The V8 Camaro SS is a potent muscle car, with more than 400hp on tap from the LSx underhood, but there’s a good bit more power to be gained with just a couple of bolt ons. That’s why this 2014 Camaro SS came to the Mod Experts for more oomph. In this installment, this Camaro SS gets K&N Air Intake to give it the breathing capacity it needs.
The Camaro rolled in already equipped with a Solo Performance Mach XL Cat-Back Exhaust for Camaro SS, meaning the car already had the flow it needed on the exhaust side.
With its unique J-Pipes, the Solo Performance cat-back is drone free while simultaneously delivering an incredibly beastly exhaust note. Since the motor can breathe out just fine, it was time to do something about the Camaro Intake.
Here’s one last look at the stock intake arm and airbox. The accordion section of the stock inlet tube takes quite a bit away from the airflow going into the throttle body, and the stock airbox and filter are designed to muffle sound, further reducing power. What’s more, you might notice a big weird plastic tank hanging off the OEM inlet tube. That thing serves no purpose but to rob you of horsepower.
To let the LSX under the hood breathe free and easy, we replaced the restrictive OEM airbox with a K&N Air Intake for Camaro SS. While there are other options that perform better these days, K&N Air Intakes are a classic go-to for muscle car guys and many like sticking with the brand they’ve used for so long.
The K&N Air Intake for Camaro SS eliminates that weird box hanging off the filter, gets rid of the accordion flex section that screwed up airflow, and replaces the low-flowing paper filter with a high flow conical filter with much more surface area. What’s more, a heat shield isolates the filter from the rest of the engine bay to help ensure it’s only drawing in fresh air from outside the engine bay (rather than the 200*f air under the hood). What’s more, the polished tube looks great under the hood if you’re into the bright/chrome look, and it’s worth mentioning there’s a black version available as well for those of you who like to keep it clean looking (like me).
Check out the dyno chart for the intake alone above. With the enhancements in flow and elimination of the restrictive sections, the K&N intake is good for a 18hp gain and almost 19tq gain at the wheels from the intake alone- and the larger filter and heat shield will also give you a more satisfying engine note every time you stab the throttle.
From this angle, you can appreciate how big a difference the massive tips of the Solo-Performance Cat-Back Exhaust for Camaro SS make in the appearance of the car. With a cat-back exhaust, you can expect a gain of around 20hp and 18tq to the wheels, meaning that with JUST the intake and exhaust, this Camaro SS is probably putting 30-40hp and 30-35tq down at the wheels than it was from the factory. It just goes to show how responsive the LSx is to mods – and it’s worth mentioning that a few other performance tweaks along the way can make an even bigger difference (like a throttle body, ported intake manifold, a tune or a cam) with relatively little effort.
While we may work on a lot of european cars, this Camaro illustrates just how diverse the spread of cars we get into the shop here really is, and proves we’re just as comfortable wrenching on domestic muscle as we are high performance BMW turbo sixes and Mercedes Benz AMG models all the way to the extreme of zippy little turbo Fords. If it’s late model performance, the Mod Experts at ModBargains can make it better.
Want to mod your Camaro? Whether you’re on a budget or can spend like a baller, we’ve got a number of options to suit every style and budget ranging from Grassroots Racer budget to DTM Race Car – and at the other extreme, quarter mile drag race kings to Airstrip attack top speed monsters– we can help make the car in your driveway do the things you’ve always imagined.
We invite you to talk to our Mod Experts– give us a call at 714-582-3330 today, chat live at ModBargains.com, email us, or just stop by and visit our SoCal showroom any time between 8-5 Monday-Saturday in La Habra, CA.
Thanks for joining us, we hope you enjoyed the photos. See you next time!
Story & Photo Editing Nick Gregson
Want to know more about Modding your Camaro? Check out our guide to the Best Mods for Gen 5 Camaro [Zeta Platform] here.