Im looking to upgrade my air filter setup on my 85z. It is the 305 "HO" with a carb. Right now it has the factory air box, with a "snorkel" on the drivers side. Would an open element setup be more efficient in cooling and power, or is the stock setup fine the way it is? Also will changing anything affect the computer at all? Thanks for the answers guys!

 

The H.O. z28's came with a dual snorkel air clear with ducts going to both driver and passenger side. It dosent sound like you have that air cleaner. The dual snorkel works well I have one but now I am running a K&N 4 inch air cleaner with the K&N lid on it. Try to get a better free flowing filter and maybe a dual snorkel and it will make a difference.

 

Alright, the dual snorkel sounds pretty good, are there any websites where i could buy one, or would my best bet be to go to the JY? Thanks!



P.S. Also the dual was a L69 option, mine is the LG4 .

 

You can try ebay or a junkyard. They are a discontinued part so sometimes there hard to come by. I could sell you mine for about $145. The paints alright cracking in some spots,new fram air cleaner,new valve to open the duct flaps,new plastic air hoses,and only the drivers side duct.

 

If you've got an LG4 you don't have an "H.O."

 

You are correct Apeiron, Thats why i said its a "H.O.". The guy i bought it from told me that, and i assumed it didnt really mean much, but i was trying to be descriptive as possible. I realize now he probably said that to make me think it was a faster/better built engine, lol. I appreciate all the help, and this wont be the first time i make a mistake. Once again, thanks guys, this place is really an awesome place to kick back and study up on the pimpest car around, peace .

 

Alright, ive been searching for a few days now, and i have only found pieces of the H.O. Dual Snorkel setup, and most of the time, they are wanting a crazy amount of money for them. Ive also tried ebay and the JY's around in my area. Today while browsing the net, i came along the VaraRam system. It looks pretty decent and the price is lower than what id pay for the oem version. Do any of you guys know anything about this product/company? I dont want to buy it, and it not be what they are promising, Thanks . http://www.vararam.com/streetram.html

 

The advantage of the factory set-up is the thermovac system, which really helps in cold weather and when the engine isn't fully warmed up.

If that doesn't bother you, then that Vararam set-up would be okay.

You could also fabricate a dual snorkel yourself, basically add another snorkel like the one you already have to the other side of your air cleaner. There's a tech article on it linked from the thirdgen.org homepage.

 

I will sell you my dual snorkel for $145. It has everything but the passenger side air duct that mounts to the headlight.

 

if you're not already 100% sold on the dual snorkel, an open element works pretty good... i've got one in my (mostly) stock 305 and did notice an improvement over the original. the only downside is that it's taking in warm air that's been through the rad and over the engine.

 

i tried the whole dual snorkle to the headlight trick. i picked up 1 tenth by taking that junk off and running no air filter. if you have a small stock engine it may work real well. but if you need alot of air it's not the way to go.

 

I can't say that I've tried taking the air cleaner off completely.

I can say that I've made back-to-back runs between open and dual snorkel (6 total, switching air cleaners between each run), and the dual was consistently a tenth quicker. The same air filter was used in each housing type.

 

Well, the dual snorkel is typically revered as being the best induction system under a stock hood, but it's not going to make a significant difference versus an open element. I think it boils down to aesthetics... most people (I think) would agree that an open element looks better when you pop the hood. While you will lose a little power from sucking up warm air instead of cool air, the open element will flow the most air of any filter system, so it makes up some of that loss because it's the least restrictive system. If you want it to look less cluttered and don't mind a slight hit in performance, it's a good solution and has the benefit of being cheaper than hunting down a dual snorkel... If you want max performance and don't mind or possibly even like the look then dual snorkel is your answer.

But of course there are a couple things you can do that will actually make an open element the best solution. Using a hood scooped or cowled hood would allow you to isolate the filter from the engine compartment and give you the most flow and the coolest air.

All that aside, ultimately, either solution is better than a single snorkel.

 

I don't think that this looks to bad but it does look mean

Auggie

 

Honestly, I think the BEST air intake system offered would be a hybrid of the cowl-induction system and the dual snorkle setup.

In the years 82-84, GM made cowl induction available for both the CFI motors and carbed motors. I typically go to the junkyards every now and then, and I always make it a point to save any and all cowl induction components I find in the 3rd gens. The yard usually charges me $12 bucks for the entire setup (minus the hood of course). I have 4 sets for a Trans Am, and two for a Camaro.

I once saw one of the factory fiberglass cowl hoods there too (the Z28 hood is more of a ghetto ram-air than it is cowl induction)... it killed me because no one saved it, and it was crushed.

In any case, if you can find yourself a cowl induction setup for a Camaro, and the hood... you can install that on your car. The lid to the COWL air cleaner (for the carb version) will fit right on top of your existing air cleaner.

At this point, you can use the white pages on the net to modify your air cleaner base as a dual snorkle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Year One now reproduces the passenger side air intlet piece. You can still keep the Thermac on the other side if you want.

 

You can buy a fiberglass one from www.ramairbox.com

Auggie

 

true, but that setup costs well in the 300 dollar range last time i looked.

 

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys . I really want a dual snorkel after looking into both setups. This car will be my daily driver, and i live in a city, so there will be alot of stopping and waiting. I have read posts that the dual snorkel will be better than the open element type for this, (and somewhat slight performance gain :P). I have perfected the ebay search for them, and can find them within a couple of mins now, the only thing i see is that most of them are for the box only, but as someone posted earlier, i can get the passenger side from year one. If i use the dual snorkel box, my factory driver side will work with it correct?

 

No, there's a size/shape difference. Trying to piece a set-up together will drive you crazy. Check the classifieds for something complete. There was one listed for $300 or so.

JamesC

 

The driver's side scoop for the LG4 is smaller than the L69. Back when I got my set-up (2001), the passenger side scoop was still available, but the driver's side supply had been exhausted. I went ghetto and wrapped strips of duct tape around the drivers' side scoop until the duct fit it. I'm sure it restricts a little, but not enough to lose sleep over. The ducts will fit either side, but the passenger side has an anti-abrasion pad on the bottom.

I also found a lid that doesn't drop down quite as much as the stock HO air cleaner. Again, not sure how much that helps, but I'm sure it can't hurt to improve the distance between the air horn and lid.

 

you can buy "repo" snorkels from ramairbox as well. again a bit pricey.