I just got my first ls1, its a 98 SS and I wanted to cut the plastic intake to let more air to flow into it from under the intake, I think its called the free ram air mod,, and I wasnt certain if I should, one of the guys at work said it is only for z-28s and not for the ram air cars? I dont believe him, but I want to be certain. Also,the car is bone stock, is there anything that I should upgrade immediatly? I had thought that I heard a while back that early ls1's had prblems with bent valve or something of that nature? thanks,,,,D.J.

 

You should get a after market lid, they are basically the same. I wouldn't do the FRA (free ram air). It can be done on your SS but its not worth it. It gets the air filter dirty real fast and has little to no gain. A whisper lid is a good place to start though.

 

I did it to mine. No regrets. I got a little more throttle response, but nothing major. Every little bit counts.

 

if your racing and at the top of second and actually push it into 1st then you will bend a pushrod since its spinning the engine at like 11,000rpm other than that, the revlimiter is there to keep you in check

get a lid and don't listen to him

 

Im a little concerned about this free ram air mod.... When you cut all that plastic off, I know they say that you will get more air- But the question is- wouldn't you think that you would be sucking in the hot air that is coming off your radiator as well?

 

If the fans aren't running and your at a complete stop then you would have to get some heat from the radiator, otherwise the air reaches the intake before the radiator. I still think the gains are minimal (if existent) and is not worth a very dirty air filter.

 

get a k & n and clean it or buy a $4.00 filter every 4000 miles. its worth it

 

thanks for the help,,,I think I'm more uncertain now
I thnk I'm gonna borrow my friends cut intake at the track next weekend, and see if I can find the difference

 

well, I started to take my lid and intake apart today to see what was going on inside of there,,,,,an its already cut
I guess I'll keep a close eye on my filter,,, I wonder if anything else has been changed? Does anyone know about an exhaust that has one tip on the left? its louder than other camaros I see?

 

I cut mine last weekend, looks like it'd really help to me. Need another trip to the dyno! People say the free mods do not help, but read the "five free mods" post, GMHTP gained 10 HP for free!

Ed

 

The car has to be moving for the FRA to suck in air, which is why its so hard to prove the gain. I am going to have to look into the othe free mods, I didn't know there were half that many.

 

I am basically a newbie here, so don't take my opinion as "expert", but looking at the factory box it has to suck air in from just the slit in the front at the bottom. Opening up the bottom should make it easier to "suck" even without the Ram effect. I equate it to the old flipping the air cleaner lid trick. I had a 1970 BB 400 Chevy one ton PU that really ran better with the lid inverted. It didn't have any Ram air effect at all, but it allowed the carb to draw in air all around the air cleaner instead of just through the snorkle. Now you have a very valid point about the Ram air hood compared to a standard hood, both using the same airbox it would have minimal effect on a dyno, especially since the hood is open anyway

Ed

 

I see what you mean by allowing air in easier. I think the FRA might even hurt you a little on the dyno since when the car isn't moving some of the air from around the radiator is going to rise into the intake. Also, if you want to get a true ram air effect when driving the car you have to block off the stock opening or else all the pressurized air can just get out.

Air intake lids are a great mod. If your broke you can sand the fins on the stock lid.

 

well the "true ram air" effect is kind of a myth anyway,,, my understanding is that in order to achieve a true ram air effect the intake would need to betotaly redesigned and the car would need to be able to travel at 1/2 the speed of sound (mach 0.5), the ram air on our cars is nothing more than an effective cold air intake