[skiph]

All thoughts and comments are welcome and encouraged!

I have a C&L CAI + tune from VMP. Stock pulley and stock everything else. That making it easy to go back to stock when I take it in for service.

Now, having seen, and heard more about, JLT CAIs at a recent show, started me down the road of why not put on a JLT CAI.

Driven by two things:

• The throat of the C&L CAI is cast aluminum and get freaking HOT, and knowing there is an air temp sensor in there, even at speed, not sure if that would really drive the heat of the air coming in up and cost me some power (particularly when driving slow and/or in the heat of summer).
  
• The JLT seems to have more surface area, and thus should be able to get more air in with less effort. Oh, yea, they look cool too.

However if I'm going to do a JLT CAI, might as well do a stock-look VMP 2.65" SC pulley.
Oh, if I'm going to do a stock-look SC pulley, probably best to go with new plugs due to the extra boost.
Hummm....and with the extra heat from the smaller pulley, probably should upgrade my heat exchanger (so much for quickly being able to go back to stock look when I take it in for service)
Then ya know, with all that, having a trusted performance shop handle it and do a Dyno tune would have it handled best and get the most out of my mods (power-wise) possible.

All adds up a a NICE chunk of change and just keeps feeding on itself more and more...

So, is it really worth it? I pose the question to those with C&L CAIs on if ANYBODY has noticed any Heat Soak or other indications that the hot cast aluminum throat of the CAI is costing power.

Thoughts and comments from all on if the $2K or so investment would really make any noticable difference in, I mean feel it in the seat, power are welcome and encouraged as well.

[frydguy79]

i have the c&l and its great, the heat does not seem to affect it, according to various test results i have seen here and else where, and they make the same hp as well

[Dubstang]

I went through the same dilemma as you and ended up with VMP 2.65 stock look pulley, SCT tune by John Griggs and the JLT CAI. I gained 163 rwhp and 150 rwtq!! Was it worth it? Every single cent of it. It is seriously like driving a different car. The power difference is incredible and very very noticeable under just about any rpm range. The supercharger sounds entirely different and the car is truly a beast now. They were fast to begin with, but nothing like this. I will say though that adding this power came with it's challenges. The car wouldn't hook up stock or with the rear suspension upgrades I did (Saleen Watts link, lowering springs, shocks and LCA's) so how would it hook up with even more power? Answer is it just simply wouldn't. That meant that I had to re-do then entire rear-end and added up with the Griggs SS setup. It is amazing how the car hooks now. Way more grab off the start and much better control (zero wheel hop). Without the rear-end upgrade, I'm not sure I would have added the extra power. It seriously would have made the car borderline dangerous to drive in anything but perfect conditions. That said, once the car is out of first gear and moving along in 2nd, I think the extra power would be ok. Just know that it will be more to handle so if you do it, you may want to seriously consider upgrading the suspension. Power is not the problem with the design of these cars, the suspension is.

Also know that my car stock made 398 rwhp and 408 rwtq which is pretty low by dynojet and 2008 GT500 standards. However, the lower the stock number, the more room there is for improvement which is clearly noted by my gains.

I just had this work completed a week ago, so if you have any other questions, let me know.

Jim

[TexasShelby]

Great question! and as always on here, invaluable information.

Let me ask, I have a JLT, with an original tune that I think came from EVO, would there be a benefit to get a Griggs tune? And do you have a vendor for the VMP stock pulley? And about what boost would that be putting out?

Any info, would be most appreciated.

thx

[Dubstang]

I think John Griggs purchased my VMP pulley, JLT CAI and SCT tuner directly from Justin at VMP. John Griggs doesn't have a tune that I know of, but I would suggest you give him a call. (707) 939-2244 ext. 203. He dyno-tuned mine for me using the SCT tuner with his own tune which I must say is great. 11/5 A/F most of the way through and then even get's a little richer at then high-end. In other words, he could have safely pulled another 5 rwhp out of my car, but better safe than sorry. He didn't recommend cooling for me right now, but if and when I track it on a regular basis, I will need to upgrade.

My stock supercharger is now making about 13lb of boost, give or take a lb.

[GT500Tow]

C&L has done many test. You don't lose any HP from aluminum C.A.I.

[Skullkraken]

I have a C&L and tune which I purchased through EVO. I haven't seen any issue with the tube heating up with daily driving.

From what I've read, you'll be happy with either the JLT or the C&L on these cars. For me, I preferred the tune offered by EVO and the look of the C&L intake in the engine bay. Reminds me of the SS Kenne intake.

As Dubstang said, be ready for a different beast. With a good tune, these cars pull different and the overall power curve is insane. From a standstill I've unintentionally spun the tires due to a few wet oak tree leaves. LOL!! And even with that, I cannot wait to see what a smaller pulley and over better suspension will do. (Spring won't come fast enough!!)

This post has been edited by Skullkraken: 19 November 2009 - 01:42 PM

[skiph]

Thanks for the info all.

Good to know no big deal with the cast AL getting hot.

Also interesting to note there are differing opinions on if I would need to upgrade my H.E. with a 2.65 pulley. Wish there was a temp guage for that on the dash to be able to know post-install of the smaller pulley if the temp was creaping up to high.

I also never punch it in 1st (a rule for me), and only RARELY in 2nd.

OK...still thinkin

[Dubstang]

I can tell you that I went to Griggs for the purpose of buying and installing ONLY the power adders with a $2,000 budget. They were happy to do it, but recommended that I upgrade my suspension. Being a Team Shelby member, they discounted the rear suspension for me, took me out in a test car, and $5,000 total later, I was sold. Was it necessary to do the suspension? Absolutely not, but given that I will track my car more often in the coming years, it made sense for me to get it started. Not to mention that their setup, especially their torque arm, made a big difference for traction. I can actually now use first gear whereas before, not a chance....and that was when it was stock. If you're a decent driver, I'm confident the extra power will be ok for you to handle. You certainly don't have to go the Griggs route as there are many other setups that work quite well for daily street driving. I'm just fortunate that they are 30 mins away from me and were able to give me a good deal....by their standards.

As for cooling, I have been told now several times by many GT500 owners and experts that it is not necessary for spirited street driving. I drove 300 spirited miles last week with a bunch of Team Shelby members and never had any heat soak. Of course it was 68 degrees for most of the day.

Just my thoughts. Either way I really don't think you can go wrong. Keep your CAI, add a pulley and re-tune it and then see how you feel about the car. You can always add suspension later.

Jim

This post has been edited by Dubstang: 19 November 2009 - 02:58 PM

[428cj]

skiph, on Nov 19 2009, 12:10 PM, said:

All thoughts and comments are welcome and encouraged!

I have a C&L CAI + tune from VMP. Stock pulley and stock everything else. That making it easy to go back to stock when I take it in for service.

Now, having seen, and heard more about, JLT CAIs at a recent show, started me down the road of why not put on a JLT CAI.

Driven by two things:

• The throat of the C&L CAI is cast aluminum and get freaking HOT, and knowing there is an air temp sensor in there, even at speed, not sure if that would really drive the heat of the air coming in up and cost me some power (particularly when driving slow and/or in the heat of summer).
  
• The JLT seems to have more surface area, and thus should be able to get more air in with less effort. Oh, yea, they look cool too. I HAVE HAD BOTH CIA ON MY gt500 with 2 different tuners i like the c/l alot better no heat soak with either one Ialso like vmp tunes better the 2.65 is the way to go I will reccomend by summer you put on a new h/e if this is the only mods you are going to do get a used AFCO H/E but if you add more boost past 13.5 you will need a h/e with fans the 2.65 will make a big change in your car 428cj

However if I'm going to do a JLT CAI, might as well do a stock-look VMP 2.65" SC pulley.
Oh, if I'm going to do a stock-look SC pulley, probably best to go with new plugs due to the extra boost.
Hummm....and with the extra heat from the smaller pulley, probably should upgrade my heat exchanger (so much for quickly being able to go back to stock look when I take it in for service)
Then ya know, with all that, having a trusted performance shop handle it and do a Dyno tune would have it handled best and get the most out of my mods (power-wise) possible.

All adds up a a NICE chunk of change and just keeps feeding on itself more and more...

So, is it really worth it? I pose the question to those with C&L CAIs on if ANYBODY has noticed any Heat Soak or other indications that the hot cast aluminum throat of the CAI is costing power.

Thoughts and comments from all on if the $2K or so investment would really make any noticable difference in, I mean feel it in the seat, power are welcome and encouraged as well.

[428cj]

skiph, on Nov 19 2009, 12:10 PM, said:

All thoughts and comments are welcome and encouraged!

I have a C&L CAI + tune from VMP. Stock pulley and stock everything else. That making it easy to go back to stock when I take it in for service.

Now, having seen, and heard more about, JLT CAIs at a recent show, started me down the road of why not put on a JLT CAI.

Driven by two things:

• The throat of the C&L CAI is cast aluminum and get freaking HOT, and knowing there is an air temp sensor in there, even at speed, not sure if that would really drive the heat of the air coming in up and cost me some power (particularly when driving slow and/or in the heat of summer).
  
• The JLT seems to have more surface area, and thus should be able to get more air in with less effort. Oh, yea, they look cool too. I HAVE HAD BOTH CIA ON MY gt500 with 2 different tuners i like the c/l alot better no heat soak with either one Ialso like vmp tunes better the 2.65 is the way to go I will reccomend by summer you put on a new h/e if this is the only mods you are going to do get a used AFCO H/E but if you add more boost past 13.5 you will need a h/e with fans the 2.65 will make a big change in your car 428cj

However if I'm going to do a JLT CAI, might as well do a stock-look VMP 2.65" SC pulley.
Oh, if I'm going to do a stock-look SC pulley, probably best to go with new plugs due to the extra boost.
Hummm....and with the extra heat from the smaller pulley, probably should upgrade my heat exchanger (so much for quickly being able to go back to stock look when I take it in for service)
Then ya know, with all that, having a trusted performance shop handle it and do a Dyno tune would have it handled best and get the most out of my mods (power-wise) possible.

All adds up a a NICE chunk of change and just keeps feeding on itself more and more...

So, is it really worth it? I pose the question to those with C&L CAIs on if ANYBODY has noticed any Heat Soak or other indications that the hot cast aluminum throat of the CAI is costing power.

Thoughts and comments from all on if the $2K or so investment would really make any noticable difference in, I mean feel it in the seat, power are welcome and encouraged as well.