Question:
2008 Base C6 M6 - stock
was considering a CAI But read conflicting comments. Some say sounds great, small HP increase, others say don’t waste your money.
I’m comparing Corsa 441 vs K&N - but open to other suggestions.
I’m looking for someone who has actually installed one on this car and not simply opinions.
any feedback appreciated. Many thanks

 

I would go OEM Z06 Air bridge and be done with it......

 

i did what bayou said. It cleans up the engine bay. from what i have read, CAI gains will be minimal, and its mostly for looks (i.e. carbon fiber)

 

The stock air intake flows more than enough air for even mildly modded engines. The only CAI that really works are the Vararam style intakes that create a true ram air effect. You need to be moving at interstate speeds at a minimum to really get a benefit from them.

 

Either Vararam or the $2 shroud prop, whichever your budget allows. The shroud prop is good for about .15 to .25 sec in the 1/4mi
Longtime racer here.

 

Not no, but hell No.

The Vararam will lower your standing quarter mile times, not by any ram air effect, but that the fact that you will launch off the line with less engine timing pull instead.

Hence stock air cleaner pulls it's air from the inside the hot engine bay areas, and it not until you are half way down the track before enough air has moved through the engine bay area to cool down the air it, so the engine is now pulling cooler air again to reduce the amount of spark timing it's pulling.

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Simply, CAI do not make any more power, since as stated, the OEM air system is already out flowing the amount of air that the engine needs, but help to reduce the amount of timing retard that the engine will do as it's pulling in hotter air instead.

As for the Vararam, the huge down side to them, pulls air into the intake from so low in the front of the car, that deep enough water puddle to draw water into the snorkel, and can end up hydro locking the motor to destroy it instead. As for oil type air filter, even worse draw back on them, since they do not start to filter the best until they do get a little dirty to start with, and if you over oil the filter, it will transfer to the MAF sensor to cause all kinds of problems as well.

Bluntly, if your looking for just pure performance gains alone/ while still safe to drive in the rain, then Oem Shroud prop-open in a few dollars in some hardware to do it is all that is needed.

And anything like this, is not a CAI, since it still pulling the air into the filter from the hot engine bay area just like the OEM air system.

 

Let me add to a couple items here.
1. You will get a ram effect with the Vararam, however by the time you have increased your speed enough to take advantage of it, you'll already be past the end of the 1/4 mile.
2. Assuming you use a paper filter with the Vararam vs the oiled mesh style, rain won't cause hydrolock. Driving through deep water is the obvious cause, but the bow wave caused by oncoming traffic is more likely to enter the inlet. A paper filter helps that concern, but an easily attached frontal shield nearly eliminates the possibility.
3. Although hydrolock is possible with the '08-'13 OEM filter housing (propped shroud or not), you've probably drenched the interior carpet by then.

 

I agree with most all you say except when comparing 05-07 OEM air intake systems to aftermarket systems.

Tom

 

That's a fact !

Stock 05-07 is restrictive ... 08-13 not at all

The aftermarket CAI is close to zero 'bang for the buck' if used on the 08-13 C6.

 

so lets get the correct on the 05-07 LS2 C6 cars the heads, intake, CAI are all restrictive garbage yet technically the 08+ LS3 cars were only 30+ more HP ???

 

? ? ? ?

Hey ... As they say ... "I just work here"

 

I can just speak from my own experience with my LS3 ...

Before I supercharged it, I had 3 different air intakes on the car:

1. OEM LS3
2. OEM Z06
3. Airaid

As far as I could tell ... No difference in power between the 3 of them.

 

I've got an '08 C6M.... after much research, I put on the Callaway Honker CAI with other mods (AR headers & high flow cats, Corsa Sport exhaust, GM Hot Cam). The Callaway CAI does allow true cold air intake. There is no doubt that cooler intake air (as opposed to warmer, engine compartment air) will make more power, however minimal it is. This is pure physics; cooler, denser air makes more power. From what most people say, this is accomplished by allowing the ignition timing to be maintained due to the cooler intake air. I installed the Callaway system as part of a complete mod package over the past 3 years. I'm happy with the results and would recommend this CAI system as it is a true "Cold Air Intake", and is, in my opinion, a better, higher quality design than the Vararam.

https://www.callawaycars.com/homepag...inlet-systems/

 

You're gonna find a ton of answers to a question like this. The easiest way to look at it is the best performer on the track is vararam and halltech. It seems some tuners prefer one over the other, but more for ease of tuning than anything else. I threw a vararam on my C5 and you could feel the difference on the backhalf of the 1/4 mile. I raced a stage 3 roush with my car when it had just a catback and we were door to door from 50-120. After the vararam I put 2-3 cars on him, no other changes. At the track the car dropped 2-3 tenths and picked up 2-3mph. For $300 you really cant match that other than what HOX recommended.

 

Yes, since what they gained in better air flow to the motor on the LS3 over the Ls2, was off set by the lower compression of the LS3 to work with the lower octane fuels being offered as the standards at that time isntead.

Hence LS2 (10.9:1) requires 93 octane to run it best, while lower compression LS3 (10.7:1) requires 91 octane to run it best isntead.

P.S, The LS2 makes 411HP actually in stock form, but was stated in 2005 as 400HP so dealers could still sell the last of the C5 Z06 LS6 cars, with it's motor rated at 405HP. So what GM gained with all that improved air flow in the LS3, really even worse hit in HP over the LS2 motor instead. 430 minus 411 actuals, comes to 19 hp increase only. So better air flow was about 10hp itself, and that leave the added 9hp to the .2L cubic inch increase with lower compression instead.

Simply, the LS3 is the stronger block, as well as increase in .2 in motor size, but it's downfall to really making the power increase it should have been to start with, its was the drop in compression instead.

 

None of it was garbage, it was cutting edge technology back in 2004. Keep it simple and remember that opening up the intake and exhaust will yield decent gains for the money. Horsepower doesn’t matter unless you race the car. Keep it simple. The LS2 is a great starting point, and with proper mods the only thing you’re giving up against an LS3 is cubic inches which we’ve all learned literally means nothing these days. I’m sure a lot of folks will disagree with that which is fine, but in real racing cubic inches don’t mean a whole lot. Things have changed.

 

Plainly and simply, an LS3 is just a better place to start. Add a healthy cam and long tube headers and you can be around 500rwhp. Do the same with an LS2 and you're at 440. That's just the way it is. You can equal the LS3's cam/headers numbers, but you have to add an aftermarket CAI, aftermarket intake manifold, and aftermarket heads to do it. No shame in that...it's just an older design. Time waits for no one.

 

On my LS3 I am using a stock LS7 airbox with an Attack Blue non-oiled filter. Works great

 

It isn't just cubic inches, its also the fact that if comparing airflow, stock vs stock, the LS3 heads run circles around the LS2 heads. That and the OEM LS2 intake manifold sucks compared to even the the LS6 intake, and really sucks compared to the LS3 intake. The 12 cubic inches only add 1-1/2 cubes/cylinder, so you're correct that the cubes don't make a huge difference. But they don't hurt, either. Viewed as a system, there's a substantial difference between the two platforms....

 

I guess I should have clarified, I was referring to forced induction. Not NA vs NA. Even then, depending on the heads/cam and valve train, possibly crank it’s still a toss up.