What CAI kit do you own? (SLP, FTRA, SSRA)

**Ripper415** · 04-19-2007, 10:33 PM

ok guys, after several days of inquisitive posts on the camaro ss forum where many different people claimed to never have heard of any cai kit except the slp. the other 2 good ones out there are the fast toys ram air (ftra) and super sucker ram air (ssra). both are waaaaay better than the slp in terms of hp produced and overall price value. so to educate some people i figured i'd make a post here where everyone with one of these kits can openly discuss them. many of the other fbody message boards have tons of posts about these but for some odd reason this one doesnt. so i guess i'll be the pioneer. i'm especially interested hearing from people with either the ftra or ssra....so please post up guys!

**Ripper415** · 04-19-2007, 10:40 PM

ok i guess i'll be the one to get the ball rolling here.

i own the ssra. it's a quality design thats been around for several years and HUNDREDS of people have bought it. the top part is very similar to the fast toys ram air kit except that it is made of plastic instead of metal and it angles away from the radiator instead of laying flat against it (both of these aspects help to reduce heat soak and dont make the car run hotter than normal). it also has a second piece that connects from underneath the front bumper to the top piece that acts to force more air in (giving it a true ram air effect rather than just a regular cai). i've read dozens of posts about people driving in rain/through puddles with it and only once heard of someone sucking water into their engine, but that was because they drove into what they thought was only a small puddle but which was actually several feet deep and immersed the entire front end of the car (ie. moron). i've personally driven through heavy rain with it and when i got home checked underneath the lid/air filter and everything was perfectly dry, so i'm not worried about it anymore. it can be purchased from a few different fbody stores online. one of which is a sponsor lmperformance. here is a link
http://www.lmperformance.com/1858/15.html
it generally costs like $20 more than the fast toys piece but has the benefits of letting the car run cooler as well as being worth a few more hp. but i was able to be part of a group purchase a while back that saved me $25 anyway. there are only 2 real drawbacks to the ssra. the first being that you have to screw into the underside of your front bumper to attach the 2nd piece (many people dont care about that but some purists who treat their cars like virgin cherries might). the 2nd being that as you can see from my pics, it DOES hang down underneath the car. making the possibility of accidentally knocking it off when parking over a curb or another raised object. as you could guess, this is mainly a problem on cars that are lowered from the stock height. as you can probably see from my picture, i was safely able to drive over a wood wheel stop on my driveway that is at least 4 inches high and so far i've never run into a problem parking it (but my car isnt lowered). i suppose if i were to ever get my car lowered or come across a rediculously large cement parking block, i'd just make sure i didn't pull forward past the nose of my car. the general consensus is that it adds about 15 rwhp. but this can vary depending on what else is done to the car. i've seen dyno graphs ranging from 12 to 18 rwhp so i figure 15 is about average. overall it's a great piece and im very happy with it. if you want to see pictures of it installed, go to the 2nd page of my cardomain site http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2209146

**nhraformula** · 04-20-2007, 04:45 AM

volant owner here

**Firebirdjones** · 04-20-2007, 06:13 AM

Unfortunately as you stated, it's not been talked about on here, so it's too late for me now. I went for the SLP version because it's the only one I was made aware of at the time. Too late to send that back. But I like the idea of this kit.
I checked your link, and interestingly enough it looks just like the SLP kit on the upper half,,,with just another section added to drop it below the bumper.
With a little effort I could make a piece to attatch to the existing SLP upper portion and drop mine below the bumper for the same affect, so all is not lost for me. Thanks for the info, Larry.

**greatwhiteZ28** · 04-20-2007, 11:24 AM

how far away does it sit from the radiator? compared to the ftra.
and does it include a block off plate to disable the ram air effect?

but fast toys might be by the raditor and the ssra is lil far away the adv. that the FTRA is that its bascally open fully and not the SSRA that is confined to a 12" long to about 2/12 high opening.

im still debating which one to buy after this thread is done

**greatwhiteZ28** · 04-20-2007, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Unfortunately as you stated, it's not been talked about on here, so it's too late for me now. I went for the SLP version because it's the only one I was made aware of at the time. Too late to send that back. But I like the idea of this kit.
I checked your link, and interestingly enough it looks just like the SLP kit on the upper half,,,with just another section added to drop it below the bumper.
With a little effort I could make a piece to attatch to the existing SLP upper portion and drop mine below the bumper for the same affect, so all is not lost for me. Thanks for the info, Larry.

you are not out of luck ftra made a kit just for your kit to work just like theres here is the link

http://fasttoys.net/shop/product_inf...products_id=42

**MikeSomething** · 04-20-2007, 02:08 PM

I have a K&N FIPK Gen2.
I cutout a hole on the bottom radiator cover it comes w/ just to suck in even more air in from the bottom. I also took off the plastic covers underneith the car. Didn't seem to hurt!

**nytmare** · 04-20-2007, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by nhraformula

volant owner here

I'm another Volant owner.

**Steve L** · 04-20-2007, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by nytmare

I'm another Volant owner.

x3 for Volant...it sounds like this one needs to be added to your survey.

Hey Larry...how are ya?

Steve

http://www.volantperformance.com/idetail.asp?ID=158

**greatwhiteZ28** · 04-20-2007, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by MikeSomething

I have a K&N FIPK Gen2.
I cutout a hole on the bottom radiator cover it comes w/ just to suck in even more air in from the bottom. I also took off the plastic covers underneith the car. Didn't seem to hurt!

are you talking abouth the blk air deflecter
?

**Firebirdjones** · 04-21-2007, 04:10 AM

Originally Posted by greatwhiteZ28

you are not out of luck ftra made a kit just for your kit to work just like theres here is the link

http://fasttoys.net/shop/product_inf...products_id=42

Thanks for that link, I wasn't aware of that. Definately something I am going to order now.

Larry.

**Firebirdjones** · 04-21-2007, 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by Steve L

x3 for Volant...it sounds like this one needs to be added to your survey.

Hey Larry...how are ya?

Steve

http://www.volantperformance.com/idetail.asp?ID=158

Hey Steve, I haven't heard from ya in a while. I am not sure if you sent any emails. My computer has crashed twice in the last 2 weeks and my wife is having a heck of a time dealing with it. I lost your email in the process.
Hope all things are good with you. Larry.

**juiced99ws6** · 04-21-2007, 09:21 PM

can the Volant be used with the Raptor hood? I dont particularly like my intake that came with the hood...

**Jon7I2** · 04-21-2007, 10:51 PM

SLP 1 here but i am interested in the FTRA conversion piece. Also, quick question about the ram air effect... Wen i installed my SLP CAI i cut out about 4 inches too wide of the factory plastic around the left and the right sides of the cold air scoop (where it sits at the top, just below the airbox). Do u guys think this will be hurting the ram air effect or does it not make any difference?

**Hot Black Trans-Am** · 04-22-2007, 03:31 AM

K&N FIPK here too.

**Anthracis** · 04-22-2007, 06:43 AM

Jon,

I don't think it will make much difference if you cut out too much. But it would not be a true ram air because there is no good seal around it. I think its fine though because of the amount of air that is sucked up under the car.

**Jon7I2** · 04-22-2007, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Anthracis

Jon,

I don't think it will make much difference if you cut out too much. But it would not be a true ram air because there is no good seal around it. I think its fine though because of the amount of air that is sucked up under the car.

Ok man, thanks a lot for the response. I think i'm gonna try to seal it up w/ something, but i rreally don't know what i could use. Have any ideas?

**MikeSomething** · 04-22-2007, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by greatwhiteZ28

are you talking abouth the blk air deflecter
?

No, they give you a replacement radiator cover (the piece that your lid sits on top of). It has no holes to pick up any air coming from underneith the car, & it's just a flat black piece of metal that the intake bolts onto. The plastic covers underneith are simply plastic shrouds I took off. I never touched the air deflector.

**Ripper415** · 04-22-2007, 09:45 PM

yea i dont really consider the volant and k&n fipk cai kits. they're basically just lids with open filters. i was only really referring to undercar boxes, that's why i only posted those in 3 poll options. to the guy who asked if the ssra comes with a blockoff plate, no it doesnt, but all you really need to do if you want one would be to cut out a piece of cardboard (from the box it came in even) to fit the size of the opening under the lid and put it in. you would only really need to do that if you decided to drive through a hurricane or something and were concerned about water getting in. but myself and many others have driven through pretty good rainstorms w/o problems so far.

**nytmare** · 04-23-2007, 05:21 AM

Originally Posted by Ripper415

yea i dont really consider the volant and k&n fipk cai kits. they're basically just lids with open filters. i was only really referring to undercar boxes, that's why i only posted those in 3 poll options.

Well, then you should have really called your poll, "Do you own an SLP, FTRA, or SSRA CAI?" You even stated you were specifically intersted in FTRA and SSRA systems.

The Volant, and other mentioned, are certainly CAI systems and work just as good as any of the others that have been mentioned so far. Also, the Volant (and maybe the fipk... I've never used one) is definintely not just a lid with an open filter. There's a bit more to it than that.

Anyway... off soapbox.