ANGRRMGT

hi to all, have any of you experienced problems with getting the vararam vr1b airbox sealing properly to the ram air tubes. i bought it form west coast corvettes and they included the foam gaskets to insert around the air filter. it also came with a k&n air filter. i attempted to use these foam gaskets aboveand below the air filter but to no avail, i'm getting air leaks and the foam gaskets dont sit well. so i called vararam and they said had i bought it from them, they already glue the foam gaskets to their air filter(not k&n) and i would have no problem getting gaskets to seal to airbox. so my question is, have any of you, who use the vararam air filter, have any sealing problems. i cant get the airbox to properly seal even without any foam gaskets, i ordered the vararam filter with gaskets glued and i'm hoping for the best..any help would be appreciated.at this point, i think i might have to seal air box edges with black duct tape to get a good tight seal. please help!!! thanks :banghead: :banghead:

ANGRRMGT

ttt..help!!!!

LTC Z06

I tell a mod to post this in C5 tech.

stngh8r

ttt 4 ya. i'm curious too. i have the old style filter and the foam around the side seems to seal everything. Its the filter media itself i'm having fits with, i sure hope the new filters are a little more durable. I love the vararam design, but my filter is falling apart with not many miles.

ANGRRMGT

well, i'll let all of you know how well the "vararam filter" with foam gaskets already attached fits and seals..hopefully this will cure my air leak problems. i have a feeling though it wont. seems my other problem is getting airbox to fit over air tubes properly, one side pops off slightly, i think i might have to literally screw down the airbox to the ram air tubes..we'll see...i get filter tomorrow...

kca009

with the K&N filter you have to use either dura bond or super glue on each filter in all there are 3 filters that Vara Ram sends you with the K&N, you have to glue them one by one, takes about 15 min.

Once you have the gastics on you never have to worry about it again, so take you time.

The K&N filter is more trusted and that's what I'm running in my Vara Ram.

The VARA RAM Filter is actually a little better for performance, but you loose a little to the K&N protection. Big advanage about the Vara ram filter is you don't have to glue the gastics, it comes ready to go. price 49.99 :troll :hat

Patches

I'm using the K&N in my VaraRam but I finally had to glue the gasket to seal the airbox despite the modification I did to create a more positive seal like this:

VaraRam airbox mod

It's working well now after gluing the gasket in.

tabbruzz

I recently installed the vararam with thier foam filter. I too had sealing problems where the inside of the cover would not seal with the bottom portion. This was the side touching the shroud. I finally took off the air bridge, maf and coupler and started from scratch. I found that the connection to the maf and airbridge was key. Adjust everything just right and it will seal properly. Mine is perfect now and stays sealed....Tony

53-2-03

I used the VaraRam filter and have NOT a problem. Use the correct one...the VaraRam filter!

Remember, a K & N filter is an "aftermarket" filter in regarding VaraRam equipment!

I'm sure you will be satisfied when you receive the VaraRam filter!!!

ANGRRMGT

well, thank you all for your responses to my sealing problems. as it turns out, after i received the vararam filter, i put it in and it seals perfectly. i blew air into the air ducts with my leaf blower, and i dont feel any air leaking out. so, i guess i'm good to go. i've yet to test it on the track or with some high speed passes, but the car feels a bit stronger around 60-70 mph..so we'll see. thanks again to all.... :thumbs:

MikeyD

How important is it to have a "perfect" seal with the Vararam or any other air intake before the MAF housing? Is it for fear of getting a little dust in the intake or is there some sort of detrimental affect on the performance of the motor? I'm not being sarcastic it's just I hear people panicking over a small air leak and I'm just trying to figure out why. Since any air leak caused by the Vararam install is going to occur BEFORE the MAF sensor, I can't see how it would affect performance. And unless you live down a dirt road, I don't see how you could suck in enough dust to be concerned. Is there something else I'm missing? :confused:


[Modified by MikeyD, 10:55 PM 5/9/2004]

Power Shifter

[QUOTE]How important is it to have a "perfect" seal with the Vararam or any other air intake before the MAF housing? Is it for fear of getting a little dust in the intake or is there some sort of detrimental affect on the performance of the motor? I'm not being sarcastic it's just I hear people panicking over a small air leak and I'm just trying to figure out why. Since any air leak caused by the Vararam install is going to occur BEFORE the MAF sensor, I can't see how it would affect performance. And unless you live down a dirt road, I don't see how you could suck in enough dust to be concerned. Is there something else I'm missing? :confused:


Contrary to some of the non ram air believers on the fourm, it does make a performance diferance at least on my car geting a good seal. Dusty roads? there are places at out track in the pits that are dirt and/or sand, everything gets dusty after a day of raceing, and NONE of it get through my vararam filter. I diden't notice if you have a VaraRam? if you don't my guess is you have been somehow confused.;) Ric

LBear

I have the Vararam and run the V-Ram air filter. I removed the housing before the MAF and NOT a bit of dust/dirt. It was as clean as new.

The new V-Ram filter does work and filters very well. Just clean out the filter every so often.

MikeyD

Actually, I do have the Vararam and have for about six months now. When I first installed, I had an air leak around the halves of the Vararam housing. I was running a 12.85 in the 1/4. After all of the hoop-la about air leaks, I decided to go back and try to seal the vararam better and managed to do so. Zero leaks. Back on the track, my time was no better. In fact, it dropped to 12.92. I attribute it mostly due to conditions. But the point is, I personally have not seen or have felt any performance difference with or without a leak. Maybe if you had a larger leak, I could see where you would probably have some differences. But a minor leak?? As to dusty conditions, again, I would be concerned with a major air leak for sure. But a minute air leak, unless you drive in VERY dusty conditions, I doubt you're going to hurt anything. I often travelled down a base rock road to my inlaws and the dust can be very thick. Even with the small air leak, I never noticed any dust or dirt to speak of in or around the throttle body throat. And, the oil always looked clean.
My point is that sometimes I think we get a little **** about these things and drive ourselves nuts about it for no reason. Again, a larger air leak could be a concern but its hard to judge what is considered a "substantial" air leak and what is a "negligible" air leak. For me, I just had a "negligible" air leak. Just my .02

The Vararam is a great system and I'm very happy with mine! My previous C5 had the 'other' brand and I must say, the Vararam is better.

No flame intended ....... and I'm sure I'm in for it now!! :cheers:



[Modified by MikeyD, 8:46 AM 5/10/2004]