Your air filter isn't going to make that big of a difference when it's by itself. With other modifications it will help, but it really won't do too much just by its self. If you want something that will give you quicker acceleration then changing the gears in your rear end will be better. Unfortunately this will give you worse gas mileage and you'll have to change your speedometer. Headers would be a good way to go but that might exceed your 250 dollars (I don't know how much you're looking to spend). I would say don't ever buy a tuner. It won't be nearly as good as a dyno tune and there are better things to spend your money on (throttle bodies, headers, a hotter cam, heads, etc.). (P.S. I wasn't meaning that he should do a tune right after putting on headers and an intake, I meant to say that a dyno tune would be better than a chip/programmer).

 

if you can afford a dyno tune then yeah thats the way to go... but from what your saying about your airfilter im guessing your reading the hp readouts on the box... usually those are just a tad bit more that what you actually get for marketing purposes. As for changing gears and new speedo thats what the tuner is for. You retune the computer to run with the new ratio and you dont have to get anything

 

I'm going to be frank with you, a hand-held tuner such as the Hypertech Power Programmer is a $300+ paperweight. Corvette Magazine did multiple tests on an LT1 Vette and got a whopping 3 RWHP and 4 RWTQ. There's a local shop around here (Denver Area) that will do a full dyno tune for $500, and you'll get way more than 3 hp out of the whole deal. If you only have the filter (which you aren't actually getting 10 HP out of), replace it with a true Cold Air Intake such as the K&N or Moroso. Get a full cat-back exhaust system, for this go with the one that has the best sound and appearance to you, you'll never get the advertised "15 Wheel HP" that they say you will. After that you can start thinking of Headers/Y-pipe, maybe some new gears for the rear end, this is the point that a full tune will actually get you some power. Just to put things into perspective, my car runs a 14.7@5280+ft, my corrected time using NHRA conversion figures is a 13.8 and I have a CAI, !muffler and a good set of headers and Y pipe.

 

wow... i was thinking it would be more likeseveral hundred and hour to dyno tune.

 

so whats the better brand for CAI K&N or Moroso? i just dont understand a lot of people say CAI's are crap and then others say they are great. i am at sea level anyways if that will make a difference cuz of the elevation, the air is more dense.

 

I'd go for whichever CAI is cheaper, they'll both perform about the same. A CAI is a reasonable investment for an LT1 Camaro because the stock intake system is extremely restrictive, a true CAI from a good manufacture takes in air that is cold, but still under a splash guard, and it's a free flowing system. A word of advice: don't get the cheapo brand off of ebay, they aren't going to flow as well as the K&N or Moroso because they don't have as large of a cross sectional area as the bigger name brands. You being at sea level simply means that your car makes more power and is faster than mine up here in Denver, that's why I post corrected 1/4 mile figures because a 14.7 looks really really slow.

 

lol it might look slow but doesnt feel slow. i was running 14.4's with mine at infineon raceway (sears point) with a 25mph head wind and it was like 85 degrees outside. this was when i only had exhaust and a filter

 

Those times sound about right for a stock LT1, especially with the head wind, you should be able to drop the time down a couple tenths if you had better conditions, although the 85 deg isn't too bad.

 

ya im gonna run again in march when its colder like 50 degrees and hopefully with no wind but how many tenths do u think a CAI would drop for me?