Build your own cai - Page 10 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

14pilot · 08-23-2011, 06:43 PM

The stock air box is sealed as it is. Drilling holes would allow hot engine compartment air to be drawn in. You'll see most all CAIs offered or those made DIY, all go to the trouble to seal off the hot engine compartment air.

IOM Black Diamond · 08-23-2011, 06:51 PM

Great job

Li0nel1234 · 08-23-2011, 10:24 PM

What did you do to the grill to get it to open up? I want to do this but I"m not sure what or how to do it.

SgtKilroy · 09-10-2011, 12:17 AM

Why not just leave the stock airbox, drill a hole in the bottom, and seal a tube running down out of the engine compartment to that hole? Obviously the tube would have to be supported. Replacing the factory tube without all the resonator boxes with something smoother seems like a worthwhile investment too. Thoughts?

14pilot · 09-10-2011, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtKilroy

Why not just leave the stock airbox, drill a hole in the bottom, and seal a tube running down out of the engine compartment to that hole? Obviously the tube would have to be supported. Replacing the factory tube without all the resonator boxes with something smoother seems like a worthwhile investment too. Thoughts?

No where to drill. Stock airbox is pointed like a triangle tip at the botton and there is no where to go from the bottom of the airbox anyway, unless you want to draw your air in from the wheel well.

SgtKilroy · 09-10-2011, 12:54 AM

Gotcha. I was thinking about some flex tube (similar to dryer duct) down behind the lower valance on the front bumper and blocking off the little arm sticking off the factory box.

14pilot · 09-12-2011, 12:32 AM

I don't think that the stock airbox has enough internal volume to benefit from your flex tube idea. To get any gains, I'm thinking that both a larger airbox and more air filter surface area are needed here. Combine both of these with your idea and you may have a winner. Probably pulling the stock washer fluid tank out too, so there is space to draw in the air.

moonshine · 10-02-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14pilot

I don't think that the stock airbox has enough internal volume to benefit from your flex tube idea. To get any gains, I'm thinking that both a larger airbox and more air filter surface area are needed here. Combine both of these with your idea and you may have a winner. Probably pulling the stock washer fluid tank out too, so there is space to draw in the air.

I dont understand this reasoning. The throttle body is a certain size and can only suck in so much air. As well as the tubing, its limited to its size and all before it. The air box is not too small. The flex tubing will help with lower IATs. Now your filtering element can be too restrictive. Think of it like any vacuum pump. Your only going to get the volume of your inlet. The "colder" air helps with timing and fuel consumption. Cooler air is denser so you can pull more volume.

CFD · 10-02-2011, 04:27 PM

You can utilize the stock snorkel to attach the air duct. This is how I attached the two scoops on my facia to the factory box. It is partially apart as I am designing my own CAI to utilize my two scoops as well as my mail slot scoop

14pilot · 10-02-2011, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshine

I dont understand this reasoning. The throttle body is a certain size and can only suck in so much air. As well as the tubing, its limited to its size and all before it. The air box is not too small. The flex tubing will help with lower IATs. Now your filtering element can be too restrictive. Think of it like any vacuum pump. Your only going to get the volume of your inlet. The "colder" air helps with timing and fuel consumption. Cooler air is denser so you can pull more volume.

Not so. The air is not flowing. The air is being sucked into the engine. Look at all the aftermarket CAIs and they all have larger airboxes and larger filters.
Air is also being pushed back out during each intake valves overlap period with the exhaust valve. Ever watch your tailpipes on a cold morning when you can really see the exhaust pulses in the condensation at idle? Same pulsing is going on in the air intake tract too. It's not a simple as the size of the TB hole. Many things happening. There are 8 valves taking their turn sucking in and pushing back incoming air. This creates resonance in the intake tract. The amount of turbulence in the intake tract has a large effect on performance. Smoothing the air flow by reducing bends, using a velocity stack and a large airbox is common in all setups from the aftermarket.
The stock airbox is too small.

TooCool5 · 10-04-2011, 04:42 PM

So what was the total cost/ Hrs to do this?

Imjaybird · 10-15-2011, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14pilot

Not so. The air is not flowing. The air is being sucked into the engine. Look at all the aftermarket CAIs and they all have larger airboxes and larger filters.
Air is also being pushed back out during each intake valves overlap period with the exhaust valve. Ever watch your tailpipes on a cold morning when you can really see the exhaust pulses in the condensation at idle? Same pulsing is going on in the air intake tract too. It's not a simple as the size of the TB hole. Many things happening. There are 8 valves taking their turn sucking in and pushing back incoming air. This creates resonance in the intake tract. The amount of turbulence in the intake tract has a large effect on performance. Smoothing the air flow by reducing bends, using a velocity stack and a large airbox is common in all setups from the aftermarket.
The stock airbox is too small.

Well put. By replacing the stock tube you are decreasing the surface resistance the are gets entering the box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TooCool5

So what was the total cost/ Hrs to do this?

I had maybe 4 hours and the total was just around a hundred bucks! See the start of the thread for the video!

Quote:

Originally Posted by CFD

You can utilize the stock snorkel to attach the air duct. This is how I attached the two scoops on my facia to the factory box. It is partially apart as I am designing my own CAI to utilize my two scoops as well as my mail slot scoop

vroomapunk · 11-06-2011, 12:30 PM

So, I dont want to have to tune anything out, because of my warranty (once I get my 2ss) but I am pretty handy with metal and fiberglass work.

To get the exact positions for relocation of sensors or vaccum hoses I could just buy the main tube from CAI or someone, then fabricate my own box and scoop and do everything else diy.

Would that eliminate worry about MAF sensor misreadings or computer issues?

Also, is there a downside to using the stock main tube, then just adding my own box, filter, and scoop?

thanks

cdjnight · 11-28-2013, 02:11 AM

has anyone done their own CAI for the ZL1, if so what size pipe did you use?

08-23-2011, 06:51 PM	#128
IOM Black Diamond HT5 COTW 1/21/13 Drives: 2010 Camaro Inferno 2SS RS 6M Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Pleasant Hill, Or Posts: 2,486	Great job __________________

08-23-2011, 10:24 PM	#129
Li0nel1234 What should I name my car Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS RS IOM Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 786 View My Garage	What did you do to the grill to get it to open up? I want to do this but I"m not sure what or how to do it. __________________ Performance: ARH 2"/"3 headers + ARH 3" HF catback system, SS brake lines, hawk HP+ pads, motul RBF 600 fluid, K&N CAI (w/custom insulation), plug wires, air scoop, Hurst STS, Pedders Track II suspension, 18x10 wheels, 295/45/18 Nitto NT05s Looks: powder coated iom calipers, LED foglights w/ always on harness, custom painted bowties, window tint, smoke tinted tail lights etc, oem gfx w/ custom outlets, painted taillight bezels, all weather trunk mat

09-10-2011, 12:17 AM	#130
SgtKilroy I'm new... Drives: 2011 Inferno Orange SS Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SoCal Posts: 31	Why not just leave the stock airbox, drill a hole in the bottom, and seal a tube running down out of the engine compartment to that hole? Obviously the tube would have to be supported. Replacing the factory tube without all the resonator boxes with something smoother seems like a worthwhile investment too. Thoughts? __________________ James 2011 Camaro SS V8 Manual Inferno Orange Stock. For now. 2005 CCSB Duramax 4x4 Efi Live, built trans, ADII 165, home made intercooler pipes, intake and traction bars, and some other little mods. SoCal Diesel Trucks

09-10-2011, 12:54 AM	#132
SgtKilroy I'm new... Drives: 2011 Inferno Orange SS Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SoCal Posts: 31	Gotcha. I was thinking about some flex tube (similar to dryer duct) down behind the lower valance on the front bumper and blocking off the little arm sticking off the factory box. __________________ James 2011 Camaro SS V8 Manual Inferno Orange Stock. For now. 2005 CCSB Duramax 4x4 Efi Live, built trans, ADII 165, home made intercooler pipes, intake and traction bars, and some other little mods. SoCal Diesel Trucks

10-02-2011, 04:27 PM	#135
CFD Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Franklin , MA Posts: 6,696	You can utilize the stock snorkel to attach the air duct. This is how I attached the two scoops on my facia to the factory box. It is partially apart as I am designing my own CAI to utilize my two scoops as well as my mail slot scoop Attached Images

10-04-2011, 04:42 PM	#137
TooCool5 Drives: 2010 Camaro 1LS 3.6 LLT V6 325 HP Join Date: May 2009 Location: LS Posts: 4,244 View My Garage	So what was the total cost/ Hrs to do this? __________________ 2010 Camaro Auto, Inferno Orange, Titanium Interior, Gearhead Wheels AIRAID CAI

11-06-2011, 12:30 PM	#139
vroomapunk [COTW 5/12/14] Drives: 2012 CRT NF Cammed 2SS/RS For Sale Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NOLA Posts: 6,115 View My Garage	So, I dont want to have to tune anything out, because of my warranty (once I get my 2ss) but I am pretty handy with metal and fiberglass work. To get the exact positions for relocation of sensors or vaccum hoses I could just buy the main tube from CAI or someone, then fabricate my own box and scoop and do everything else diy. Would that eliminate worry about MAF sensor misreadings or computer issues? Also, is there a downside to using the stock main tube, then just adding my own box, filter, and scoop? thanks __________________ Last edited by vroomapunk; 11-06-2011 at 03:07 PM.

11-28-2013, 02:11 AM	#140
cdjnight Drives: 2013 ZL1 A6 Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Council Bluffs, Iowa Posts: 266	has anyone done their own CAI for the ZL1, if so what size pipe did you use?

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