[truckrglenn]

I was just scrolling thru e-bay looking at CAI's. What are these vendors thinking? Still asking top retail prices for parts for a car that is out of production.

I mean that there are 100's if not thousands of new CAI's out there. If they don't sell them, they'll have to keep them in storage. Which means paying storage fees and taxes every year when they do inventory.

If I was a parts supplier, I'd be selling parts for the Camaro at a bare minimum just to clear out most of my inventory and recoup some of my expenses.

Ok, I'm done, I'll get off of my high horse.

[Germansheperd1]

You are ranting about a part that will do absolutely nothing for your car.
The car is out of production BUT there are still new cars sitting on dealership lot in summer. Hardly time to fire sale parts.

[Abubaca]

We're a LONG way from parts not being made. -especially aftermarket parts. I play around thirdgen Camaros and c4 Corvettes, and LOTS of platform specific parts still being made for THOSE cars, and frankly more today than a few years ago, soooooo......I don't think we'll EVER see vendors trying to clear out inventory on many of these parts. Keep in mind once NEW car sales stop, the used car market takes over, and every NEW owner is a new chance to sell parts, even if the car isn't new. There will always be certain parts that won't sell, and you DO see those being discounted, by for the most part....not gonna see any major price drops.


As for the CAI, don't be afraid to look at Marketplace. Even if you have to buy a new filter, the rest of the kit will work just fine! Most of the sellers, (at this point) have sold the car and are just looking to recoup a few bucks.

[Evergreen6]

Does anyone sense the irony here? If you want it, pay the price. Simple as that.

Cleary, the CAI vendor is not suffering from a lack of demand.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by Germansheperd1

You are ranting about a part that will do absolutely nothing for your car.
The car is out of production BUT there are still new cars sitting on dealership lot in summer. Hardly time to fire sale parts.

Exactly.

And I don't understand why people always overlook great budget options, like the LT5 95mm TB and LT2 Intake Manifold? Sure, takes some extra reading to understand how to make everything work properly, but those are some of the cheapest gains you can throw at the LT1 platform. $180 for the LT2 Manifold from Rock Auto, $40 or $50 for the prep kit from Phastek for it. They make modification how-to's and adapters galore to fit the TB on anything. One should always port match as well if possible, but not always necessary. You can't touch any of the aftermarkets for that. 80-90% cheaper than the cheapest aftermarket manifold. Apples to Apples the $/hp you won't beat it. The cheapest MSD setup is like $2k with a 103mm TB. Though, none of these parts really do much for the LT1 alone. It has to be done as a build combination. One part at a time will just burn cash in tuning, at least put a road map together of what parts you want working together and what it will be in the end.

NA power is ridiculously expensive on the Gen 5 LT1 platform. But has always been expensive when considering $/hp gains regardless of platform. On the 4.6 Mustang, it wasn't even worth the $/hp return doing H/C/I. People did it anyway, of course. If you were only going to do 1 mod for quick gains, the best mod you could do would be E-85 and a tune. No other single NA part will yield more gains than that alone, and it compliments everything else you'd ever do to the car in terms of engine upgrades or FI.

[david_acm]

Yeah the new part prices are absurd, but you could've also bought an appliance car like a Corolla if you wanted cheap parts. Sadly the prices are what they are because someone (a lot of us, myself included) will pay those prices to improve our cars.

As Abubaca said, the marketplace is great if you want a particular part and wear isn't really an issue, like a CAI or a cat back.

I like how with $200 you can either get

A rubber hose with some fittings
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/m...t/model/camaro

Or a decent motherboard, completed with WiFi 6, 2.5Gb Ethernet, AM5 socket support, DDR5, etc etc
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-B650...dp/B0BH7GTY9C/

[m6-lt1]

Op, I agree with you although the intake prices aren’t as egregious as other parts. I still to this day can’t believe people spend 1k on an axel back and 2k on a cat back. Parts that truly don’t make more power.

Like others have mentioned check market place. For my last 6th Gen I picked up used borla atak axel backs for 450 so over 50% off. Barely used as well. It seems like when a new Gen of a car comes out, the parts for the older Gen get cheaper. Not sure what’s going to happen with 6th Gen parts since there will be no 7th Gen.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by david_acm

I like how with $200 you can either get

A rubber hose with some fittings <-- Cost of Labor, people involved. I just bought a rubber fitting for my Procharger kit, from Procharger. Cost me $80 and another $2x.xx to ship it. You think a couple ounces of rubber really cost that? Hell no. But the guy making them, he has to buy a CAI for his Corolla, too, ya know.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/m...t/model/camaro

Or a decent motherboard, completed with WiFi 6, 2.5Gb Ethernet, AM5 socket support, DDR5, etc etc <-- Machines assembled/packaged everything, very little labor involved. The inside of these chip plants is kind of scary, I've worked at a few and seen the process. It's also understandable how so many components get RMA'd. Maybe 1 out of 20 get real eyeballs on them. Of those, it's a very basic glance over. Higher end stuff usually gets better attention, some even tested before shipped.
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-B650...dp/B0BH7GTY9C/

Man I love it when people throw the "Why didn't you buy a Prius if you're concerned with fuel economy" attitude out there whenever someone mentions costs/efficiency in their sports car enthusiasm. I can't help but ask, if those things aren't of concern, why not just buy a Hellcat or Ford Raptor. Nothing like showing up to Cars & Coffee on an empty tank, and not enough bank left to buy a coffee while you're there. It's just an exaggeration, most people can readily afford to do what they do. Most of us just don't want to part ways with our cash, lol.

People just want to have their cake and eat it, too. That's all. I can relate. I'm crossing my fingers I'll still get 22-23mpg highway after my build is done.

Otherwise, we should all just buy E-cars. Never have to blush at chewed up cam and failed lifters again, melted ring lands, thrown rods, or spun bearings. Trailer them to car meets/tracks, break off ZL1's and ZR1's with factory E-juicers, and trailer 'em back home behind diesel chuggers and smile at the hypocritical irony of it all.

[david_acm]

Who's talking about fuel economy? My point was more along the lines of it being a niche hobby so we're paying niche prices for it. "Corolla" was just an [insert high volume car here] thing.

And sure, lower parts production can also increase the price, etc etc. That still doesn't detract from it being a very expensive hose.

[ChibbMD]

I couldn't agree more with the comments about looking at the used parts market. I have a nearly new car, so I don't want to put old beat up parts on my car. That said, I bought a CAI, axle-back exhaust, and MSD intake, all used, but like new condition. No one would ever know I didn't buy them new and I probably saved 30-40% off the new cost.

To the folks saying this mod doesn't do anything or doesn't make more power, we all know that not every mod is about chasing big HP gains. An axle-back exhaust is a great example. It may not produce more power but significantly changes the sound and experience of driving the car. That may not be worth $2,000 to some, but it might be to others. Some might want a CAI for aesthetic purposes. At the end of the day, everyone can mod their car for whatever reasons they see fit. That's the fun of this.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by david_acm

Who's talking about fuel economy? My point was more along the lines of it being a niche hobby so we're paying niche prices for it. "Corolla" was just an [insert high volume car here] thing.

And sure, lower parts production can also increase the price, etc etc. That still doesn't detract from it being a very expensive hose.

Wasn't implying anything, your statement just reminded me of that general stereotyping. I tend to be scatterbrained and long winded, I just wanted to share my opinion on what was quoted.

I paid $14xx for my Stainless Works NPP and still crying about it. But I love the way it sounds.

[Germansheperd1]

Originally Posted by GreyGhost702

Exactly.

And I don't understand why people always overlook great budget options, like the LT5 95mm TB and LT2 Intake Manifold? Sure, takes some extra reading to understand how to make everything work properly, but those are some of the cheapest gains you can throw at the LT1 platform. $180 for the LT2 Manifold from Rock Auto, $40 or $50 for the prep kit from Phastek for it. They make modification how-to's and adapters galore to fit the TB on anything. One should always port match as well if possible, but not always necessary. You can't touch any of the aftermarkets for that. 80-90% cheaper than the cheapest aftermarket manifold. Apples to Apples the $/hp you won't beat it. The cheapest MSD setup is like $2k with a 103mm TB. Though, none of these parts really do much for the LT1 alone. It has to be done as a build combination. One part at a time will just burn cash in tuning, at least put a road map together of what parts you want working together and what it will be in the end.

NA power is ridiculously expensive on the Gen 5 LT1 platform. But has always been expensive when considering $/hp gains regardless of platform. On the 4.6 Mustang, it wasn't even worth the $/hp return doing H/C/I. People did it anyway, of course. If you were only going to do 1 mod for quick gains, the best mod you could do would be E-85 and a tune. No other single NA part will yield more gains than that alone, and it compliments everything else you'd ever do to the car in terms of engine upgrades or FI.

It appears OP’s car is a V6?