SLP Blackwing intake
 

Anyone else using the SLP Blackwing intake with the smooth bellow?

Just curoius about your opinions.

There's a lot of info about this....on the other forum!

:seeya:

Used to have one - very nice piece. Then I got intake envy and swapped out for the Vararam. I'm very happy with the Vararam, I just wish SLP designed and built it, so it looked nicer and fit better!

IMO the best no-cutting intake is the latest iteration of the Halltech called the Venom. Replacing the oem accordian coupler isn't really worth anything on a stock or near stock motor anyway.

IMO the Vararam is a piece of crap... good design, horrible quality. Plus, ram air is a myth. If you have the front bumper open via holes in the stock shrounds or Z06-type screens then all the outside ambient air goes directly to the filter area.

^ Considering it already outperforms most if not all it's competitors, I was able to over look the quality. I was one of the lucky ones that didn't have to cut anything to make it fit. Once it's installed and sealed, you forget all about it. No doubt the Venom is a nice unit (and the BW for that matter), but I can't see spending more for less. After all, we wouldn't buy a CAI at all if we weren't looking for more power. It's kinda hard to argue the expert's numbers.

Who's numbers? I see plenty of "experts" touting the benefits of the Vararam's "ram air" effect all the time... it's bunk. The Vararam is a CAI like all the others. The benefit comes from unshrouding the intake and ditching the OEM airbox. The simple fact is that the zip-tie mod will get you pretty much the same power as any aftermarket intake.

People love to tout that they gained 3 mph in the 1/4 from the vararam etc. etc. etc. But until I see a back to back test on the same car and same night of stock vs. Vararam it's all BS. I remember the post years ago when the one guy proclaimed his 1/4 mile trap increase and everyone has been spouting the same info over and over and over.

Sure it's an effective CAI, but it's poorly made and it blocks airflow from your engine. If you run any kind of HPDEs you want that air moving over your engine to help remove heat. The Vararam blocks all of that airflow that would normally go over the top of the motor.

My $0.02 :)

It may not specifically RAM air into the intake, but it does channel air to the filter element. Channeled air also works with with brake ducts, vented helmets, spoilers, etc...

It's performance increases the faster the car moves, something that a hidden CAI could never hope to do. It's really not that difficult to believe that it helps drop 1/4 mile times, intake temps, air velocity, etc... without even doing any tests. Think about this: When you clean out your shop vac filter, do you blow air through it with an air gun, or do you put in a cardboard box and take it for a drive?

My 2 cents. :D

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...anC6/duel1.gif


:popcorns:

Trouble maker! :kick: :lol:

:lolsmile: Got make it fun and informative! :cheers:

Call me a Trouble Maker, maybe I should join your BOS group! :D

Sorry, but physics is physics. There is zero pressurization of the air until you are north of 300 mph. Meaning the engine will be sucking air faster than it can be rammed in no matter what kind of intake system you have. The majority of the power increase you see from an intake is from allowing cooler ambient air to reach the engine allowing the engine to advance timing.

Your analogies are all inaccurate... when you describe cleaning out a shop vac filter the filter doesnt have an engine on the other side of it creating a vacuum more powerful than the air compressor blowing air. Air from an air compressor is by definition compressed i.e. pressurized. Air flowing into a vararam duct isnt at all.

Superchargers/turbos work by pressurinzing the air and increasing the effective compression of the motor. This doesnt happen in any way shape or form w/ a Vararam type intake.

Aftermarket intakes dont show full gains on a dyno becuase the intak his heat soaked and the air around it is as well... the fan blowing on the front isnt enough. Once youre rolling the engine gets the coolest air available.

A hidden CAI as you put it will get all the fresh air it needs via the front bumpre openings once youre rolling.

You already infiltrated our group as a spy! You ARE a trouble maker! :lolsmile:

SEE perfect for BOS! Well, guess I'll have to ban myself for a week then....:leaving:
:(

All of that fancy quoting sounds great, but numbers are numbers - and you don't personally have any to back them up. Tuners and racers have tested on the dyno and the track, and performance increased as speed increased. I find it difficult not to believe certain professionals, simply because Brian said it's BS. I'm really sorry, but I don't think you can defend your points with college books alone. You'd really have to test one yourself to de-bunk the tuners and racers with actual experience. We could go back and forth forever, but you're obviously against the concept, so I will drop it.

Back on topic - The Blackwing is great choice.

I hate to tell you but all those (tuners and racers) are selling a product... they want you to buy from them. You can believe what you want, but again physics is physics. The Vararam is a fine ambient air intake, but its not Ram Air and it doesnt in any way pressurize the air intake to create more power... its a very very very common misconception perpetuated by the marketing and the makers know that.

Please again show me the back to back tests of the Vararam vs. other intakes on the dyno and/or the track... most of the time its the exact opposite in that tuners say the Vararam doesnt show its gains on the dyno, but only at the track.

Ive been on the forums since 2001 and never seen a proper independent controlled test. In fact the C5 Z06 1/4 mile record was set by Jrod years ago, then he set the CAI record with the zip-tie mod only.

Since we're talking physics, here's some...

The very best measure we have as to how much air is filling the cylinders is MAP - Manifold Absolute Pressure.

On a N/A engine, the very best MAP that can possibly be achieved at WOT equals atmospheric pressure. (approx 101 kpa at sea level). That would represent 100% efficiency of the intake tract, something in practice, is almost impossible to achieve.

So, the next question becomes, how can we acheive a more efficient intake?

1. Draw in cooler, denser air. Anything that draws from outside the engine compartment will do this.
2. Draw in from a "high localized pressure point" in or around the car. Under the radiator shroud is good, the foglight grilles are good. Air IS being "rammed" there, and as such, local atmospheric pressure at inlet does indeed increase. (this can and has been measured).
3. Sharp bends in the flowpath. Any fluid, in any vessel, will show resistance to changes in flow direction. The sharper the bend, the worse it becomes. In-tract turbulence results, and flow efficiency drops.
4. Filter media. A finer filtering media will inherently restrict flow than a more open weave or porous design (for the very same reason as #3).


Now, and compare this to any other design on the market...The Vararam draws 100% outside air, draws from a very high pressure point at the exterior of the car, has no sharp bends in flowpath, and top it all off, has a pretty crappy filtration media.

You're damn right it's going to be one of the most efficient setups available. :D The only commercially-available product that ever rivaled it was the original Halltech TRIC, and if it had a forward facing filter element, would probably still be top dog in terms of performance (but not water intrusion resistance) :lol:

The bottom line is anyone with scanning/logging software can easily test this themselves. If filter setup X is giving you 94kpa MAP at WOT @ 100mph, and filter setup V is giving you 98kpa under the same conditions...filter V is making you more power. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

No, none of them are pressurizing the intake....that's called boost..but the one that capitalizes on the 4 main things mentioned above, is more than likely gonna be the winner in terms of how much air actually does make it into the cylinder.

:cheers:

^ That I agree with 99%... has anyone done a comparison and shown the Vararam to provide a higher MAP reading?

My one point of contention is about air pressurization. While the air may be getting pressurized some nominal amount, it doesn't overcome the vacuum created by the motor ingesting air.

There was a huge 11ty billion post on CF a few years back and a few auronautical engineers put it to rest posting papers showing that there is no "ram" effect created until you are north over 300 mph in airplanes. Basically the motor is pulling air in faster than it can be provided up until that point.... after that there is some marginal pressurization of the air feed which will boost power.

Thanks Guys..didn't mean to start a verbal volleyball match! :D

I ordered the SLP Blackwing and it's on the way. Hope I like it!

You shan't be disappointed, enjoy! :cheers:

. . .Just don't get in a buddies car with a Vararam, or you'll be swapping it out the same as I did! One ride on the hwy and you'd be sucked in too. :D

The Blackwing is a vast improvement over the stock airbox, as it is an open design. But to get the most benefit, you need to be drawing outside air, IE cooler air.
That's why the Vararam, and Vortex Rammer perform so well. They draw outside air.
People will argue the points of FORCED AIR with CAI's, until they are blue in the face. My point is, it's the cooler air from outside the engine bay, and not necessarily the ram effect, where the gains are made.
My $.02. :thumbs:

That is correct. As I stated, about the best you can do is equal atmospheric pressure. (no positive (gauge) pressure, but no vacuum either).

Manifold pressure is measured in absolute pressure, not gauge pressure. The difference is the pressure of atmosphere, which is approx 14.7psi, or 101kpa at sea level. So, in terms of MAP, anything below that point is actually negative (gauge) pressure, or what we call vacuum.

Anything that causes MAP to exceed atmospheric pressure, we call boost, or forced induction. A Vararam does not do that.


:cheers: