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Old 12-22-2010, 05:31 PM   #1
Shades
 
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Stock Air Intake...

I just got my SS a week ago and have been reading some of these threads. Everyone seems to agree that a cold air intake is great and will bump HP. Heres what I dont understand. I was looking at my stock air intake on the SS last night.....the filter seems to be in a sealed box and the box has an air intake scoop pointed to the grill. Isnt that a cold air intake as is???
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Old 12-22-2010, 05:35 PM   #2
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I would say yes, it is a cold air intake. Just not a very good one for maximum performance. It is pretty evident from dyno testing that changing the stock intake will garner some gains. They vary from intake to intake, but I am not aware of any that perform worse than a stock intake.
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Old 12-22-2010, 05:36 PM   #3
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Your are correct. Stocker is cold air. The term Cold Air Intake a.k.a. CAI, has been popularized by the performance aftermarket.

There are aftermarket products that outperform the stock unit. Not because the air is colder, but by having less air flow restriction. They are easy to install and are a great starting placing for mods. Search around in here and you'll find many options to read about.
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Old 12-22-2010, 05:37 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shades View Post
I just got my SS a week ago and have been reading some of these threads. Everyone seems to agree that a cold air intake is great and will bump HP. Heres what I dont understand. I was looking at my stock air intake on the SS last night.....the filter seems to be in a sealed box and the box has an air intake scoop pointed to the grill. Isnt that a cold air intake as is???
Good eye and yes it does get cold air. The idea with the CAI boxes is to get more cold air with a bigger filter and shorter less obstructive path. This is the one I have www.vararam.com. Shortest path, large filter straight shot of cold air from behind the grille.
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Old 12-22-2010, 05:44 PM   #5
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Give this a read. It has a lot of good info in it about air intakes in general and specifically for the 5th generation Camaro SS. If you have questions about any of it feel free to PM me.
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Old 12-22-2010, 06:15 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Apex Chase View Post
Give this a read. It has a lot of good info in it about air intakes in general and specifically for the 5th generation Camaro SS. If you have questions about any of it feel free to PM me.
Thanks....that was very helpful! I guess Im leaning toward the CAI or the vararam unit. The vararam looks best...they seem to have two models tuned and un-tuned....can anyone tell me what the difference is in those and which would be better for me to get?
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Old 12-22-2010, 06:46 PM   #7
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Thanks....that was very helpful! I guess Im leaning toward the CAI or the vararam unit. The vararam looks best...they seem to have two models tuned and un-tuned....can anyone tell me what the difference is in those and which would be better for me to get?
I ran the CAI first and now VaraRam. I'm running the no-tune version because I don't want to tune and potentailly have warranty issues. The VaraRam tune version gives higher HP gains, but you have to tune to get there. I believe the opening to the throttle body is a different shape and I'm assuming the MAF screen may have been removed. Apparently you can switch for one to the other simply by changing out the piece attached to the throttle body. Oh and MarylandSpeed has the best price on the VaraRam right now.

The CAI is a very well made unit though, and if you are leaning that way please consider going with the ADM scoop to get the most out of the CAI. Auto Agenda has the best price on the CAI with ADM scoop. I'll assume that all of the box intakes that sit over near on the drivers side, whether sealed or not, like Roto-Fab, ADM, CAI, Halltech etc, work equally well. But the scoop seems to be logical a nice addition for the ADM and CAI boxes.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:23 PM   #8
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I'll assume that all of the box intakes that sit over near on the drivers side, whether sealed or not, like Roto-Fab, ADM, CAI, Halltech etc, work equally well.
No sir. All intakes are not created equal.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:26 PM   #9
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Vararam it and don't look back.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115223
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Old 12-22-2010, 09:41 PM   #10
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No sir. All intakes are not created equal.
I was trying to be diplomatic, but believe for the average person those box types are very similar. I'm pretty sure that Ted's testing proved that to be the case. I do have first hand experience with the CAI (no scoop) and VaraRam. Got the CAI from you months ago.
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Old 12-22-2010, 11:27 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IndeedSS1 View Post
I was trying to be diplomatic, but believe for the average person those box types are very similar. I'm pretty sure that Ted's testing proved that to be the case. I do have first hand experience with the CAI (no scoop) and VaraRam. Got the CAI from you months ago.

While they may LOOK similar, there are are a couple that are hands down better than the rest. I've yet to see a CAI, including the VR unit, that does better than the Halltech. Don't get me wrong, I think the VR unit looks nice and probably performs well. I didn't buy into the hype before and I don't buy into it now. I'm glad they got their surging issue figured out though.
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Old 12-23-2010, 05:22 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IndeedSS1 View Post
I was trying to be diplomatic, but believe for the average person those box types are very similar. I'm pretty sure that Ted's testing proved that to be the case. I do have first hand experience with the CAI (no scoop) and VaraRam. Got the CAI from you months ago.
That test showed over 10rwhp difference between the top of the heap and the bottom. No one wants to invest a few hundred dollars in an intake for 2-3 rwhp when for the same money you can be getting 10-15 rwhp.
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Old 12-23-2010, 05:31 AM   #13
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The drawback about the factory one is that it was designed to reduce the noise from the incoming air. This is done by baffles and additional chamber on the stock inlet from the filter box to the engine. by replacing this you will see improvements.
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Old 12-23-2010, 06:29 AM   #14
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I just installed a CAI, Inc and have a ADM scoop waiting.
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