The C8 Corvette has been out for the better part of a year now and as a result, more and more aftermarket parts for the mid-engine sports car are beginning to hit the market.
One of the latest aftermarket products released for the C8 Corvette is the Black Series carbon fiber cold air intake from aFe Power. The intake has been “computer designed and dyno-tested to increase airflow while reducing weight and enhancing the visual appearance of the engine bay,” aFe says, though it did not indicate if the intake is actually capable of increasing the output of the Corvette’s 6.2L LT2 V8 engine.
The aftermarket intake is made of a lightweight twill weave material and has been “precisely designed and manufactured to fit perfectly into the factory mounting location,” aFe also says. The intake connects to the factory air inlets on each side of the vehicle via two silicone couplings and features two pre-oiled Pro 5R media air filters.
While the aFe carbon fiber intake promises to increase engine airflow and enhance the C8 Corvette’s engine bay appearance, there is one downside. The intake is not CARB exempt at this time and is thus not legal for sale in California or on vehicles registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Those C8 Corvette owners who live outside of CARB states can expect to pay $1,336.65 for the aFe intake.
It’s worth pointing out that the engine control unit (ECU) in the C8 Corvette is encrypted, preventing tuners from adjusting the air and fuel flow for the 6.2L LT2 V8 engine, among other important parameters. This means that many aftermarket parts cannot be used to their full potential, which is definitely worth considering when dropping over $1,000 USD on items like this carbon intake.
Prospective C8 Corvette buyers who want more performance than the LT2 V8-powered model has to offer may want to wait for the arrival of the C8 Corvette Z06, which is expected to feature a naturally aspirated 5.5L flat-plane crank V8 making over 600 horsepower.
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Comments
It’ll be just a matter of time before someone with industrial rapid prototyping ‘print’ a carbon fiber copy of the Chevrolet C8 Corvette just like a defense contractor did in building the world’s first full-size operational GEN 6 fighter jet that the US Air Force flew recently.
Don’t worry about the ECU encryption. There are at least 2 companies very close to cracking it. We don’t like to be told what we can and can’t do to our cars, and by encrypting the ECU, GM is pissing off a whole lot of people.
Oil filters do NOT clean as well as dry paper filters. I read a strong technical study on this quite a few years back. And because of it, I’ll use them in any car of mind.
Properly oiled, they flow air a lot better. While you have a point, Terry Q. However, you did not include the fact that coming out of the factory and properly oiled, these filters flow a lot more air. Porsche owners with a number of different years of cars, starting at least in 2012 are able to use the stock Filter for the GT3 series, which, by the way is exactly that type of filter. Speaking to a private and well-known shop who services Porsche, the Manager informed me that he does not use K & N type cleaning products to clean the filters and then re-oil them. Instead he finds it more consistent to simply buy the high end Porsche filters made by an independent manufacturer. I put a set of these filters into my 911 and I can say that this type of filter is superior. In fact, it has been superior in all the cars where I have used them. Precising cleaning, drying and oiling are all essential if you decide to use them after cleaning and then oiling again. It is a bit time consuming, but the technology works in both cars and motorcycles, very well. It is hoped that the cpu is cracked soon, because then these parts can be introduced to the C8. After seeing at least 2 YouTube vloggers replace their rear axles with heavier competition type axles after ruining the stock axles, those who introduce some serious horsepower have broken the axles. In one case, a lack of forged pistons and comp bearings has also resulted in those parts being damaged. Connecting rods should likely also be upgraded with competition pins, as well. California really causes problems for enthusiasts. I have read numerous articles where it is shown that a carb number cannot be obtained for intake and exhaust upgrades for multiple cars. What is really the shame of it all, is often these aftermarket parts result in cleaner exhaust emissions than the stock CARB approved parts. My Mustang, a 2001 with a number of modifications, ran much cleaner than the stock units in terms of the exhaust output, but according to CARB, still is not legal. It seems to me that there is too much government control, without looking at facts in these cases. If a subsequently installed after market parts are tested and meet the “clean and green,” requirements, they should be OK’d and an automatic number assigned, the moment a system which has been installed, tests clean. AF
I have no doubt that oiled air filters might allow more air flow and perhaps more horsepower. But over time, the engine will wear out sooner if those types of filters are used. The study I remember reading was in a vehicle with separate air cleaners for each bank on a V engine. One side used the oiled type, the other side used dry filters.
After running time on the vehicle, they tore it down, and the side with the oil type filter showed more wear in the engine that the side using high quality dry filters. It was a dusty environment.
Properly oiled, they also flow a lot more dirt. That’s been proven over and over again.
I’m not sure who conducted the studies. Nor what the controls were. I am also not sure of the quality of the materials nor the oil. Proper oiling of a K & N filter on my BMW R80 motorcycle from 1978, showed no adverse affects after 43,000 miles of use. The amount of dirt that was pulled from the dirty filter, was significant, apparently showing that the filter was doing its job. In a strange but similar situation, GM does not allow a catch can without claiming the voiding of the warranty on the C8. In general the types of injection, direct and port injection. The three general types of injection, progressively added over time had advantages in emissions and combustion control and economy and power. The downside is that even with gasoline with cleaning additives, direct injection bypasses the valves and therefore cleaning agents do not contact the valves as fuel enters the cylinders. The way around this is a combination of direct inject and port injection, the latter allowing for the cleaning of the valves during use while the former is primarily responsible for maximum benefits of the direct injection . Modern sensors and timing controls of the spark/timing allow for this while other aspects including variable valve timing and changes in lift and duration and other aspects of the ice engine can be controlled. Certainly there is a potential trade off in the effectiveness in filters. Performance oriented filters may flow particulate matter. However the temperatures at combustion destroy much of them. Long lasting performance engines using these high flow filters have lasted hundreds of thousands of miles. If the pure cleanliness of the filter is all that is important, the paper element does a pretty good job. However, if perfect intervals and monitoring are not maintained, even these slight advantages lose their upside. The C8 has direct injection only and so it doesn’t get cleaned by the cleaning agents. Please see internet articles asking whether or not Direct Injection Engines require valve cleaning. Apparently there can be some build up of forms of particulate, etc. without the port cleaning. A catch can will trap the untoward matter, but will require occasional emptying. If OEM equipment, a sensor would be able to indicate when the cleaning of the the catch can would be required. Installation of the catch can can be done at home by the average do it yourself mechanic.
Wait. That’s not what a catch can does. A catch can collects oil vapors and condenses them. Then they’re collected. That’s all. There should be no other materials or fluids in the can. Doesn’t matter what kind of injection. I’ve used them with port, tpi, and direct injection. Ideally with a properly designed PCV system they wouldn’t be required, but those are virtually non existent, so the can pulls the vapors from the valve covers and collects it before it’s sent back into the intake manifold, where it pools and sludges.
Mike – Totally awesome explanation. All the more reason that GM should not be able to demonstrate any reason to void the warranty. A cleaner system is a better system. How does GM argue that such a system voids the warranty? Perhaps because cleaning intervals are unknown and no sensors exist to monitor the can. That would be a very weak argument. AF
$1,300 and no HP increase listed????
No HP gains for $1,200 – how pathetic