speedshifter

iTrader: (1)

So I'm wondering why everybody wants a cold air kit?

Whats so bad about the stock air box? I can understand a car with a restrictive air box, but ours doesn't look to be. I was just changing an air filter on an impala a few days ago. You pull out the filter and you can see the PCM and a ton of air space in that box. It doesn't look at all restrictive. Its not like it feeds off engine air, it sucks air out of the fender area.

For the FWI guys, why would you want to put a K&N air filter in the fenderwell? I took the headlight out of my car to check out the fenderwell and its dirty as hell in there. A ton of built up road debris and dirt. A oiled performance filter like a K&N will catch that dirt in no time. No to mention that most of that dirt was probably carried up via water from wet roads. Its not the safest environment for an air filter.

We have Impala's coming in the shop with 30k miles on them and the air filters are barely even dirty looking. Many cars only suck thru a small section of the air filter, so you will usually get a dirty spot on the filter. These factory air boxes give the air plenty of room to move around so that the whole filter is used.

I can understand wanting to get rid of the bellows tube that connects the MAF to the TB because of the turbulence and restriction there, but the box looks fine.

I just can't see any noticeable benefits from using a cold air intake on these cars.

I think I'm gonna save myself some cash and just get a K&N stock replacement filter and buy a silicone elbow to replace the accordian style factory one between the MAF and the TB.

Red03GT

I think it was TiredGXP that noticed some restriction in the airbox when doing some data logging a while back, if I remember correctly.

Red03GT

Scratch that, went back and read the thread. He was talking about the actual intake manifold itself and not the airbox assembly!

StealthV8

iTrader: (1)

i didn't notice anything really but the sound, and it looks much better

cherry gxp

x2 ^^^^ and it doesn't go in the actual fenderwell, it sits behind the front bumper near the stock air inlet groove under the driving light so it pulls in cold air unrestricted from the outside That's why a fenderwell intake is good. I will take some pics of the stock airbox so I can show you the points where restriction occurs. CAI's help because you are removing the small inlet tube in the front of the airbox and allowing 3 or 4 points to feed rushing air into the inlet area hope this answers a few questions. I will post pics when I get them taken. Remember that the straighter the flow, the better, the air has to take an S turn in the stock airbox

speedshifter

iTrader: (1)

I'm not familar with the "S" turn the airbox has for its inlet, so I will have to take mine out and look at it. I dont really care about the looks when you have to spend $250-300 for a intake that you don't feel a difference. For a little more money I could pick up HP Tuners, do an exhaust, or get 1.8 rockers which will make a difference. At the end of the day, its still a GM W-body, its not like anybody is going to crowd around you at a car show because you put a cold air intake on your car.

I could understand if you have dyno #s to back it up vs. a stock air box with a K&N replacement filter. I just think it would be cheaper and more "sleeper" to modify the stock air box to flow better (if needed) and get a silicone elbow to eliminate the accordian tube. I mean if you cut apart the stock sized K&N filter, layed the element out flat, and compared the size of it to the conical element K&N uses in their cold air kit, I'd be willing to bet you have much more filter surface area in the stock filter. Then with all the money I saved, I could wrap my crossover pipe, and either buy a Vector heatsoak kit, or just order the LS1 IAT sensor and connector from my work and make my own. At the end of the day, I'd bet you have larger gains on a dyno with all the stuff I just listed off versus a K&N cold air kit.

You do yours, I do mine, and then we race

cherry gxp

Very true man, that's why I'm not paying 250 to 300 to make a cold air intake, I had a K&N replacement filter before this current set up on my car.

oshia86

Well usually the kits like the K&N are mostly for looks, theres not a good way to make much more power with the filter sitting in the engine bay. I think a modded stock airbox (making the inlet bigger, removing whatever baffles, a higher flow drop in etc..) would do you just fine. An intake though is really just a "supporting" mod for the bigger and better stuff down the road.

Panther427

I agree speed shifter over all it is a very good factory design. Not alot of baffling to restrict air flow and a very open design. I personally like the looks of the after mart systems. and also i still think its easier to pull air from a round/conical filter desgin for max flow. Where as you was saying you would usally get on dirty spot on a factory setup. Showing that there is a restriction. To me its kinda why do u use a funnel in pour oil into a tranny or engine. Because its less messy, simple, and directs all avalible air/fluids directly into the the point where u want it. I hope this makes sense

CenTexSS

iTrader: (2)

I felt gains with my K&N CAI, I didn't feel what I paid was overpriced. I do plan on wrapping my crossover pipe and getting the Vector Motorsports heat reduction kit. I might insulate the K&N intake plate also.

LS4SPEED

iTrader: (3)

I bought mine used for $150 shipped, cleaned it up re-oiled the filter and its like new. I would never had bought it if I had to pay retail now!

Injun #5

I felt, and saw gains. Dyno'd 252.6 whp with stock airbox and dyno'd 263.4 whp after installing the K&N.

Panther427

Nice numbers. Good gain with the K&N

williamGT

iTrader: (5)

I felt some gain

speedshifter

iTrader: (1)

Right, but I was saying before that the factory system on our cars doesn't create the dirty spot in the filter, thus concluding that all of the filter surface area is being used.

Injun #5,

I don't doubt you made more power with the K&N over the stock box. However, I assume that stock box was with a stock filter, not the K&N drop in? In addition, on the dyno you have your hood open (so your K&N intake gets fresh cold air) and usually let the motor cool down in between pulls to avoid heatsoak. In the real world, your hood is closed, and you get lots of heatsoak. I think this is where a contained box like the factory system will benefit.

I opened up my stock box today (sorry for the crappy pics):









There isn't any "S" bend that the air needs to follow. Its actually a really good design. Its a large box with a bellmouth'd inlet that gets its air from behind the LH headlight and an unobstructed outlet to the MAF. I can see someone wanting to drop in a K&N air filter and possibly enlarging the inlet to the airbox to accomodate the higher flowing air filter. Maybe even connecting up a duct to the box inlet that provides colder air from down by the LH fog light area or non-functional opening in the GXP bumper below the fog light. Other than that, I can't see anything else that would be restrictive in the stock air box for all of us using the stock intake and simple bolt ons. I mean the big kink in our intake manifold to clear the oil pressure sending unit is a big restriction. Until you figure out a way to put a better intake on these motors, I'd spend your money on something else besides a expensive cold air intake.

Panther427

For sure its one of the best factory air box designs. I knwo what u mean like when u get a honda or nissian in usually there is a circle of dirt on the air filter right in front of where the air inlet for the rest of the intake system is. That actually would **** me off. id be nice and rotate the filter if i was able so they could use the CLEAN section of the air filter. I think even though surface area of the stock fitler and some sort of "round" filter is the ease to draw the air in. Maybe it allows the engine to work easier??? I agree the PRICE is outragious. I wanna run a "ram air" tube from under the car up to the air box. get a replacement for the belows, extend then intake a bit, use the factory air box with a True foam filter i have. then seal up the back of box somehow havent figured that out yet maybe a piece of lexan witha hole inthe center for the pipe to fit through. When ever i get to it ill post a pic. I want it to look nice though.

cherrygxp

o well it sounds good anyways

cherry gxp

The S we're referring to is the fact that the air comes into the airbox at the bottom left and leaves the airbox at the top right, therefore, there is no straight flow or direction of the air That is simply all we're saying with the S, the air bends like an S to get where it's going. That has to create some type of restriction. To each their own though. Is the gain worth the 295 dollars for the K&N, some think so, some don't, I personally don't. I had a K&N dropin before my current WAI and I do notice a difference now that it's on there. ESPECIALLY on the highway, pulls a lot harder from 40 and 60

06 SS

I would be very, very wary of using a foam filter on an engine. Even the toughest closed-cell foam can break down when heat/moisture gets at it. Having your engine suck in bits of that foam is a recipe for the blues.

speedshifter

iTrader: (1)

Its not really an "S" flow pattern because the box is so large, its more like a chamber that gets filled up. I highly doubt you can refer to this as a restriction. In my eyes, the stock filter size has more surface area that a conical filter so it should be less restrictive.

To each their own I guess. I think I've proved my point and backed it up substansially.