[Agent K]

Originally Posted by zx9rmal

Installed the RF CAI yesterday. Very nice piece. Excellent fit and finish. Instructions were very clear.

Glad I didn't stay with my original decision to not do it. I know it does little for the SS, but different story on the ZL1. I know seat of the pants is not reliable, but, be that as it may, we all know the characteristics and personality of our engines. There is no question that the car runs better. It's more responsive and pulls a little harder. It's noticeable.

I want to echo zx9rmal.

This is my 2nd CAI. I had the K&N CAI before and did not like it. Took it off almost immediately, sold it, and went back to stock until now. I just installed the RotoFab CAI w/dry filter. What a difference in engineering!! Roto-Fab really put some thought into the design and the fitment is incredible with tight tolerances. This is one time I should have followed the masses.

Because of the weather, I haven't had time to drive it. Hopefully the weather will be favorable this weekend. I also installed Tony Mamo TB V2...and got tuned. I'll update once I get some seat time.

[Checkmate1]

Considering the amount of underhood temps a SC creates, doesn't it make sense as to why GM stuck with a closed air filter (as stock)?

If an open CAI would have made any difference, they would have done it (like they did with the Z/28 or GT350).

I suspect the stock air filter is more than adequate with temps in mind. These are well engineered of course.

Even the new GT500 has a closed air box for obvious reasons.

I think a CAI makes more sense in a Normally Aspirated motor.

[LT4 650]

Originally Posted by Checkmate1

Considering the amount of underhood temps a SC creates, doesn't it make sense as to why GM stuck with a closed air filter (as stock)?

If an open CAI would have made any difference, they would have done it (like they did with the Z/28 or GT350).

I suspect the stock air filter is more than adequate with temps in mind. These are well engineered of course.

Even the new GT500 has a closed air box for obvious reasons.

I think a CAI makes more sense in a Normally Aspirated motor.

Fair points but the Roto-Fab does seal with the hood so is not exactly an Open CAI.

Plus it allows one to hear the SC whine more...huge selling point

[gtfoxy]

Originally Posted by LT4 650

Fair points but the Roto-Fab does seal with the hood so is not exactly an Open CAI.

Plus it allows one to hear the SC whine more...huge selling point

I’d like to see a B2B track comparison, variables being what they are, if anyone has any.

[LT4Greg]

Originally Posted by Checkmate1

Considering the amount of underhood temps a SC creates, doesn't it make sense as to why GM stuck with a closed air filter (as stock)?

If an open CAI would have made any difference, they would have done it (like they did with the Z/28 or GT350).

I suspect the stock air filter is more than adequate with temps in mind. These are well engineered of course.

Even the new GT500 has a closed air box for obvious reasons.

I think a CAI makes more sense in a Normally Aspirated motor.

I respectfully disagree with you. I really think the LT4 engine benefits from an aftermarket system like the Roto-Fab. I used to think like some folks on here that one wouldn’t make a real difference but at least to me it does with increased throttle response and of course s/c whine is louder. And the Roto-Fab system does seal on the underside of the hood. I bet if you buy one and install it you would be a believer too. I know I wasn’t until I bought mine and installed it.

[zx9rmal]

Originally Posted by Checkmate1

Considering the amount of underhood temps a SC creates, doesn't it make sense as to why GM stuck with a closed air filter (as stock)?

If an open CAI would have made any difference, they would have done it (like they did with the Z/28 or GT350).

I suspect the stock air filter is more than adequate with temps in mind. These are well engineered of course.

Even the new GT500 has a closed air box for obvious reasons.

I think a CAI makes more sense in a Normally Aspirated motor.

I would imagine noise regulations have something to do with how the OEM system is designed.
I would think a CAI would be more beneficial on a FI motor because of the significantly greater volume of air flow. Dyno results that I’ve see show much better results on the ZL1 over an SS.

All the above being said, when I’m at full throttle and high rpm, the boost gauge is at the third line (1 before the 15), which is half a line more than before. That equates to 1 lb. more boost. A good thing, no?

[LT4Greg]

I would say it’s a good thing Mal!

[Roto-fab 1]

Originally Posted by zx9rmal

Thanks guys. I ordered direct from RF. They gave me free shipping.

Thanks for choosing Roto-fab!

[hawk02]

Originally Posted by Checkmate1

Considering the amount of underhood temps a SC creates, doesn't it make sense as to why GM stuck with a closed air filter (as stock)?

If an open CAI would have made any difference, they would have done it (like they did with the Z/28 or GT350).

I suspect the stock air filter is more than adequate with temps in mind. These are well engineered of course.

Even the new GT500 has a closed air box for obvious reasons.

I think a CAI makes more sense in a Normally Aspirated motor.

Everyone seems to have this misconception that the OEM intake is some sort of forced air furnace.

In reality, it's a pretty darn good cold air intake. I like the closed box design because it doesn't rely on the hood to make a tight seal around the perimeter of the filter to keep hot air out. And say what you will about the intake tube, it conducts less heat and stays cooler than any hard plastic or metal tube I've seen.

Driving around, the OEM box keeps IATs within 1-3 degrees of ambient temps. Find me a 3rd party intake that does any better than that.

Now you want to criticize it for restricting airflow, you'll get no argument from me. I think the OEM paper filter is the culprit not the design of the OEM airbox. The Chevy engineers made a tradeoff between airflow and filtration. But as we've seen, replacing the paper filter with one that supposedly flows more air has a negligible effect on performance at the stock power levels. So the Chevy engineers probably made a good choice.

Now if you want to dress up the engine bay with a better-looking intake and/or you want to hear more blower whine, by all means, get one of the 3rd party "no tune" intakes. If you think spending $500 is going to give you colder intake air temps, I think you're going to be very disappointed.

[LT4Greg]

I think the OEM airbox is good and not too much of a restriction but with the improvement in throttle response that I can feel with the RF in my ZL1 is noticeable. The engineers design an airbox due to noise regulations and CAFE standards that the aftermarket doesn’t have to deal with. I drove my ZL1 around over a year with the OEM panel air filter element and a Summit Racing panel filter(probably made by K&N) and then last month finally bought and installed a Roto-Fab CAI that made a believer out of me about the RF Intake. I’m not a fanboy of the RF or like to waste money on parts that don’t work too good but I’m honest that the RF made a difference with the performance of my ZL1.

[mlee]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

Yes it does look good Mike! The throttle response is much better though in my case and the lag is not as bad now either. Oh and the s/c screams louder too at full throttle!

Yes, all that too...

Originally Posted by hawk02

Everyone seems to have this misconception that the OEM intake is some sort of forced air furnace.

In reality, it's a pretty darn good cold air intake. I like the closed box design because it doesn't rely on the hood to make a tight seal around the perimeter of the filter to keep hot air out. And say what you will about the intake tube, it conducts less heat and stays cooler than any hard plastic or metal tube I've seen.

Driving around, the OEM box keeps IATs within 1-3 degrees of ambient temps. Find me a 3rd party intake that does any better than that.

Now you want to criticize it for restricting airflow, you'll get no argument from me. I think the OEM paper filter is the culprit not the design of the OEM airbox. The Chevy engineers made a tradeoff between airflow and filtration. But as we've seen, replacing the paper filter with one that supposedly flows more air has a negligible effect on performance at the stock power levels. So the Chevy engineers probably made a good choice.

Now if you want to dress up the engine bay with a better-looking intake and/or you want to hear more blower whine, by all means, get one of the 3rd party "no tune" intakes. If you think spending $500 is going to give you colder intake air temps, I think you're going to be very disappointed.

It is actually pretty good which is probably why HP gains are minimal with aftermarket. Some cut the entire bottom out of the OE box for more air flow and that seems to work very well too.

[SFV1LE]

I'm in CA so pain in the a$$ to get a CAI delivered here, and the RF is very expensive. I pulled the trigger when a guy in a maxed-out bolt-on ZL1, who had the standard RF dry, was getting new mods that benefitted from the Big Gulp. He was in a hurry to sell his RF and I picked it up for under $200 next day only 20 minutes from my house--it was in mint condition. I love my RF CAI.

[clg82]

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

I'm in CA so pain in the a$$ to get a CAI delivered here, and the RF is very expensive. I pulled the trigger when a guy in a maxed-out bolt-on ZL1, who had the standard RF dry, was getting new mods that benefitted from the Big Gulp. He was in a hurry to sell his RF and I picked it up for under $200 next day only 20 minutes from my house--it was in mint condition. I love my RF CAI.

I'm in the same boat, after finding one on the forums for sale it'll be here on Tuesday. Quick question when you smog or take the car in for any warranty work do you just swap it out and reinstall the old one?

[hawk02]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

I think the OEM airbox is good and not too much of a restriction but with the improvement in throttle response that I can feel with the RF in my ZL1 is noticeable. The engineers design an airbox due to noise regulations and CAFE standards that the aftermarket doesn’t have to deal with. I drove my ZL1 around over a year with the OEM panel air filter element and a Summit Racing panel filter(probably made by K&N) and then last month finally bought and installed a Roto-Fab CAI that made a believer out of me about the RF Intake. I’m not a fanboy of the RF or like to waste money on parts that don’t work too good but I’m honest that the RF made a difference with the performance of my ZL1.

I'm not familiar with the Summit filter. However, I have tried both AFE dry and green panel filters. I settled on the green because the AFE design gives a smaller filter area. No logical reason was it was designed that way. I think either filter provides a slightly better throttle response at tip-in over the paper OEM filter. Nothing earth-shattering for sure.

I did have a Roto-Fab intake on my 2013 ZL1. The stock airbox was pretty restrictive. The Roto-Fab provided measurable gains across the entire rpm range although I did find it produced more knock at tip-in than the OEM box.