By How can a sports car as sleek, supple, and aerodynamic as a Corvette be as simple under the hood as your average farm truck? American ingenuity and know-how have paved the way for one of the world’s most beautiful coupes to also be one of the simplest to work on and modify. The Chevrolet Corvette C6 stuck an LS-family V8 engine in between its fiberglass fenders for every trim level, making it easy to pick up power-adding mods for any Corvette models. Early model year base cars carried the LS2 6.0L, later models got the 6.2L LS3 (which was basically a spicy LS2), ZR1s were pulled by a supercharged 6.2L LS9, and Z06s clung for dear life to the massive 7.0L LS7. Every one of those engines used roughly the same design, with modifications shared between them including headers, intake, cams, and more. If you’re looking to get into modifying your Chevy Corvette C6, one of the easiest ways to make an improvement in throttle response and sound is a cold air intake.
What does a Cold Air Intake do?
The engine in your Corvette works in a few simple steps: suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Air is sucked through the intake system, through the MAF sensor and throttle body, and into the combustion chamber. There it’s compressed, mixed with fuel, and exploded, sending the piston back down the cylinder and exhaust out of the header. Today, we’re going to focus on the first half of that process. In particular, we’ll look at how you can improve the intake system on your Corvette C6.
Our focus here is cold air intake systems (CAI). These aren’t the drop-in high-quality air filters that “increase fuel mileage and performance,” but high-performance cold air induction systems that are tuned and tested to boost horsepower, torque, and fuel economy across the rev range. A cold air intake is a simple first step to increasing your vehicle’s induction performance. Usually, they are a direct fit into the factory intake location and install with a few simple bolts and hose clamps. A performance air intake kit makes a great compliment to an aftermarket performance exhaust, improving air flow and engine induction noise.
What Cold Air Intake should I buy?
In the case of the LS2 or LS3 in the standard C6, there are a few routes to go. For style points and some louder induction noise, you can start with Corsa’s open-element cold air intake. Its carbon fiber construction offers improved throttle response and a clean, cool look. Alone, this intake makes in the neighborhood of 10 horsepower.
If you’re looking to gain some more power and are planning supporting modifications to a base C6 or Grand Sport with the 6.2-liter V8 engine, we recommend Holley’s iNTECH cold air intake. Thanks to a one-piece sealed housing and twin intake filters, the iNTECH is able to deliver better flow than the OEM design and manages a gain of almost 15 wheel horsepower and 13 lb-ft of torque.
At the base level, tuneless intakes deliver a more aggressive tone and a better flow path for faster, livelier throttle response. The next step, however, is to start tweaking air/fuel ratios and add some supporting mods. aFe’s MagnumFORCE Stage 2 intake system introduces huge airflow gains, and benefits from the increased displacement and more flexible air/fuel ratios of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06’s LS7 engine. Similarly, If you’re lucky enough to be driving a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, you’ve got even more benefit from a cold air intake with a supercharger pulley upgrade from Lingenfelter. Lingenfelter’s smaller pulley, in combination with a cold air intake, can send your supercharged LS9 in the direction of 700 horsepower!
Cold air intakes (CAI) are a worthwhile step to the modification of any vehicle. Stock airboxes are designed to get air from the atmosphere to your intake manifold with as little drama as possible, keeping things quiet and efficient. Aftermarket cold air intake systems get you as much as possible out of the distance between the front of your car and the squeezy-bangy bit that makes power, giving your Chevy the “oomph” it needs to stand out amongst the crowd. Combined with an exhaust system, upgraded throttle body, and other performance parts on your wish list, a cold air intake puts you well on your way to making your Corvette breathe and perform the way it deserves. For cold air intakes, air filters, exhaust systems, and more check out the Motoroso Marketplace and build your dream Corvette!
