My rubber intake elbow is cracked on my '96 SS. I see there's lots of aftermarket aluminum units available. They all claim improved flow, HP gains, blah, blah, blah. None of them seem to include the lower snorkel and some appear to be missing the ports for electronics and vacuum connections. One of them is supposedly 3.5 pounds! I'm looking for "plug & play" convenience. My TB has an airfoil, and it seems it might get in the way of some models. Anyone got experience with these things? Do they fit? Do they performs? Is the snorkel important? etc, etc.

 

You don't get any performance improvement from changing the inlet elbow. The aluminum elbows probably allow more heat transfer from the engine compartment to the air. The "snorkel" was included in the rubber elbow to reduce resonant intake noise. Even the stock 1LE inlet elbow eliminated the "snorkel". Not needed, just get in the way.

The only "electrical" connection is the inlet air temp (IAT) sensor. There is no vacuum connection, but there is a blue plastic elbow that connects to the air supply line for the vented Opti (96/97)

Just get a 1LE inlet elbow.

 

Thx for the input. That's what I thought. But what do you mean by "1LE elbow"? My undestanding of that acronym relates to the suspension option. As my car has CAI, will other LT-1 elbows work (Caprice, etc) given in the distance to the MAF and routing to the scoop? Ifsofactso, I'll scour the junkyards, because I'm a cheap b**strd by nature and GM wants ...wait for it ... $225 freakin' dollars!

 

ILE elbow is the same as your stock rubber piece, but with the snorkel deleted and blocked off. You can find a used one here in the classifieds, or find an aluminum one, whichever you prefer.

On a side not, I'll have a TFS aluminum elbow for sale in a week or so, I'm changing my intake to the LS1 lid setup. Let me know!

 

Groovy. Keep me posted on your tin unit. I see 'em used for about 30~40 bux . I'm smack dab in the middle of Canada in a joint called Saskatoon Saskatchewan (go to Sturgis and hang a right ... about 400 miles), so USPS shipping is a factor to consider. No big rush. Still got snow here and the car's buttoned up in my shop awaiting the spring pot-hole repairs!

 

Cool, yep that's about what I paid for it so I'd let it go for around there. I have shipped to Canada a few times and don't remember it being too much more than in the states. I'll shoot you a PM.

 

The 1LE was primarily a suspension package, but it included other differences, depending on the year..... cooling system differences, engine oil cooler, stronger tranny mount, an "A/C delete" pulley because there was no A/C, the inlet bellows (elbow) without the silencer tube, etc.

Courtesy of Shoebox - bottom view of the 1LE elbow:

http://shbox.com/1/elbow_bottom.jpg