Question About the Z/28 CAI

[el ess A]

I'm CONSIDERING a Z/28 CAI for the L99, as the cost of that at my dealer is actually a few bucks cheaper than most of the CAI aftermarkets.

However, the Chevy Performance literature says it's not recommended for L99. If CAI/Rotofab/Injen, etc., do not have such a disclaimer as to which engine it could be used on, it leads to an obvious question.

Why wouldn't it be? Because of the AFM garbage? Hmmm...

[el ess A]

Anyone know?

[rontammy0]

Originally Posted by el ess A

I'm CONSIDERING a Z/28 CAI for the L99, as the cost of that at my dealer is actually a few bucks cheaper than most of the CAI aftermarkets.

However, the Chevy Performance literature says it's not recommended for L99. If CAI/Rotofab/Injen, etc., do not have such a disclaimer as to which engine it could be used on, it leads to an obvious question.

Why wouldn't it be? Because of the AFM garbage? Hmmm...

Not sure why it's not recommended for the l99...... Check to see if anyone here has it..I recall some people have bought them already.

[Muscle Car Lover]

Because it voids the car warranty (if they want to be dicks)?

Same for the manual. I wasted time waiting for the GM performance parts to come out, but they won't stand by them in "other" applications.

[el ess A]

If it would void the warranty for the L99, it surely would for the LS3 as well. So I'm not buying that's the reason for the "not recommended for L99". Besides, I'm already past the warranty (5yr+) so that's not even a worry anymore for me.

I like the idea of a dry filter and a "factory fitting" air filter unit. But then again, a Rotofab wouldn't be a bad thing either.

[avido]

i'd like to get this intake . it's a bit expensive but the shipment cost from the only shop that i could found get the cost almost double. i'm looking for something else

[avido]

i found a z/28 cai kit on ebay...i should get it in 2 weeks...or more...i hope less....

[Sales @ CAI Inc]

Just because a Z28 intake works well with the set-up on the Z28, does not mean that it would work well with a L99 or LS3. The MAF, A/F tables, motor, etc. are completely different than each other. An intake tube that can flow more air, does not necessarily mean that it will make more power if the vehicles computer is not set-up to translate that additional airflow into a benefit. Now that same intake, with the proper tuning, MIGHT make power on a L99 or LS3, but it could also lose power. There are solid gains to be had from an intake that has been designed for and tested on the L99 or LS3. Throwing on a Z28 intake and calling it a day with the assumption that you have just made an upgrade just because it is a part from a Z28 so it must be better, is most likely going to leave you disappointed If you were to do any testing on the difference. There is a reason that we have different set-ups engineered for all the various Camaros, one size doesn't always fit all, and even if it fits, that doesn't mean it will produce any gains, which in the end is what it is all about.

[el ess A]

You guys fail me. Because of that, I'm bypassing all your aftermarket or GMPP parts and getting this. At least they KNOW it works. (and that 85 on the box is the added horsepower!)













Buhaaaahahahaha!!!! just kidding!

[Fish-man]

Originally Posted by Sales @ CAI Inc

Just because a Z28 intake works well with the set-up on the Z28, does not mean that it would work well with a L99 or LS3. The MAF, A/F tables, motor, etc. are completely different than each other. An intake tube that can flow more air, does not necessarily mean that it will make more power if the vehicles computer is not set-up to translate that additional airflow into a benefit. Now that same intake, with the proper tuning, MIGHT make power on a L99 or LS3, but it could also lose power. There are solid gains to be had from an intake that has been designed for and tested on the L99 or LS3. Throwing on a Z28 intake and calling it a day with the assumption that you have just made an upgrade just because it is a part from a Z28 so it must be better, is most likely going to leave you disappointed If you were to do any testing on the difference. There is a reason that we have different set-ups engineered for all the various Camaros, one size doesn't always fit all, and even if it fits, that doesn't mean it will produce any gains, which in the end is what it is all about.

It'd be nice if someone with a flow bench and a dyno could do some comparison testing. ..

[LSXDoc]

Originally Posted by Fish-man

It'd be nice if someone with a flow bench and a dyno could do some comparison testing. ..

I have asked about this a few times. You would think people would be all over this.

[Jason@JacFab]

Originally Posted by Fish-man

It'd be nice if someone with a flow bench and a dyno could do some comparison testing. ..

Yes... If only someone had a flowbench and a dyno... someone could test this

Originally Posted by LSXDoc

I have asked about this a few times. You would think people would be all over this.

Problem with this is that most "regular guys" don't want to spend their time and $$ to test something like this. If you look at it from a vendor's perspective, it's a factory GM part, not an aftermarket part where the potential for a nice fat distributor discount is available for the vendor to make any money off of the sale, there is little to no money to be made off of it, so most vendors wouldn't go out of their way to test it, which would cost them $$ and/or time out of their own pocket.

For a brief moment, I was considering buying a Z/28 intake, but I'd have to rework so much of it to make it work on a v6, in the end it wasn't worth messing with it for results that may or may not be positive, much like it was mentioned previously the intake on an L99/LS3 car may or may not be positive. It wasn't worth it to me to purchase the complete intake. I'd be better off making something from scratch (again) for my car.

As to why it voids the warranty... My theory is that inner diameter of the tube where the MAF sensor mounts may be different than the stock SS, which would require a TUNE to rescale the MAF sensor readings for the engine to run optimally, and (in most circumstances) a tune will void your warranty as far as GM is concerned. This is just my theory, as unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of personally handling/inspecting a Z/28 intake.

If someone wanted to send me one, I would gladly test it out on my flowbench vs stock, and another popular aftermarket CAI... Unfortunately, I've grown tired of buying parts to test/look at/post pictures of just for the reader's knowledge/education. I've wasted far too much of my own money buying things just to look at them, then sell them at a loss, and I'm not about to spend $400+ just to tell you if it flows better than stock. You buy it, send it down, I will flow test it for free and let you know how it fares against stock and an unnamed aftermarket favorite. From looking at the pictures of this intake's filter construction, I speculate that it will not flow as well as the aftermarket competitor's oiled filter, but it will most likely flow more than stock w/ a stock filter, stock airbox w/ an "high flow" ( yea right gm) LSA filter, or even the stock airbox with an aftermarket high flow panel filter.

[avido]

Originally Posted by Sales @ CAI Inc

Just because a Z28 intake works well with the set-up on the Z28, does not mean that it would work well with a L99 or LS3. The MAF, A/F tables, motor, etc. are completely different than each other. An intake tube that can flow more air, does not necessarily mean that it will make more power if the vehicles computer is not set-up to translate that additional airflow into a benefit. Now that same intake, with the proper tuning, MIGHT make power on a L99 or LS3, but it could also lose power. There are solid gains to be had from an intake that has been designed for and tested on the L99 or LS3. Throwing on a Z28 intake and calling it a day with the assumption that you have just made an upgrade just because it is a part from a Z28 so it must be better, is most likely going to leave you disappointed If you were to do any testing on the difference. There is a reason that we have different set-ups engineered for all the various Camaros, one size doesn't always fit all, and even if it fits, that doesn't mean it will produce any gains, which in the end is what it is all about.

you are right of course....you have a better experience than me,but.. did you try this intake?

why you say that it might make power without a test? every seller say what a pros of their own intake and cons of the other on the market. just janetty did a very comparative test to check the gain with one o with the other...
in that test we can see a rotofab intake lose hp over the stock and also make a knock ...but a lot of guys here have it..

[vroomapunk]

Its extremely rare for a factory part to outperform a quality aftermarket one. Intake, engine, exhaust, suspension, wheels, hell even leather quality, paint, etc etc etc.

Factory parts have different goals than aftermarket (even the mighty Z28 parts). Factory is trying to save money in most cases and look for reliability and longevity in others. Which is why factory parts dont perform as well.

Its the same reason why you can take any model car, put in less money than the cost of a higher model (like LS to SS, SS to Zl1, etc etc), and get a much better performing car.

If we were all smart, we would all buy used LS's and drop an LSX in there with twin turbos and some aftermarket suspension to build a car that can murder anything on the street for less than 45k or something.


That was a long explanation for me saying that I doubt the Z28 CAI is going to perform better than a CAI, INC or ADM intake.