I own a C7 Z06 and I'd like to get some HP more. The car is currently completely stock but I planned to change exhaust and Air Intake System. So, which one is the best Cold Air Intake System? At the moment I know:

Halltech Stinger +60 HP

AFE Black Series +46 HP

And I can't wait to see the upcoming VaraRam!

Which one is the best? Do you know other products? The HP increase declared is reliable?

 

This is like asking what religion is best or what oil is best. I just picked up the new veraram intake to test. Cold air intakes are the subject of huge debate. Some guys also just replace the filter in the stock airbox and call it good. They wouldnt be wrong as well; im still not sold that it makes a massive difference to change the entire intake, but im going to find out for myself.

 

http://www.vararam.com/TCR7.html

Here is a link to info on our C7 unit
Call me at 713-477-8100 with any questions or to order!

 

Can't speak to the current one, but I had a Halltech Superbee on my '13. Of all the aftermarket performance stuff I've had over the years on Vettes or Trans Ams, this was the only complete waste of money. Nice filter--but it was simply a K&N, the Beehive cover probably did help keep some engine heat off the filter/intake hose, but the MAF forward design and no provision for real cold air just made the car throw lean codes. Well made, and maybe the new one will work better in the C7 application. If I were to buy one for my '18 Stingray it would be the Vararam. Just my 2C.

 

Z-06 LT-4 guys are going to be some "VERY" happy C7 owners when this system is released.

VR tech

 

How much longer before the LT4 version is released? Will it be priced the same as the LT1 version?

 

I have the VARARAM on my 2014 vette love it well made & works excellent & priced very good.. I sold my helltech in c.f. for this one... Robert

 

These CAI work negligibly at best on naturally aspirated engines like the LT1. In a supercharged engine, a whole different animal. The end result of compressing air through the SC is heat. That's why the LT4 has its own intercooler (air to water) with an external heat sink, water pump, plumbing and water circulating through the SC body cooling the compressed air before it's forced into the combustion chamber where it meets the direct injection fuel charge. Google a cutaway of this engine and see how the SC functions. More HP, larger intercoolers or the "mini refrigerator" that Dodge Demons now come with to cool the air charge after compression. IMHO, no so-called CAI will NOT have even a minor effect on HP.

Today, the GM and especially the Corvette engineers are doing yeoman's work on producing great HP from their engines and keeping them together with a warranty. Can they be made to produce more HP, you bet, until you run into the add on warranty issue(s). They're somewhat underrated and over engineered to keep them 'together'.

Right now, and w/o voiding the warranty, the only way to "push the envelope" is on the exhaust side. That bi-modal muffler is a real impediment (check out a cutaway of it) especially on a blown (pardon the pun) engine. Remember too, if an add on requires a "TUNE", it will void your warranty. My $.02!

 

WE are almost done running our 12,000 mile tests.
Our plan is to get some different year Z-06's in our facility to test this week and next.
Once we have run our tests on them , I will be able to answer the time line question.

VR tech

 

of your new Z06 product. I might suggest that you sense and provide ambient air temperatures, air temp at the TB and on the intake manifold at the end of multiple runners (but after the intercooler) and prior to the intake valve. These locations should allow reasonable placement of temperature sensors. My instinct tells me that after the engine warms up 10-15 minutes, the actual temps of the air charge entering the combustion chamber will even out and parrot the cooling temps of the intercooler assuming no modifications to the intercooler. I doubt that changes in the ambient air temps will make any differences to the temperature of that air charge. Again, my $.02.

 

At Vararam we do all of that in testing . It is part of our R&D program on every unit we manufacture.
We showed part of this with the 2010-2011 LS-3 Camaro ram Air system and that info is on the Camaro page on our site. We did it to show people what ram air is all about. An air temp reading from over in a fender means nothing if that same temp isn't being realized inside the plenum of the manifold.
People tend to get obsessed with pressure not realizing that the point of any ram air system is first and foremost, to intercool the intake manifolds plenum. This area will be 20-60 deg hotter than ambient temp on most V-8 engines. The map pressure sensor can be off due to its placement or its sensitivity and can effect what you see in a data log. The consensus at the SAE is that ram air is worth about a 4% power increase even if there is "ZERO" pressure rise.It's from cooling the plenums air so that the runners are drawing ambient temperature. Most OEM engines hover around 40deg above ambient inside their plenums. A guy might say ,but what if I dyno it stone cold ? well that's not realistic and all 4 cycle engines suffer from pressure reversion and "spit back". That would be left over hot exhaust gases from the firing cycle that didn't go down the exhaust port combined with air bouncing off the intake valve . This travels up the intake runner and into the plenum when the intake valve opens as pressures equalize. OK, Back to Ram Air , If you have a Ram Tuned manifold like an LS-1,2or 3 that generates 1.5-2psi of boost at the torque peak ,the gains will be exponential. All of our street systems are "Well Over" 100% at the back of the TB.
The challenge with a "Cold Air system" is to generate enough velocity from vacuum and an efficient design to force feed the cylinder head/intake manifold combination. The C-7 LT-1 system does this at specific RPM points BUT the LT-4 represents a much higher flow volume than the LT-1. The LT-4 has been designed to support up to 1000 Rear Wheel HP. Even though most will never go there, some will. Most will be bolt on stock cars and that's fine , but we want to make sure the system is setup for the bigger guns if the need arises.
Our goal is to bring our customers as much efficiency and consistency as possible to the LT-4 combination. That way your Z-06 runs the same all of the time, not just when its cold outside.

VR Tech

 

I have no issue with your treatment and testing of the naturally aspirated LT1 engine but the supercharged LT4 engine is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. The supercharger impellers create BIG TIME HEAT when compressing air. The ONLY way to reduce that heat is through the use of a very efficient heat exchanger. The HX on the LT4 is a closed system circulating water through the heat sink on the front of the vehicle (removing heat) and through the supercharger water passages picking up the compressed air heat. It also has its own pump. That's the ONLY way that the air charge entering the intake manifold and subsequently the combustion chamber can be cooled. Your CAI is NOT going to cool that air! I'd rethink offering your CAI for this engine.

 

Wouldn't more, denser air allow the supercharger to cram more air into the engine and create more horsepower? Isn't that what the cold air intake is for in a forced induction motor?

 

You are right, that the supercharger heats the air moving thorugh it and you are also right that a cold air intake does nothing to cool the air leaving the intercooler.
However, what a cold air intake possibly does is to feed the supercharger with cooler air.
If it does that, the air leaving the supercharger is cooler compared to the air without the cold air intake.
The air then enters the intercooler with a lower temp and in the end enzers the cylinders cooler.


Regards


Götz

 

the temperature of the air entering the combustion chamber is controlled by the ability/efficiency of the built-in heat exchanger, not the entering air temp at the TB.

 

If the intake air temp starts off cooler it ends up cooler
The bus has left the station a long time ago! The Cai's work great on the Z06 which comes with a restrictive filter that is also on the 460hp Lt1.

Just a filter swap is 30 rwhp and the full Cai like the Halltech is about 50
these are numbers for the M7 A8 is a little less.



You trying to restate the facts is for entertainment purposes only.

 

which are simply not believable. You might want to look into a quick refresher on Thermodynamics. This is my 8th Vette and God knows how many high powered cars that I have owned or driven including both supercharged and turbocharged. One of the best ways to increase HP on these types is with an intercooler that cools down the compressed air via air to air or air to water, the later of which is already on the LT4 engine. Interestingly, even the new Dodge Demon package includes a "mini refrigerator" to artificially cool intake air to gain additional HP "In drag mode, the Demon redirects air conditioning from the passenger compartment to a chiller that cools intake air so the engine can reach peak power". A CAI by itself, cannot do it. On the LT4, it's the efficiency of the intercooler that matters.

I'm not trying to start a war on this matter, it's not worth it to me but I hate to see people spend a whole lot of money needlessly for a couple of ponies (maybe) on CAI's for this application. For normally aspirated engines it might help minimally.

 

WE have been cooling these types of blowers for yrs. Everyone from Magnuson ,Eaton and the COPO guys have watched as we have cooled their rotors down. In another life 25yrs ago or so I was designing and building Turbo and Supercharged Engines for racing teams and OEM's.
The real issue with a screw charger isn't the heat from the compression of air to create boost. The real problem is that your Rotors TOUCH, they are seated . That is where most of the noise comes from. There is a dry lube coating that wears off over time. That is why GM reps don't like to see catch cans on the LT-4 engines. The PCV system and all of that puking oil into the blower is an additional lubricant for the rotors. Now as for the water changers, we have measured their effectiveness already and I can say that GM could have done a better job in this area. All they really did is create a power unit and burry it into the V of an engine. The, incorporate as much as possible into one, casting style construction holds far to much heat. Making things compact is typical OEM, but has drawbacks. Cooling is one of them.

I cannot tell you everything about the LT-4 system until its release.
I can say that LT-4 owners will be very pleased with the results, from the power generated to the consistency in how their cars run. Tuners will love it because they will be able to do things they could never even think of doing before to make more power.

VR tech

 

To expand on what others have stated a little bit : The bottom line is in the case of the C-7 Z-06 there is a basic induction restriction. One that is costing over one pound of boost in losses. One pound of boost on a stock LT-4 is worth about 29.4HP all by itself. In most tests I see 1.5lbs of loss or more. On the road I see them pull timing and the boost losses are higher depending on the gear I am in.
This is what I tell every Racing team and OEM I have ever done work for.
Putting up a Dyno number is great. Its not so great ,if when it matters the most, on the road or track , it pulls timing and detunes the car. ( In their case, blows an engine)
It needs to at least Keep the power it makes rather than throw it away from poor Dynamic Efficiency. Sometimes its about keeping what you have , not necessarily generating more power.

VR tech

 

Where is the measurable testing data to support the "30 to 60" HP gain with a cold air intake?
Dyno #'s absolutely don't count, I don't drive on a dyno.