Hi

I'm about to spend some $$$ to upgrade my air intake. I've already have LT headers and catless X-pipes, so the exhaust department is done. Now, what I'm still trying to decide is whether to get a full cold air intake like an SLP black wing or just replace the OEM filter element with a reusable K&N element. Is the extra money spent on the entire unit worth it, over just replacing the element with a better one? Looking forward to read everyone's opinions.

Edit: The car is a 2008 Z51 manual with LS3

 

Don't do the K&N filter only routine. I bought it, my car did not like it all, caused surging and rich condition, sold it on the forum for half the price. It has the most airflow but the lowest dirt protection of all the filters.

 

If you are going to do anything just prop the bottom of the shroud open and add a K&N drop-in. From what I've read you may get some surging with basically any modifications to the stock air box.

I'm sticking with the OEM filter from my '12 GS. If I was going to buy an aftermarket intake it would be the Vararam or nothing.

 

Don't do the K&N filter only routine. I bought it, my car did not like it all, caused surging and rich condition, sold it on the forum for half the price. It has the most airflow but the lowest dirt protection of all the filters.

 

My understanding is that the surging can be tuned out fairly easily though right? If such is the case, does the K&N drop in filter flow significantly better than the stock filter?

 

On a bench test it does however your car has does not have the air intake capacity or the need to meet or exceed the cfm rating rating of the stock filter. What You end up is spending money on something that does not give you any gains, contrary to it filters lot more dirt than the OEM one. Do the search. OEM filters usually are the choice here in CF. And now you are going to spend $150 and up for a tune on a $ 89 filter?

 

Meant to say it filters lot less dirt, lot more gets into the engine. It is the worst rated filter when it comes to ratings. But like always it is always a compromise between high flow and filtration. You can not have both and the Oem vette filters are the best compromise for the horse power rating if your car.

 

I ran a Vararam for a while and the tuner could not completely eliminate the slight surging.

It was difficult for the passenger to feel but the driver, while at a consistent speed could feel it very slight though. In the end it was annoying for me.

The thing about changing the intake is that unless you get fresh cooler air to the filter there isn't much of a gain for the $$.

The Vararam works well but the fitment leaves something to be desired.

Cheapest would be the airaid and the shroud mod. Or just keep the existing set up and open the shroud. The LS3 filter is used in the Z06 so I think it breaths well enough, just needs cooler air to make power gains.

Spending up to $500 for a CAI when the shroud mode cost a few dollars is crazy.

 

Here is some recent information

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-air-raid.html

 

You can not tune out turbulence across the maf, you can make changes to make the idle a little better, but what's the point?

Factory filter is fine and does filter better than the K&N.

Don't waste your money on that.

DJ

 

I went with the lingenfelter ram air cai, no surging.

 

It's an oxymoron...If you cut the shroud, you can get surging but like said, with a good tune it should take care of it. Now cutting the shroud is the only way to make the intake a true cold air intake, as it would be taking in ambient car versus air from under the hood.

I decided to go with the airaid cold air intake because it had a factory fit and seemed to have good feedback. In no way is this a true cold air intake, but it does have better air flow than the sock box.

i think the best intake is the Halltech however. the build quality is top notch and it has a great shield to block out warm air from the engine. You won't get any surging, won't have to cut out the shroud and like i said the fit and finish is very good.

Now with any aftermarket intake system, you don't have to get a tune, but you really should. the MAF reading will be slightly off, some more than other depending on the location of the MAF sensor. When I installed the Airraid, the car ran fine without the tune, but when I got the tune the guy said the MAF readings were all off by a little.

if only going with headers, you would be fine leaving the stock airbox in there. I think most people (including myself) get a "CAI" just for the heck of it lol

 

Anytime you mess with the air in front of the filter....you can have problems.
I had a VetteAir with a stock filter, and when I did a full throttle it would surge. Within a few days I went with a KillerB and many other mods, and of course a tune. No Surging.
I think the main problem I had with the stock filter is that it has an opened face facing the VetteAir, and the KillerB has a plate on the bottom. Could be that the plate is enough to defuse the air.....well it's a possibility. I know I have the VetteAir which throws air directly into the intake and I do not surge....whether it was the mods, the intake, or the tune....I can't say for sure.

 

The LS-3 intake/air filtration is actually pretty good. For a 2008, I would replace the air filter and call it good, the later air filters are sized for the ZR-1 motors which flow the most air. I would not go with K&N or any oiled type filter, you would be trying to flow more air than is required by the motor and allowing more dirt into the engine. My second recommendation was the cold air mods previously mentioned. Halltech has some good air/shroud covers and a procedure to open the air intake area to allow more cold air but once again, I would be very hesitant to go with any other air filter than OEM.

 

I have a Vararam, but in my time working at Late Model Racecraft, the number one recommended CAI was the Callaway Honker. I can't tell you why, but it was installed on every fast N/A or nitrous powered 'vette that's ever been built by them.

 

I had a 2008 Coupe before my current 2013 Grand Sport. Both the Coupe & the GS had/have the Halltech MF103 CAI. (http://www.halltechsystems.com/Hallt...-p/kbmf103.htm) It has a HUGE filter, all the air the car would ever possibly need. There are also other variations of this CAI. It is a pretty awesome system from what I can tell. It moves the position of the Mass Air flow Sensor. It also has a heat shield that separates the heat from the engine compartment away from the air entering the filter =colder air entering the filter. My Grand Sport put down 435 lbft TQ to the wheels w/the CAI, full bolt ons & tune.

 

I should also point out Katech engineering uses Halltech.

 

I have a Halltech mf103, it is sitting above my garage in a box. Factory one works just fine, you won't need more than what it can do with boltons.

The Halltech did not cause turbulence with the maf forward design. (again you can not tune that out, you can hide the symptoms. But a tune doesn't fix turbulence across a maf.) The bee hive is worth having, the oil type filter can go in the trash.

DJ

 

nobody has ever proven they can make more power with an aftermarket filter on a C6 that that I've seen so far. lots of claims, but the truth is the stock filter flows more than enough and is not the limiting factor.

still, people are used to buying intakes, so it doesn't matter what the facts are, they'll keep buying them.

 

Same here I also got the hyper tech tuner that was offered with the cai.No surging what so ever.