Project: Average Joe does simple bolt-ons

[Malice]

THE CAR: A rock stock Red Jewel 2SS/RS with an LS3/M6. So far, I have NO MODS at all installed.

Here she is in all stock form


WEIGHT TEST:

I took the car to the local USMC air station and put it on a scale. With a full tank of gas, a racing helmet, and a bag containing a couple books in the trunk, she tipped the scaled at 4,120 lbs. I weight exactly 198lbs, so the car weighs roughly 3,920 in stock form.

Sorry, but I don't have any pictures to back up the weight.

More info here:http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53629

1/4 MILE SHAKEDOWN:

After a few passes getting to know the car, I got a respectable shakedown pass in stone stock form.


In order to keep all my testing as accurate as possible, I am going to correct all my data for atmospheric irregularity. Using an online calculator, I got my real baseline test data:


I have a stock engine, so using the weather data from my track run, I ran a corrected 12.963@ 108.8mph. In my opinion, thats not to bad for a stone stock daily driven car with a very average driver with little experience.

DYNO BASELINE:



Using a superflow dyno at some speedshop in Jacksonville NC, I got a stock baseline of 344rwhp/350rwtq. The dyno operator said that his superflow dyno usually delievers lower numbers than a comparable dynojet. The weather was crap that day, and I want to continue to use SAE weather corrections, so I used an online calculator for a correction factor:



Using the correction factor of 102.2%, my dyno numbers were: 351.5rwhp/357.7rwtq.

My next mod will be an AFe cold air intake. Stay tuned to my next post for dyno and 1/4 mile times with the new mod! (expect them mid january)

Later on, I will be installing a GMPP on-road axleback exhaust, and getting dyno and 1/4 mile times for that as well. Shortly after that, I will post up complete data for the above mods with a diablosport trinity handheld tune.

[Orange5thGen]

Semper Fi looks great!!!

[Malice]

I recently installed an aFe cold air intake, which I purchased in conjunction with a Diablosport trinity programmer from Tbyrne. The trinty programmer came to me quickly, but aFe took almost 2 months to ship my intake to me.



Here is the intake on the car.



A closeup of the intake.



Here you can clearly see the intake silencer, or "dong" on the side. I don't know whats it's purpose is. No other aftermarket CAI kits have that. The PCV line plugs into it. The hole was too small for the PCV line, and I had to bore it our very slightly. I almost ripped the O-ring on the PCV line while installing it. Once installed, the PCV line doesn't seat very well at all. I feel that I have to check it frequently.



The "airbox", "airdam", or whatever you want to call it, is a joke. I barely insulates the intake from hot engine air at all. I could have fit 3 hand into the gap I'm demostrating above, but sadly, I only have 2 hands, and one of them was preoccupied holding the camera.



My apologies for the crappy quality pic. I'm basically just trying to show the massive gap between the fenderwell and the air box.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The packaging was pretty awsome looking. It came in a black box with a huge aFe logo on it. The intake tube was pretty dusty, so I had to clean it out before installation.

INSTALL NOTES: I didnt' bother taking install pics, because the kit came with very detailed instructions, and good quality pics for each install step. They even included a torx bit for R&R of the MAF! The tab that secures the airbox needed to be bent slightly to fit over one of the studs. Other than that, installation was pretty simple. It took approx. 25 minutes, and I was taking my time.

FIT & FINISH: Not perfect. The PCV line didnt' really fit into the hole on the "dong", I had to warp the airbox a little, and I had to finesse the intake tube between the throttle and the airbox in order to get it all lined up properly. The joints provided were soft rubber, so finessing the tube into place wasn't too hard.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS: I'm not too terribly impressed. The giant gaps in the airbox are what really bother me. Furthermore, it uses the stock airscoop, and draws air from the exact same location as the stock airbox. Overall, I paid for a smoother intake tube and a fancy conical air filter. I'm not expecting much in terms of performance gains.

I am planning to take the car to the dyno and to the track at my earliest possible convenience. I will compare dyno/track results with my stock numbers, corrected for atmospherics of course, to see if this intake provided any real gain.

[bkscott]

You sure they sent the right part. That box, should seal the filter from the engine compartment.

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

Great Journal! I really appreciate the tech stuff so it's not just hear say or opinion. I wish I had time to do this too.

I thought that I had my CAI's really narrowed down to the AFE and a couple others. Thanks to your info I can safely and confidently say that AFE will not stay in the final running.

I'll be subscribing to stay tuned!

Great luck to you.
-Ivan

[The_Blur]

This is a great install journal and review of the part. That fitment issue is pretty severe. I would consider contacting the company.

[Mac the Knife]

Malice, thanks for the tread and time put in .I subscribed as well, am looking at the same upgrades as well on 2ss/rs m6. that fit is bogus, hope company does some help on that.

[Malice]

I'll contact aFe and see if they have a fix, or a coupon, or something.

Thanks for the feedback too. I always liked it when HOT ROD magazine, Horsepower TV, etc... did entry level bolt on articles/episodes, so I figured I'd try my hand at it.

I like reading about guys that throw $20,000 under the hood of their car, but this is my daily driver, so I'm gonna keep things simple, and hopefully provide some guidance for others like me.