Dealership says CAI is the problem...? (RESOLVED!)

[ackeight]

Originally Posted by HarryNW

A couple more days of morning starts and despite my disbelief, I have to say definitively that the hesitation/bucking at cold start has all but vanished with the stock AF back on.

I am going to re-install the new CAI this week, triple check all connections, and see if the issue returns.

Weird. Maybe your are one of the unlucky few that need a tune with just an air intake.

[dekan513]

im gonna say u have a leak around ur maf sensor or around the filter or tubing on ur cold air intake. had something similar happen.

[dekan513]

my car had a hesitation when shifting gears and getting back on the gas normal driving and it was a leak around one of the boots on the pipe of the intake tube.

[HarryNW]

Thanks dekan, I will give the connections special attention on the re-install.

[HarryNW]

I had a major breakthrough tonight and the car has never run smoother or faster.

Please see the update I added to the first post.

[motorhead]

That's very odd when you claimed that you had the problem from the start before the CAI was even installed.

[HarryNW]

Originally Posted by motorhead

That's very odd when you claimed that you had the problem from the start before the CAI was even installed.

I might have to chalk it up to bad memory - I could have sworn that the issue existed before I installed the CAI, but it was the first mod I did within 3 weeks of buying the car. Regardless, like I posted here, re-installing the stock AF eliminated the issue, so tonight was focused on getting the new CAI back on and seeing if I could work out a solution...

[SS785]

I had a similar experience to you and at some point, I too, also stared at the intake area thinking how is airflow any better with this thing...

Unlike you though, I couldn't justify spending more money to make it work (and spending $80-100+ on a washer relocation kit). Sold the thing and went back to my previous "cheap" intake. Everything went back to normal. It looked cool but I was not impressed.

[strych9]

There are lots of people running the CAI system that have not relocated their washer tanks. They aren't having the issue, so I'm not convinced that this is your problem.

Furthermore, the cold surge is real on a completely stock LS3. It was the first question I asked my salesman (regarding if it was normal), and the second question was about the decel pop.

As for airflow, you have to understand what the system is really doing. Firstly, the airflow is improved by two components: the tube between the filter and the throttle body, and the filter itself. The tube gives a nice, smooth path for accelerated airflow, and the filter is a non-restrictive free-flowing type.

The box has little to do with airflow. It's job (and the tube's) is to keep heat out of the incoming air. It directs air to be pulled through the bottom of the wheel well, away from the hot engine bay. There is nothing at all restrictive in that area, and the washer bottle has no ill-effect on the airflow, either.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree.

[Glen e]

Originally Posted by strych9

There are lots of people running the CAI system that have not relocated their washer tanks. They aren't having the issue, so I'm not convinced that this is your problem.

Furthermore, the cold surge is real on a completely stock LS3. It was the first question I asked my salesman (regarding if it was normal), and the second question was about the decel pop.

As for airflow, you have to understand what the system is really doing. Firstly, the airflow is improved by two components: the tube between the filter and the throttle body, and the filter itself. The tube gives a nice, smooth path for accelerated airflow, and the filter is a non-restrictive free-flowing type.

The box has little to do with airflow. It's job (and the tube's) is to keep heat out of the incoming air. It directs air to be pulled through the bottom of the wheel well, away from the hot engine bay. There is nothing at all restrictive in that area, and the washer bottle has no ill-effect on the airflow, either.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree.

I was just gonna write the same thing...I have a "lope" at idle and some rough running/hesitation/suge every now and then in town, but I attribute that to the AFM of my L99, and hope the RANGE disable I'm getting will help that.

But I installed the CAI at about 300 miles too and don't remember it getting worse or better. Last weekend I added the scoop and bottle relo and don't really see a diff, I did it as I feel if you are going to do the CAI, might as well let it breathe better - but really, I just like mods.

I would not call the scoop and bottle relo a night and day diff....

[strych9]

Originally Posted by Glen e

I was just gonna write the same thing...I have a "lope" at idle and some rough running/hesitation/suge every now and then in town, but I attribute that to the AFM of my L99, and hope the RANGE disable I'm getting will help that.

But I installed the CAI at about 300 miles too and don't remember it getting worse or better. Last weekend I added the scoop and bottle relo and don't really see a diff, I did it as I feel if you are going to do the CAI, might as well let it breathe better - but really, I just like mods.

I would not call the scoop and bottle relo a night and day diff....

If you do occasional datalogging as I do, you can see the magic of the scoop.

I had to do some datalogging recently after I installed my cam. It was a 93*F day, and my intake air temperature (IAT) at hot idle was over 130*F. High IAT causes the ECM to back off ignition timing.

I was logging IAT and vehicle speed (among other things), but what was clear in the log was that as the car picked up speed, the IAT was dropping at an even rate to the speed increase. At speed, IAT was at ambient temperature (as low as it could be, given the climate). That's where your power comes from, since the ECM will allow more timing based on the lower IAT.

All told, it'll give you an additional 3-4 HP on the top end. That's worth it.

[Glen e]

Originally Posted by strych9

If you do occasional datalogging as I do, you can see the magic of the scoop.

I had to do some datalogging recently after I installed my cam. It was a 93*F day, and my intake air temperature (IAT) at hot idle was over 130*F. High IAT causes the ECM to back off ignition timing.

I was logging IAT and vehicle speed (among other things), but what was clear in the log was that as the car picked up speed, the IAT was dropping at an even rate to the speed increase. At speed, IAT was at ambient temperature (as low as it could be, given the climate). That's where your power comes from, since the ECM will allow more timing based on the lower IAT.

All told, it'll give you an additional 3-4 HP on the top end. That's worth it.

Oh I'm sure it adds something, just not enuf for me to tell, for an old retired guy that likes to mod, and run to the bait store and back ...LOL...

[Dans2SSCamaro]

I've been reading through this thread & wondered if you checked for the dreaded weak MAF?

[BluePhoenix]

I've heard of these cars having that problem with the rough idle before. I read that it could be contributed to a bad MAF sensor, but I thought that was only a 2010 or 10-11 problem though.