Cold Air Intake

[mpyle007]

Originally Posted by RocTrux

Roto Fab ...

That is one good looking intake! I love the red and chrome together with the white box. Super clean look.

[Sales @ CAI Inc]

Originally Posted by Ratt

I bought a CAI and if I had to do it all over again I would have bought the Halltech system.

Halltech has a plastic or carbon fiber tube and does not get hot like the others. They also use an inverted tip air filter that lets in more air. The box on the Halltech system sucks but its easier to change the box than to deal with the heat from the aluminum tube.

If your installing an after market air intake to increase horse power and not just for looks then you should get the washer bottle replacement and scoop.

I will say I did get the increase in horse power that CAI claims you will get and I will also add that I'm a very picky person who is hard to please when I spend my money.

If our intake tube is hot to the touch it means our ceramic coating is doing its job, let me explain. Cold Air intakes do not create heat, they just absorb and transfer the heat that is being produced from your engine. If you have 2 engines that are producing the same amount of heat and one has our intake and the other has a plastic intake on it and our intake tube feels hot to the touch and the plastic tube does not, then ask yourself where is that heat going?

The answer is right into your intake air! The whole point of a "cold air intake" is to keep the air cooler, not the outside of the componets cooler. We ceramic coat our intake tube inside and out, the same ceramic coating you would find on a nice set of headers We do this so when the tube takes on heat from the engine it keeps that heat on the outside of the tube as opposed to soaking through to the inside of the tube getting passed on to the intake air.

This ceramic coating as well as the insulated airbox is what helps our system perform so well compared to others, and is also why we can keep IAT's within 2 degrees of ambient air on average. I hope this explains things a little better, please remember we do a lot of R&D and testing before we release a product, and everything we have engineered is for the best performance gains possible.

Let me know if you (or anyone else) has any questions. Thanks for choosing CAI Inc.!

[61bbltop]

Originally Posted by mpyle007

Call Steve at Vararam and talk to him. Great guy

Received my Vararam yesterday only to discover I have the "weak" Mass Air Flow Meter...it has a single "N" on it. I called Steve at Vararam to confirm and when I mentioned I have a 2012, he said the Vararam intake won't fit the 12s. Seems GM moved the radiator over about 3/4" and the filler no longer lines up with the split in the intake.

He said he'll send me a return ticket/label for the box and that they expect to have a 2012-model completed by the end of Jan...I'll wait.

And yes, I'm pi$$ed that GM is still using the inferior air meters on the 12s!

[ADM PERFORMANCE]

Originally Posted by 61bbltop

Received my Vararam yesterday only to discover I have the "weak" Mass Air Flow Meter...it has a single "N" on it. I called Steve at Vararam to confirm and when I mentioned I have a 2012, he said the Vararam intake won't fit the 12s. Seems GM moved the radiator over about 3/4" and the filler no longer lines up with the split in the intake.

He said he'll send me a return ticket/label for the box and that they expect to have a 2012-model completed by the end of Jan...I'll wait.

And yes, I'm pi$$ed that GM is still using the inferior air meters on the 12s!

That is to bad that you had problems,We have several 2012 model year cars running our Race Intakes with no issues.

[chevyfan#1]

Originally Posted by Bill @ CAI Inc

If our intake tube is hot to the touch it means our ceramic coating is doing its job, let me explain. Cold Air intakes do not create heat, they just absorb and transfer the heat that is being produced from your engine. If you have 2 engines that are producing the same amount of heat and one has our intake and the other has a plastic intake on it and our intake tube feels hot to the touch and the plastic tube does not, then ask yourself where is that heat going?

The answer is right into your intake air! The whole point of a "cold air intake" is to keep the air cooler, not the outside of the componets cooler. We ceramic coat our intake tube inside and out, the same ceramic coating you would find on a nice set of headers We do this so when the tube takes on heat from the engine it keeps that heat on the outside of the tube as opposed to soaking through to the inside of the tube getting passed on to the intake air.

This ceramic coating as well as the insulated airbox is what helps our system perform so well compared to others, and is also why we can keep IAT's within 2 degrees of ambient air on average. I hope this explains things a little better, please remember we do a lot of R&D and testing before we release a product, and everything we have engineered is for the best performance gains possible.

Let me know if you (or anyone else) has any questions. Thanks for choosing CAI Inc.!

I have the Cold Air Inductions CAI and love it. I recently go a tune and really love the difference that the CAI and tune added. CAI Inc. FTW

[RocTrux]

Originally Posted by mpyle007

That is one good looking intake! I love the red and chrome together with the white box. Super clean look.

Thank you, here is a more recent pic of it, looks hella better now I'v done a few more things to it since that pic was taken I have a few more things on the way for it then I think I'll be pretty much done with he engine bay for a while.

[MarylandSpeed]

There is really no difference between a metal and plastic tube in terms of performance. The air is in there for what .000001 second. No way it is getting heated up by the tube before going in the engine. People think way too hard about this stuff.

[RocTrux]

Originally Posted by MarylandSpeed

There is really no difference between a metal and plastic tube in terms of performance. The air is in there for what .000001 second. No way it is getting heated up by the tube before going in the engine. People think way too hard about this stuff.

I agree I'v had a plastic tube intake before and they are just as hot to the touch as anything else under the hood. The air isn't in their long enough for heat soak. Most all of them are pretty close when it comes to performance numbers there within a few horsepower either way which can vary from dyno to dyno air temp the motor etc.. etc.. Its called split in hairs. I liked the customizable options that Roto Fab offers over the other top two so mine might not look like the next guys at the car show. And to Bill at CAI put a 90 degree elbow on the intake tube so the line can be run under the throttle body instead of in front of and around the tensioner pulley that just looks ugly to me sorry I'm not knocking your product it would just look better. JMO

[ParisTNDude]

Read this forum enough and you'll find a hundred different "this, or that is the best"! But the real best is the Vararam...it's a guaranteed HP maker!

[RocTrux]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

Read this forum enough and you'll find a hundred different "this, or that is the best"! But the real best is the Vararam...it's a guaranteed HP maker!

Yes I realize that a lot of things are a matter of opinion and Vararam may be the best again matter of opinion but its also the ugliest.. and thats my opinion !

[mpyle007]

My Vararam performs great but has its obvious fitment issues. I do agree with RocTrux that it is not the prettiest. My second choice was the Rotofab and RocTrux's set up looks so freaking clean it made me wonder if I made the right decision.

What made me choose Vararam over Rotofab was the fact that it gets really hot and humid here in Houston, Texas. The only chance I had of getting the coolest air possible was to get it from outside of the car. When Im cruising on the freeway or even the track, I want to be drawing in that fresh air.

Just go with what you think you will be happy with looks and quality wise though. I have figured out some changes I am going to make cosmetically to the Vararam. When Im done it is going to look really nice.

[GunnyG]

I went with AirAid. Not too taxing on the budget, around $250 or so. Definitely not the prettiest thing in the world, but it gets the job done.

[ADM PERFORMANCE]

Originally Posted by RocTrux

I agree I'v had a plastic tube intake before and they are just as hot to the touch as anything else under the hood. The air isn't in their long enough for heat soak. Most all of them are pretty close when it comes to performance numbers there within a few horsepower either way which can vary from dyno to dyno air temp the motor etc.. etc.. Its called split in hairs. I liked the customizable options that Roto Fab offers over the other top two so mine might not look like the next guys at the car show. And to Bill at CAI put a 90 degree elbow on the intake tube so the line can be run under the throttle body instead of in front of and around the tensioner pulley that just looks ugly to me sorry I'm not knocking your product it would just look better. JMO

put a 90 degree elbow on the intake tube so the line can be run under the throttle body instead of in front of and around the tensioner pulley that just looks ugly to me sorry I'm not knocking your product it would just look better.

Amen to that...At ADM PERFORMANCE looks come a close second to performance

[SteveTaylor]

Is there problems with the Vararam fitting a 2012?
I remember seeing a few posts about it..