LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

homemade spectre CAI vs K&N CAI

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Old 07-26-2011, 07:54 PM
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Default homemade spectre CAI vs K&N CAI

I was thinking of making my own CAI out of spectre hardware and k&n filter at the end for my 1993 Z. Would i see the same results from this as the k&n CAI? what it seems is the housing right after the air box would be the most restrictive on the stock unit

+ i like the look better than the black plastic

*something i was thinking about is also material these CAI systems would be made of*
K&N plastic CAI probably wont heat up as fast as the metal spectre hardware im guessing, right?

thanks in advance
Old 07-26-2011, 08:00 PM
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I made this up for a friend when I built his car. $9 worth on intercooler pipe off eBay..... full 3.5 inch Mandrel bent.... works great on his car and iat stays low. This is on a 500+ HP set up...

Old 07-26-2011, 08:02 PM
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Anything will be better than stock. The K&N would probably be better because it is sealed off from the heat of the engine bay. If you could get the DIY one to seal it would be fine also. If you can't get it to seal then you will just have a custom hot air intake.
Old 07-26-2011, 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by metalmilitia606
The K&N would probably be better because it is sealed off from the heat of the engine bay.
what do you mean by sealed? R u talking the plastic piece they give you that goes around the filter?
Old 07-26-2011, 10:29 PM
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Originally Posted by bbreeze93
what do you mean by sealed? R u talking the plastic piece they give you that goes around the filter?
The filter itself should be outside the hot engine bay, thus the name "cold air" intake. The kit in post #2 sucks in hot air. Not a good air intake,imo.
Old 07-26-2011, 10:45 PM
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I had almost this exact setup for a few years on my car, except for the elbow, and it worked ok when I was just full-bolt ons, but with switching to heads and cam at WOT high RPM I could never get above 97-98 kpa MAP. I have switched to Suncoast Predator hood with RamAir box and it feels like it pulls much harder up top, I haven't been able to scan it yet though. IAT temps were always hotter than ambient also with the sensor in the stock 1LE elbow.
Old 07-26-2011, 10:58 PM
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It is deceiving from the pics and I wish I had better. The iat was at best 3 degress sitting still warmer than driving with that set up. The car has a scoop under the front bumper to drive the air up. Half of the filter sits down into the cavity. His set up on his old car dropped down low and during rain, he sucked up water into the maf and wiped it out. So with a Cai there are pros and cons. Some of the high dollar ones out there aren't much better than stock for the money. Most of them you are paying for a name stamped on the side. I can understand the whole sucking in warmer air while the car is sitting, but when the car is in motion the heat is behind and cooler air is brought in naturally due to how the aero is on the front of these cars. Now my wifes RAM air ta is a different story. But for the non RAM air cars, short of hacking stuff up to put on a ls1 lid there aren't many cost effective options for a couple HP gain. Hell a good tune can make up for hidden HP. It's really up to how you want to spend your money.
Old 07-26-2011, 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by kgkern01
I have switched to Suncoast Predator hood with RamAir box and it feels like it pulls much harder up top, I haven't been able to scan it yet though. IAT temps were always hotter than ambient also with the sensor in the stock 1LE elbow.
i wanna do a 98-02 front end conversion as was gunna put the ss hood on. I was reading people said that they ended up leaving the hood vent opened and went back to there CAI. they said the ramair intake because it was sitting right above the engine was heating up
Old 07-26-2011, 11:35 PM
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So Jim having the filter sitting like that actually has an advantage over the name brand CAI with the filter down close to the ground
Old 07-27-2011, 08:37 PM
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your not losing any power from your ram air set up, i love mine.
Old 07-27-2011, 10:40 PM
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Originally Posted by BOLO
The filter itself should be outside the hot engine bay, thus the name "cold air" intake. The kit in post #2 sucks in hot air. Not a good air intake,imo.
This man speaks the truth.



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