air intake
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That's NOT a K&N. That is indeed the Hot Air Intake used on most Imports. Buy the K&N. If you look in front of and below the under-hood fuse/relay box, you'll notice a hole. The K&N locates the filter on the other side of that hole. In other words, down in the fender well where there is no exposure to under-hood temperatures. Maybe now that I've explained it, the picture of the K&N will make more sense. The plate above the filter bolts to and covers the hole separating the fender well from the engine bay.
The K&N is the correct type of plastic and texture so it looks like it belongs and it looks "Factory" when installed. If you didn't know better, you wouldn't know better. People blast the K&N because it is plastic, but as I said, it looks "factory", the inside is super slick, and I think the thermal properties of plastic are more suited for CAI than a metal that heat soaks. ...but that's my opinion.
You could go back to a factory intake, they really aren't bad, and at this point might be cheaper than a CAI that's been out of production for several years. I have a K&N CAI setup that's been laying around for roughly 12 years. I'll let go for a fair price +shipping, or you can always fabricate something.
My T/A had a homemade CAI when I bought it. ...just a bunch of PVC from Home Depot, but it worked. Wouldn't have looked half bad either if the kid painted it black or something. I personally wanted to go back to the Factory air-box, but at the time, the K&N kit was half the price. Kind of a no-brainer at that point. A few years later, I stumbled upon a Predator Hood with functional Ram Air, filter box, K&N filter, and intake tube for $200 on Craigslist. ...another no-brainer.
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The K&N is the correct type of plastic and texture so it looks like it belongs and it looks "Factory" when installed. If you didn't know better, you wouldn't know better. People blast the K&N because it is plastic, but as I said, it looks "factory", the inside is super slick, and I think the thermal properties of plastic are more suited for CAI than a metal that heat soaks. ...but that's my opinion.
You could go back to a factory intake, they really aren't bad, and at this point might be cheaper than a CAI that's been out of production for several years. I have a K&N CAI setup that's been laying around for roughly 12 years. I'll let go for a fair price +shipping, or you can always fabricate something.
My T/A had a homemade CAI when I bought it. ...just a bunch of PVC from Home Depot, but it worked. Wouldn't have looked half bad either if the kid painted it black or something. I personally wanted to go back to the Factory air-box, but at the time, the K&N kit was half the price. Kind of a no-brainer at that point. A few years later, I stumbled upon a Predator Hood with functional Ram Air, filter box, K&N filter, and intake tube for $200 on Craigslist. ...another no-brainer.
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^^^ 100% CORRECT ^^^
May still be able to find a Moroso (actual) cold air intake, possibly new, definitely used. Was designed by Callaway (well known Corvette and Camaro performance shop), and later licensed to Moroso. Bought my 1994 new, the first two mods that actually produced measurable performance increases were a combination of the Callaway CAI and the Borla adjustable catback. Those two together produced a 3/10-second reduction in 1/4-mile elapsed time.
Appears this outfit might sell it:
www.sfxperformance.com
If that's not of interest, I may still have the factory air intake box collecting dust in the parts pile in the attic of my garage.
May still be able to find a Moroso (actual) cold air intake, possibly new, definitely used. Was designed by Callaway (well known Corvette and Camaro performance shop), and later licensed to Moroso. Bought my 1994 new, the first two mods that actually produced measurable performance increases were a combination of the Callaway CAI and the Borla adjustable catback. Those two together produced a 3/10-second reduction in 1/4-mile elapsed time.
Appears this outfit might sell it:
Camaro And FirebirdAir Intake Kit - Adds 16-20 Horsepower Moroso 65845
Find Moroso 65845 Cold air intake kit for th e94-97 Camaro and Firebirds with either the 3.4L or 5.7L V6 and V8 engines GMs new generation F-Body Camaros and Firebirds are fast ... 1994-1997 Chevrolet Camaro (3.4l/ 5.7l), 1994-1997 Pontiac Firebird (3.4l/ 5.7l),
If that's not of interest, I may still have the factory air intake box collecting dust in the parts pile in the attic of my garage.
I had no idea the CAI was actually worth (as MOROSO claims) 2/10ths. Maybe that wasn't marketing hype after all. It's got to be the cheapest 2/10ths money can buy. I would have thought your 3/10ths was more about the cat-back then the CAI.
Kind of scary SFX shows it as in stock but don't list a price; then again, after seeing what the K&N is currently selling for, maybe it's best they don't. I think I paid around $175 new from a local retail "performance" shop in '03. The first link I pulled up today that had a K&N CAI for our cars (in stock) was upwards of $500. I didn't look any further tough, maybe they're still available new around $200 elsewhere.
I'm a bit confused now though. I wasn't going to offer my K&N because '93 doesn't have Mass Air Flow and I thought that made a difference. I do not remember any additional components in my kit, but when I looked it up, it shows '93-'97 so I assumed the MAF went in-between the intake tube and boot. ...but now that you link to the MOROSO kit, I see they have one kit for '93 and another for '94-'97. Image appears the same so I'm unable to differentiate between them. The image does confirm MAF placement, so I assume there is some sort of special provision for the MAF and my '93 K&N CAI will not work for '94+ application? Or, is K&N correct and it will work on '94+.
I'm not sure how a MAF connects, I guess I can go look at the C4, but I can imagine it being used in place of the sleeve in the image I included above that connects the intake tube and boot? Maybe that's the difference with the MOROSO part numbers? One has and adapter sleeve and the other doesn't, whereas K&N just threw the sleeve in every box and it's the sleeve that is the provision for vehicles without MAF?
If my CAI isn't going to work for '94-'97 I need to know. I'm thinking it will though now that I've hashed it out here.
Kind of scary SFX shows it as in stock but don't list a price; then again, after seeing what the K&N is currently selling for, maybe it's best they don't. I think I paid around $175 new from a local retail "performance" shop in '03. The first link I pulled up today that had a K&N CAI for our cars (in stock) was upwards of $500. I didn't look any further tough, maybe they're still available new around $200 elsewhere.
I'm a bit confused now though. I wasn't going to offer my K&N because '93 doesn't have Mass Air Flow and I thought that made a difference. I do not remember any additional components in my kit, but when I looked it up, it shows '93-'97 so I assumed the MAF went in-between the intake tube and boot. ...but now that you link to the MOROSO kit, I see they have one kit for '93 and another for '94-'97. Image appears the same so I'm unable to differentiate between them. The image does confirm MAF placement, so I assume there is some sort of special provision for the MAF and my '93 K&N CAI will not work for '94+ application? Or, is K&N correct and it will work on '94+.
I'm not sure how a MAF connects, I guess I can go look at the C4, but I can imagine it being used in place of the sleeve in the image I included above that connects the intake tube and boot? Maybe that's the difference with the MOROSO part numbers? One has and adapter sleeve and the other doesn't, whereas K&N just threw the sleeve in every box and it's the sleeve that is the provision for vehicles without MAF?
If my CAI isn't going to work for '94-'97 I need to know. I'm thinking it will though now that I've hashed it out here.
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I don't think the CAI alone is worth 2/10ths or 16-20 HP. Most of these claims are inflated. But the CAI and catback together appeared to be worth 3/10ths. I can't remember which one I put on first, or if I did a run with only one of them in place. That was 28 years ago.....
I was living by myself in Valencia, California, 30 miles north of LA in 1994. My wife and 2 sons went back to NJ after we were hit with the Northridge earthquake in January 1994. I was making repairs to our house, and repairing damaged furniture. I did have a lot of spare time otherwise. I used a road in an industrial complex for my 1/4-mile tests. There was no traffic and no activity there after dark, so accelerating to 100 MPH in a 1/4 mile I had measured off was easy.
The 93 Moroso kit is different because is has to accommodate the absence on an MAF sensor. I don't know - suspect they just used a filler piece of some kind. Also don't know if SFX actually has them or if they are even in business. Was just a "possible" source and showed the sketch right out of the original Callaway "Supernatural Camaro C-8" brochure. I bought my CAI from Callaway, and they sold it as the "Honker".
I still have the Callaway brochure from 28 years ago. They sold a 400 HP / 383ci engine for $9,965. The Honker was $350. Interestingly, Callaway does not show any claimed HP improvement in the product description/price list. Their catback was $695, or combined with a set of headers was $1,986. Not cheap..... but everything was CARB-EO certified for use in California.... that's what made it attractive at the time. The "Supernatural Camaro" was a combination of a lot of performance parts, wheels, brakes, suspension, interior parts as well. The entire front end of the Camaro, plus lower doors, and rear end mods could be changed with a "CamAeroBody" package. $4,500 for the Aero package, $3,500 extra for Callaway to install it. You could drop $50-60,000 on a Camaro if you wanted it bad enough.
silodrome.com
I was living by myself in Valencia, California, 30 miles north of LA in 1994. My wife and 2 sons went back to NJ after we were hit with the Northridge earthquake in January 1994. I was making repairs to our house, and repairing damaged furniture. I did have a lot of spare time otherwise. I used a road in an industrial complex for my 1/4-mile tests. There was no traffic and no activity there after dark, so accelerating to 100 MPH in a 1/4 mile I had measured off was easy.
The 93 Moroso kit is different because is has to accommodate the absence on an MAF sensor. I don't know - suspect they just used a filler piece of some kind. Also don't know if SFX actually has them or if they are even in business. Was just a "possible" source and showed the sketch right out of the original Callaway "Supernatural Camaro C-8" brochure. I bought my CAI from Callaway, and they sold it as the "Honker".
I still have the Callaway brochure from 28 years ago. They sold a 400 HP / 383ci engine for $9,965. The Honker was $350. Interestingly, Callaway does not show any claimed HP improvement in the product description/price list. Their catback was $695, or combined with a set of headers was $1,986. Not cheap..... but everything was CARB-EO certified for use in California.... that's what made it attractive at the time. The "Supernatural Camaro" was a combination of a lot of performance parts, wheels, brakes, suspension, interior parts as well. The entire front end of the Camaro, plus lower doors, and rear end mods could be changed with a "CamAeroBody" package. $4,500 for the Aero package, $3,500 extra for Callaway to install it. You could drop $50-60,000 on a Camaro if you wanted it bad enough.
The 170 MPH Callaway C8 SuperNatural: 1 Of 18 Ever Made
This is an original Callaway C8 SuperNatural, just 18 were made between 1994 and 1997, they were capable of 170 mph, and they were were based on the
silodrome.com
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There has been ample discussion ahead of me here, but in general, I will say that CAIs produce more noise than any appreciable HP gains. Also, IMO, K&N's oiled filters are junk. You're better off going back to stock with a good OEM, Wix or Baldwin disposable filter.
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So you don't believe the results of my testing with the CAI and catback? What data do you have to refute my findings?
You really need to do a bit more research, and get past the “old wive's tales”. I ran the same K&N panel filter on my 381ci stroker for 22 years, and the guy who bought the car last year has found nothing wrong with the engine's expensive internals. And, extensive chassis dyno testing showed the filter produced minimal pressure drop, and helped HP by providing higher intake MAP. The data logs of my 1/4-mile passes confirmed the low IAT air temps and very minimal loss of MAP compared to ambient barometric pressure. They do need to be properly cleaned, correctly oiled and correctly installed to be effective.
Click on the down arrow to the right side of my signature, so you understand the level LT1 engine I’m referring to.
www.firebirdnation.com
www.firebirdnation.com
You really need to do a bit more research, and get past the “old wive's tales”. I ran the same K&N panel filter on my 381ci stroker for 22 years, and the guy who bought the car last year has found nothing wrong with the engine's expensive internals. And, extensive chassis dyno testing showed the filter produced minimal pressure drop, and helped HP by providing higher intake MAP. The data logs of my 1/4-mile passes confirmed the low IAT air temps and very minimal loss of MAP compared to ambient barometric pressure. They do need to be properly cleaned, correctly oiled and correctly installed to be effective.
Click on the down arrow to the right side of my signature, so you understand the level LT1 engine I’m referring to.
DCP04249a.jpg
www.firebirdnation.com
Dyno - Flywheel HP (orginal build)
www.firebirdnation.com
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47 Posts
Fred,So you don't believe the results of my testing with the CAI and catback? What data do you have to refute my findings?
You really need to do a bit more research, and get past the “old wive's tales”. I ran the same K&N panel filter on my 381ci stroker for 22 years, and the guy who bought the car last year has found nothing wrong with the engine's expensive internals. And, extensive chassis dyno testing showed the filter produced minimal pressure drop, and helped HP by providing higher intake MAP. The data logs of my 1/4-mile passes confirmed the low IAT air temps and very minimal loss of MAP compared to ambient barometric pressure. They do need to be properly cleaned, correctly oiled and correctly installed to be effective.
Click on the down arrow to the right side of my signature, so you understand the level LT1 engine I’m referring to.
DCP04249a.jpg
Dyno - Flywheel HP (orginal build)
I'm not denying it's value, combined with other modifications and/or the excellent work of your builds....but from my personal experience, and what I have read on other forums, a CAI by any manufacturer as a stand alone modification has minimal, if any benefit or gain...
And I do much appreciate your knowledge and experience!!
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