cold Air Intake Systems work???
Yes, there are significant performance gains!
16
30.77%
No, it's all hype, and has little, or no, performance value.
7
13.46%
The answer is somewhere in between.
29
55.77%
Voters: 52. You may not vote on this poll
Cai
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,063
Likes: 82
From: Tumwater, WA
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,063
Likes: 82
From: Tumwater, WA
The stock setup is NOT drawing air before the radiator.
Most of the air reaching a stock C6 filter has been through the radiator and over, around and through the engine before it reaches the filter. The stock radiator shroud prevents fresh air from reaching the filter from the front of the car. Cut the shroud to allow fresh air into the filter and you will have gains.
Most of the air reaching a stock C6 filter has been through the radiator and over, around and through the engine before it reaches the filter. The stock radiator shroud prevents fresh air from reaching the filter from the front of the car. Cut the shroud to allow fresh air into the filter and you will have gains.
and exactly what I did. ant say if I can feel any gains or if there really is or not but I was just hoping to lower the intake temps a few degrees.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 873
From: Bay Area CA
I think the OP should of added one more answer:
Do CAI's with a tune have significant gains? Answer: Yes.
Gains are not significant unless you tune the car. Any fuel metering change alone will only minimized your gains unless it is tuned for that mod.
Do CAI's with a tune have significant gains? Answer: Yes.
Gains are not significant unless you tune the car. Any fuel metering change alone will only minimized your gains unless it is tuned for that mod.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,331
Likes: 18
From: Missouri City Texas
Like I explained, the stock tune is VERY conservative in regards to heat and pulls timing very early as temps rise. If you feed the car cooler (as close to ambient as possible) air you will avoid this pulled timing and see huge increases if you were previously hitting the temps where timing begins to be pulled, which is something ludicrously low like 86 degrees.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,231
Likes: 451
From: Maryland
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
Likes: 2,106
From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
The easiest way to determine performance gains is at the dragstrip. SOTP and dyno sheets can't document or duplicate the information acquired from a timeslip.
I initially propped the shroud and it showed some reasonably decent gains. Then I switched to a Vararam and gained more. I don't believe there is more without altering the car's appearance.
Since the quickest bolt-ons on the performance list are using Vararams, it's pretty clear it is the power leader. If anything else was better, we'd all be switching to it.
I initially propped the shroud and it showed some reasonably decent gains. Then I switched to a Vararam and gained more. I don't believe there is more without altering the car's appearance.
Since the quickest bolt-ons on the performance list are using Vararams, it's pretty clear it is the power leader. If anything else was better, we'd all be switching to it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,168
Likes: 242
From: Pittsburgh PA
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...ts-inside.html
lol
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Pro
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 708
Likes: 1
From: Blaine Minnesota
The engine is going to pull as much air into the intake as possible, thus this makes no sense at all. Cooler air provides more horsepower, so instead of pulling air from under the hood where it is very warm, pull it from your grille with a vararam to see increased perfomrmance using the same dirty air your stock intake sucks in.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 873
From: Bay Area CA
Well that's not necessarily true either.
Like I explained, the stock tune is VERY conservative in regards to heat and pulls timing very early as temps rise. If you feed the car cooler (as close to ambient as possible) air you will avoid this pulled timing and see huge increases if you were previously hitting the temps where timing begins to be pulled, which is something ludicrously low like 86 degrees.
Like I explained, the stock tune is VERY conservative in regards to heat and pulls timing very early as temps rise. If you feed the car cooler (as close to ambient as possible) air you will avoid this pulled timing and see huge increases if you were previously hitting the temps where timing begins to be pulled, which is something ludicrously low like 86 degrees.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,331
Likes: 18
From: Missouri City Texas
I think that was my point. I agree, cooler IAT's will provide hp gains. The combination of a well designed CAI and a tune will maximize those gains by lowering the IAT's. It is not so much what you gain, but what you gain to loose. There are many factors in a custom tune that will help a CAI, i.e. MAF rescaling, reprogram PE values for WOT, lowering IAT threshold, etc. Again, anytime you change fuel metering you need to tune to maximize gains.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 873
From: Bay Area CA
1. True CAI + Tune = 25 - 35 rwhp.
2. True CAI and no tune = 8 - 12 rwhp.
3. Oem air intake - no hp gain.
Which scenario would you say is more significant hp gain?
All cars will benefit from cold IAT's!
We known the oem tune will pull timing with IAT's above 86*. But, that is not the only measurable timing that will be pulled in the oem tune.
1. Coolant temps above 213*.
2. Torque management
3. Knock recovery rate and limit.
4. False knock
What I am saying is a properly tuned engine with a CAI can alleviate horsepower robbing measures and make significant gains. IAT's is only one measure of hp being loss. You have to look at the whole picture.
Last edited by Mike's LS3; Apr 27, 2013 at 12:40 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,433
Likes: 873
From: Bay Area CA
You'll never convince me of that when the hard data says otherwise.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...ts-inside.html
lol
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...ts-inside.html
lol
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,549
Likes: 27
From: Southampton NJ
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,548
Likes: 15
From: Paris TN
I've had Vararam CAIs on my last 4 LS engined cars and they always performed better than others. I can say that from multiple drag racing and road course venues with other similarly low modded Corvettes, especially in Europe. When I won the trophies, some always asked why my car ran faster than theirs? I could only point to the Vararam since all other factors were relatively equal.