I searched, I did not find my answers (after sorting through pages of freakin bickering I couldn't stand it anymore)

Car : 09 LS3 Manual

Looking to get CAI.

1. My first question is; is the LS3/LS7 intake the same for this year? A lot of the products I'm finding say 08-13 with Z06 somewhere in the title as well, I'm not finding just a base model on some of the ones I'm looking at. Which leads me to think they're the same between the base/Z06 but I wanted to confirm.

2. Is there any concern about sealing/pressurizing the intake/radiator area? I saw some mention of this in one of the threads but didn't fully comprehend it from what I saw.

3. Are there any REAL number comparisons of different intakes? As in, did anyone take the same car and test different intakes on a dyno or something along those lines? I see a lot of brand loyalty but I'm looking for best value. If anything I'll default to K&N because of my history of satisfaction with their products.

Please keep this on topic and no bickering.
Thanks in advanced!

 

The LS3 and LS7 share the same air intake design (except I think the LS3 has a hemholtz chamber).

Unless you are doing other upgrades along the lines of a Cam, bigger intake manifold, bigger throttle body, full header-back exhaust; an aftermarket air intake is going to give you minimal results. The OEM design is quite good on the LS3 and LS7.

 

Headers back exhaust and a tune are the first things that should be done by the end of the year. Then comes the save for heads/cam

 

from what i have seen most go with vararam or halltech the seem to be the best from what i've seen. i personally went with the halltech . Did headers and tune then followed it with intake i didnt notice a huge difference after the intake but my tuner had to adjust my fuel trims by 6%. i did notice i lost slightly slower to a hellcat.

 

1. LS3 and LS7 have slight differences, the biggest of which is the heimholtz resonator. Although the filters were different on the early ones and are now the same, they were physically the same dimensionally and could be interchanged.

2. Depending on what type of true CAI or intake advertised as a CAI, there are some commercially available and some homemade "covers" that separate the air entering the filter from the under hood air. Many of the so-called CAI's are nothing more than a different filter housing. Halltech makes one called a Beehive to seal around their filter housing. I don't remember the name of one that seals around the OEM housing after you cut out part of the shroud.

3. Several dyno test ads and videos do direct comparisons vs stock. They all claim big HP increases if you believe them. Since one of the big cold air benefits is to reduce/eliminate the reduction of timing, anything that keeps hot underhood air from entering the filter is a good thing. The real test comes when comparing a moving car vs one on a dyno. The fairly serious drag racers use the Vararam by a very large margin.
https://redirect.viglink.com/?format...omparison.html

4. And I know you didn't ask, but one that's almost free is the $2 shroud prop and it retains your superior Donaldson air filter. Here's how it works:

Gather parts: 2 pcs 1/4-20 threaded rod about 6" long, 4 pcs 1/4 x 1 fender washer, 8 pcs 1/4-20 hex nut

Prepare the props: Divide the parts to create two assemblies. Put two nuts about 1" to 1 1/2" in on each rod and tighten against each other (jam nut) and add a washer. Put two more nuts on the other end of each rod and run them loosely leaving about an inch space from the first pair and then add a washer.

Open the shroud: Pop the two plastic snap pins out at the bottom front of the shroud. They're equally spaced about 6" from the centerline and attach the shroud to the front vertical metal plate. Pry the center locking pin out about a half inch and then pull the whole pin out. Push the bottom of the shroud toward the radiator.

Install the props: While holding the shroud open, put a rod with the most thread showing (it should be about 3" worth) into the hole where the pins were in the metal plate, then put the short end into the mating hole on the shroud. Repeat on the other side. You should now have both assemblies in place and the shroud propped open about 1"-1 1/2". Now run the frontmost loose nuts toward the front of the car until you get the open space of the shroud where you desire. I'd suggest somewhere in the 2 1/2" to 3" range. When you get the opening desired, spin the remaining loose nut to the front and tighten it, jam nut style, to the other nut.

That's it. It takes longer to read this than to do it. Obviously reverse the process to restore the shroud to the stock location.

Enjoy the newfound power, but also be aware that some of the dirt etc that would have been stuck in your radiator/condenser will now be on your engine. If you are creative enough, you can seal off the upper part (above the air filter) of the opening to stop the dirt and effectively force the air through the filter. Possibly by using the Halltech Beehive.

Also see this filtration chart before you opt for a K&N.
Limited filtration or no filtration is how you can gain power at the expense of ingesting dirt.
BTW, there are paper filters that can be used in a Vararam housing that filter far better than what Vararam provides.

 

definitely noticed lower intake temps especially when driving with the propped shroud^ i run a tablet mount that connects to my obd2 to measure any differences i can see before and after mods. between the halltech and propped shroud the intake temps are pretty close maf reads its pulling in a bit more air id guess from a bigger filter or the shape of the halltech intake but for the $ propped should was great!

 

I tried the propped shroud and immediately found a surge issue while at highway speeds. I ran with it for close to a week, I spend about half an hour back and forth to work at 70+. It was driving me crazy and I ended up closing the shroud back and the issue resolved itself immediately. I've read a lot of people have had it work, but in my case, not so much. I also went against the grain and bought a K&N. According to that chart, there's a 3% difference between the the K&N and the top performer. I don't know if there was that great deal of HP difference, but the exhaust note is definitely deeper and I can now hear air being sucked into when I rev the engine. FWIW, I did a great deal of looking at various styles and brands of CAIs before I ended up realizing the $$$ vs HP increase just wasn't there enough for me, so I stuck with my LS3 stock one, and all of the above comments do a great job of summarizing the countless threads I read.