I was going to get the SLP flowpac which includes all induction parts (cold air, lid, filter, and bellows). I just saw on Thunder Racing that SLP's cold air isn't recommended for SS or WS.6, but I think that must be wrong. Doesn't make much sense to me since those are SLP cars. Anyway, is the SSRA just an extended SLP cold air, and if so that would mean it's better so I should buy the pieces seprately (SSRA, lid, bellows, and filter), or do the SSRA and cold air work together so I should get the flowpac and SSRA? Sorry if this seems stupid but I don't want to buy two of the same part and I have to call SLP about the validity of Thunder Racing's warning.

 

The reason they said not to get a SLP CAI with a SS or WS6 is because they all ready have factory ram air. See on a normal Z28/TA the air is coming from the engine bay and going into a 1-2" gap under your air filter. This air is usually hot which hurts engine performance. Now the SS/WS6 are designed to have factory ram air. What they did was raised the airbox so the gap is more like 3" for air to flow under the air filter. The air is fed from the outside of the engine bay through the hood nostrils/scoop. The idea is at low speeds you have a good CAI since the air outside the car is cooler then the air in your engine bay. And at high speeds your getting pressurized air flowing directly into the airbox or "ram air" that will make even more power (this isn't a FI blower here but you may gain another tenth in the 1/4 mile).

The WS6 is a pretty good design with only one major flaw. The hood nostrils on the inside leave a 1" or so gap between them and the airbox. This causes you to lose pressure and you never get a ram air affect no matter how fast your going. It still works as a decent CAI just not a truly functional ram air. So I advise that anyone with a WS6 that wants ram air to invest in the BG ram air kit. It's simply a kit designed to close that one inch gap the ws6 hood leaves. It's overpriced IMO but still worth doing.

The SS is a horrible design. From what I hear the air has to go into the hood scoop and travel back to the front of the engine bay and loop around into the front of the air box. This design is never gonna produce a good "ram air" affect and allows too much opportunity for the engine bay to heat the air the hood brings in. It works "ok" as a CAI so the SLP CAI will be a waste of time IMO but the SSRA should shave a tenth of your 1/4 mile ET and give you a little SOTP feeling at 100+ speeds.

Now my opinion on the SLP flow pack is that it is a waste. The reason I think this is because you don't need the bellows (they claim 5 hp gains but most people gain nothing on a dyno from one). You also don't need a filter. K&N or Holley air filters are nice because they get cleaned and reused but they gain no power over a paper filter. I change my filter every six months so a disposable six dollar filter is fine with me since I am too lazy to clean one.

Finally the SSRA does not work with a CAI. It's one or the other. The CAI kits are a box scoop design that sits under your airbox and feeds the air from the front of the radiator. The idea is this air is cooler then the air up higher between he hood and engine. The SSRA has the same box scoop design but the difference is you have a second box scoop that connects to the first one. The second scoop bends a bit and goes towards the front of the car and attatches to the bottom of your front bumper (but far enough back so it does not stand out and draw any attention). The air feeds into the scoop from outside and goes into your airbox kind of like a straw. Just remember this when it rains really hard leaving big puddles on the roads. You'll want either a foam insert for the bottom scoop or a block off plate for under the airbox for when it rains really hard. But it's still worth it.

I apologise for the long reply but I hope this gives you a better understanding of what you have and how it all works. My advice to you is get a lid (any brand is fine) and then get the SSRA ram air kit. Skip the bellows. The filter is fine to invest in if you don't mind the maintenance since it will pay for itself eventually. But the Holley has a reputation for fitting better then K&N so I would go with that one if you deside to get a cleanable filter at all.


Good Luck

 

just go for the SSRA and a lid/filter

forget the bellows, it is 99% visual mod, and has been known to cause cracked lids due to not enough flex as the motor twists.

somebody on here has a track proven difference of .1sec with the lower scoop on the SSRA and it removed (basically making it like the slp cai). it's a definate advantage at speed, but in normal driving it is more of a cold air kit...so you get the best of both.

 

perfect, everything I wanted to know. I figured the bellows was probably BS, but it would have been included in the package so I didn't trip on it. I'm surprised the drop in K&N doest help though. thanks for the info.

 

Your very welcome. The K&N filters are not a bad idea. If you keep the car long enough they pay for themselves and save you money in the long run. They just don't add any HP. But there are so many ways to add HP that not getting any from a filter is no big deal

Good luck with your car and keep on modding (it's so darn addicting).

 

Ssra!

 

SSRA scoop with the SLP cold air kit.

the best of 2 worlds.

 

um...that's kindda the round-about way to do it...

the ssra combined with a lid/filter is all you need

 

I like how the SLP is made out of steel so I think it will
hold up longer then the ABS, and I don't know of a steel
scoop so the ABS one would have to do. IMO

 

stock-13.89/102, 01 z. with slp flow pack and loudmouth ran a respectful 13.28@106.3. 6 tenths for about 5 hundred dollars!

 

Not me. I never cared for the steel because it gets too hot and heat is what we are trying to avoid. Besides the material the SSRA is made out of is very strong and does not absorb heat. I have no reason to believe the SSRA won't outlast my car.

 

I to have a SSRA. I just think the stronger the better.
as far as the heat goes I don't think its that big of a
differents IMO, your numbers are going to suck anyways
if its hot outside. I think the heat soaking is more of a sells
pitch for Austin Ram Air then anything. do you have any dyno
numbers on the 2 kits ? (SLP & SSRA)

better to have one then not tho.

David

 

SSRA and a LID

 

You can't dyno CAI's or RA kits because cars are not moving while being dynoed. Some people have tried putting the big industrial size fans in front of the cars but it's nowhere near the same thing. Of course our cars are going to suck when it's hot outside. But the idea is to suck just a little less then before (Lol). It's not rocket science to understand the gains from a CAI or RA kit is minimal to begin with. It's not like the night and day difference of adding a big cam or high stall torque converter. But the gain is there and breathing better with a lid/SSRA combo is a good thing and worth the money IMO.

Maybe it is a marketing ploy on heat soaking and maybe it's not. But if both kits can outlast the realistic lifetime of a car then would it really matter which one is a little stronger? After more then a year with my SSRA I see no signs that my SSRA kit will not last as long as I figure my car will. There are no cracks, chips or stress marks of any kind. I even hit a steep hill once going so fast that the bottom scoop was ripped off as it was wedged between my bumper and the road. This was at a grocery store parking lot and when I parked I went to collect what I thought was a busted/shattered SSRA lower scoop. I was actually surprised to find the piece intact. It had a few mild scrape marks but no cracks or broken pieces missing. I just had to reattatch it to my car. That's more then strong enough for me.

 

Austin Performance Inc. makes a scoop for the FTRA or SLP The Austin scoop is made of aluminum to fit the SLP and FTRA cold air kits. I've had many people email me to see if the plastic scoop will fit their SLP or FTRA like the SSRA. Well we came up with the Austin Scoop to fit these. This makes those kits very similar to the SSRA.