Pretty simple question, which one will net me more of a gain? Thank you in advance for insightful answers.

 

It one of the Great Debates - been discussed, analyzed, and argued to death on here for many years. Pick one or the other, whatever you like - because there is no definitive answer for your question.

 

newbie is right lol but if this helps the dual snorkle looks cooler IMO

 

stock hood dual snorkel. if you have a cowl a open element...some sort of fabricated cold air induction is better yet..do a search and you'll see!

 

I agree, the dual snorkel looks way cooler. And with it's flexible duct-like "arms," it makes me think of the robot on the original "Lost In Space" series... "DANGER!" lol

I'd guess most people already know the "arguments" about this topic, but I'm going to go through some ideas anyway, trying to maximize the best qualities of each intake, because each intake can have an advantage over the other, depending on the car(a Camaro or a Firebird) and the hood.

An open element under a non-functional stock hood will only be exposed to the hot environment under the hood, so it can't get fresh("cold") air. Whereas, the dual snorkel intake on a Camaro always draws fresh air through the openings above the headlights. So in that regard, the dual snorkel would appear to have an advantage over an open element. Further, since a Firebird has no openings to expose the snorkels to fresh air, a Camaro with a dual snorkel intake would even have an advantage over a Firebird with one.

But with functional hoods, such as an SS hood on a Camaro, a Super Duty hood on a Firebird(like an SS hood), a Cowl hood(open at the rear) on either car, and maybe even a stock Firebird hood with an open power bulge, then I think an open element would perform, at least, as well as a dual snorkel intake, maybe even better when the car is moving, because it would always be exposed to fresh air through the openings in the hoods.

And to make an open element even more effective with functional hoods, get a K&N XStream open element with the flow-through top. Then fresh air will always be drawn straight down into the carb/TB.

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But this would be the monster "sucker," IMO:

A dual snorkel intake, a K&N XStream flow-through air cleaner lid(in place of the stock air cleaner's metal lid), and a functional hood.

On a Camaro, it would always-and-only be exposed to an unlimited supply of fresh "cold" air all the time, sucking air through its dual snorkels from above the headlights(as it's designed to do), AND it would also be exposed to massive amounts of fresh air through the top. All-in-all, it should provide more than enough air to support even the most powerfully-built engines, I'd think.

K&N makes an XStream lid for a stock GM air cleaner. It's chrome, but you could scuff it and paint it if chrome isn't your style, and it's an inch taller than a stock thirdgen's lid(because it's made for trucks). But it has the same "GM" diameter(15"-ish, I think). So you'd use a filter that's an inch taller than stock, which I think would be 3-1/4" tall(stock-size, I think, is 2-1/4" tall), and K&N has that too.

*Edit: I did this to an '89 TBI Firebird 'Vert I had a few years ago, so I know the taller K&N lid fits under a stock hood without any clearance issues(barely). I installed a Formula hood, opened-up the power bulge, adapted a dual snorkel air cleaner to fit the TBI engine, fit it with the TBI's IAT sensor(described in another current thread), and used the K&N XStream flow-through GM chrome lid on the L69 air cleaner, with a K&N 3-1/4" air filter inside. It provided a nice kick-in-the-pants, and it made the 5.0 engine sound BIG lol.

And to decorate the K&N XStream lid, either scuffed-and-painted or left chrome, you can get a NOS HO decal from Modern Day Muscle. Take your pick:

http://www.moderndaymuscle.com/inc/sdetail/172/779
http://www.moderndaymuscle.com/inc/sdetail/172/780

 

I had the gm lid on my air cleaner...it worked good. I went with a full xtreme setup so now it sticks up through the hood 2 inches

 

Haha that's funny I always said they looked like robot arms too!

 

i run both. i have a L69 setup and run a "too big" air cleaner so the lid is 2" or so above the air box. so its like a L69 setup and can also pull air from around the air cleaner. when on the high way i get the small ram air effect but at idle or at a light the open element definetly helps. i also used a flat bottom air cleaner and cut it and attached it to the l69 so i get straight airflow instead of the horrible oem setup.

 

I think a full fledged cold air setup is better. Thier was a thread going around about the statitistic of ram air and reality. Basically it's not really happening. But if my car didnt have the cowl I would deffinately have a cold air kit. but with the cowl i go for the open air because it fits the car more. I do plan on making a cold air box to block out the engine compartment heat altogether.

 

Ive been looking for a dual snorkel.......anyone know any sights that sell them??????

 

www.thirdgen.org check the for sale section sorry couldnt help it...these are desirable actually. the hard part is finding the ducting. Most people end up going with some aftermarket ducting stuff. Good luck. (put out a wanted ad in the wanted section here also)

 

already did lol

 

I just seen that. I always check the parts wanted at least once a week. Just saw yours. I'll keep my eye out too. Im always watching craigslist in my area.

 

Hey btw completely off topic....is your only mod the gears to get that quarter mile time?

 

i have an open element and wish i didn't throw out the stock setup. they both make a different tone some like the sound of hearing the engine sucking air through an open element but i some what dislike it i always thought i had vacuum leak, i would get cold air intake so i could easily (someday) attach a wynjammer supercharger

 

With my Cowl hood I went with a 14x3in. open element with X-Stream filter top. As already said, it not only works well it fits that style car/hood design best. Whats the point of having a cowl hood without one. Now if I had a stock hood I would most likely have gone with a cold air kit of some sort.

 

nope not at all! check my vbgarage for the mods. I might not have updated recently though. Ill check into that

 

wynjammer supercharger now your talking