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When you have a production vehicle that is made with copious amounts of carbon fiber, wouldn’t you want to keep it going elsewhere? That’s exactly what K&N filters [2] thought when they produced their ZR1 Corvette (and soon the ZL1 Camaro) air intake system.
“This intake was designed, developed, engineered and produced from our K&N facility in southern California,” said Bert Heck of K&N. “Not many intake companies can say that when it comes to producing a carbon fiber intake.”
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It’s is a very involved process when it comes to making a carbon fiber intake. The “wet” carbon fiber is hand molded around a mold, placed in a vacuum bag and then that mold is removed from the inside of the intake tube once the carbon fiber has cured. This ensures that the intake is truly made from 100% carbon fiber. “We originally built this intake for the owner of K&N’s ZR1 Corvette, but then we decided to turn this into a production piece,” said Heck.
This intake was designed, developed, engineered and produced from our K&N facility in southern California. – Bert Heck
So it looks pretty, but does it perform? K&N told us that they picked up 25-26rwhp on an otherwise stock ZL1. The intake is 100% bolt-on, utilizing the factory cold air induction and can be installed in less than one hour. Expect to pay a $799 premium for the carbon fiber intake, though would you really settle for less on a $100,000 car?
Expect to see the ZR1 intake on the streets coming in the next few months and the ZL1 Camaro intake arriving the end of November.