Chevrolet Camaro 2010-2015: Air Intake Reviews and How-to
A cold air intake is one of the first mods most people do to their Gen 5 Camaros. Find out how to install your own kit below!
This article applies to the Fifth Gen Chevrolet Camaro (2010-2015).
A cold air intake is an excellent bolt-on mod. From the factory, most intakes have restrictive flow and baffles that muffle some of the intake noise from your LS3. When you are looking for maximum performance, you install a cold air intake because it makes the pathway for the intake air much smoother and increases flow. Since the engine is basically an air pump, feeding it more air allows it to become more efficient and make more power. Find out how to replace your stock intake below! The tutorial below will be for the LMR Intake, please check your instructions to make sure the steps are the same.
Table of Contents
How to Replace Your Air Filter
Materials Needed
- Flat head screwdriver
- Cold air intake kit
- 10mm socket and ratchet
- T-20 Torx driver
Step 1 – Intake removal
Locate your air filter assembly on the driver's side of your engine bay. Then, begin the removal process by loosening the hose clamps coming off the throttle body. Afterwards, remove the EGR tube on the lower passenger side of the intake tube. Then, remove the two 10mm nuts shown in Figure 2. Finally, remove the MAF connector and the intake should be ready to be lifted out of the engine bay. Once the intake is out of the engine bay, you need to remove the MAF sensor from the stock intake tube by removing the two T-20 Torx screws and pulling it out.
Figure 1. Intake clamp and EGR hose. 
Figure 2. 10mm nuts. 
Figure 3. MAF sensor removal. 
Figure 4. Pulling out intake assembly.
Step 2 – Start installing cold air intake
Next, install the MAF sensor from stock intake onto your cold air intake. This is done by simply inserting it into the slot in the new intake. Make sure the direction of air flow matches with the one on the MAF sensor. Then, install the provided heat shield into the engine bay. The LMR kit reuses one of the stock mounting location where the old airbox was held on with a 10mm nut.
Step 3 – Finish installing intake
Then, simply slide the new intake tube into the heat shield and onto the throttle body loosely. Then, get everything in position and clamp it all down. Make sure that you do not over-tighten any of the clamps, as the intake tube can crack. Lastly, you must install the provided filter by clamping it down to the end of the intake tube and reinstalling the MAF sensor connector. Congrats, you are done with your intake install!
Figure 6. Intake tube on throttle body. 
Figure 7. Air filter install.
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The aftermarket parts industry for the Gen 5 Camaro is huge! There are tons of options for aftermarket cold air intakes and some of the top choices are shown below.
Cold Air Inductions |
Halltech Yellow Jacket |
K&N |
Roto-Fab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Price |
$398 | $450 | $300 | $360 |
Finish |
Chrome |
Satin Black |
Satin Black |
Satin Black |
Fitment |
Great | Good | Great | Good |
Power Gains |
15 RWHP | 15 RWHP | 18 HP | 15 RWHP |
Sound |
Loud | Medium | Medium | Loud |
Best Value: K&N
Cold Air Inductions
Price – $398
Finish – Chrome
Fitment – Great
Power Gains – 15 RWHP
Sound –Loud
The Cold Air Inductions intake is unique in that it seals the top of the filter from the engine bay. This makes sure that any hot air in the engine bay is not reaching the intake charge, which will lead to increased power. Additionally, CAI provides heat shield padding on their heat shield, which keeps more heat off of the filter. If you want the coldest cold air intake, Cold Air Inductions is a great choice! Recommended for its performance.
Halltech Yellow Jacket
Price – $450
Finish – Satin Black
Fitment – Good
Power Gains – 15 RWHP
Sound – Medium
Using their experience with building induction systems for Katech, one of the premier racing engine builders, Halltech came out with the Yellow Jacket Intake for the Camaro. This intake features a one-piece intake tube for easy install and provides a smooth path for air to shovel into your engine. Their design is simple, yet effective. However, this intake is the most expensive of the intakes we have compared and it doesn't provide the protection from the engine bay like the Cold Air Inductions intake does. If you want a simple and proven intake with heritage, then the Halltech may be for you. Recommended for its easy installation.
K&N
Price – $300
Finish – Satin Black
Fitment – Great
Power Gains – 18 HP
Sound – Medium
K&N is one of the most well-known brands when it comes to cold air intakes for any vehicle. With such a great reputation in the industry, their Camaro intake doesn't fall short in any way! Install is easy and the power gains are proven. K&N claims to provide the most horsepower increase with this kit than any other intake on the market, and dyno graphs have supported this claim in the past. If you want a proven performer, K&N is the way to go. Recommended for its reputation.
Roto-Fab
Price – $360
Finish – Satin Black
Fitment –
Power Gains –15 RWHP
Sound – Loud
Roto-Fab is well known to provide some of the best quality intakes to aftermarket. Although their design appears similar to many of the others available on the market, they have designed their heat shield to seal against the hood to eliminate engine heat from entering the intake charge. Another advantage to this intake is that it doesn't require a tune; although, the gains will be greater if the tune is optimized. They can also paint the intake shield any color your want, so if that is something you are interested in, Roto-Fab is the way to go! Recommended for its performance and paint option.
Related Discussions
- Halltech CAI - LS1Tech.com
- Halltech Yellow Jacket - LS1Tech.com
- What's the Best Dry CAI - LS1Tech.com
