I installed a vararam yesterday on my '97 A4. Boy, what a pain in the azz. After some.....uh.....creative ingenuity, 2 people, a lot of cussing and about 3 hours.......we got it in.

But...... it was all worth it. I got a very noticeable gain in throttle response and low end torq. From a dead stop....... let off the brake and stomp it, before, I could barely tell the TC was doing anything if anything at all, and now.........it'll chirp real good and then it'll cut power like I took my foot off the gas and then immediately come back very lightly chirping for a good ways. From 15-20 mph and stomping it, it downshifts and goes chirp, chirp, chirp.......til about 35-40, and then it chirps pretty good when it shifts to second. It did not do this before the VR. My 0-60 mph is much better, and 70-? is a lot stronger also.

Today, my cousin and I went out to a job site of ours NW of us and did a lil' comparing, and all I can say is that my cousins '07 GT Stang w/tune, exhaust and CAI can't stay with it at any speed, 0-60, 30-75, 60-?, no matter what speed we started at, I just walked away......quick. It wasn't even close really.

I'm very pleased with the results of the VR, although, The instructions sucked and it is a little cheesy fit and finish-wise, it did fit, eventually.

If the VR alone improved it this much, I can't wait to get a tune.

Anybody with a vararam have screens over the intakes? I don't like the looks of the vents now.

Does it interfere with the effectiveness of the vr?

Oh.......by the way........I LOVE MY FREAKING VETTE!

 

I installed mine on Friday with the power duct. Popped a lean code right off the bat but a few hours later the man in brown showed up with the honeycomb screen from Halltech. So far so good.

On the Z06 we have the screen. I ran it without for a few miles and now have them back on. I did not notice any difference.

 

Good to hear. I just ordered a set of screens.

I installed the PD too and I have not had any codes. In order to make it all fit tho', I had to install it with the MAS in the stock position.

 

I'm glad you got it in. It does take a little work, but it's worth it. I love mine.

Since you're new to modding I hope you ordered the high quality screens. Vetteshop sells a good set. If they're below $70 they're garbage and you will hate them.

Oh yeah it won't affect the performance.

 

I went with the billet grilles and no loss in performance was noted. Done a couple other things since installing the grilles and each gain was felt by the a$$ dyno.

 

The VR is very nice unit. But watch out if you happen to have a flash rain.

 

Do tell.......


They are stainless steel and they were around $70. I'm gonna screen it out, brake ducts, side vent and rear bumper vents.

 

I have read on here about a few that did suck up water, I am sure it is rare, Just becareful in the rain, The air intake is a lot lower now. I am talking if you happen to hit a low spot in the road and has a lot of water built up.

 

Gotcha. 'ppreciate it, I wondered about that.

 

Congrats on getting the Vararam in. Heard that is it s PITA to install, but once there, the performance numbers speak for themselves.

 

I've seen the issue of "sucking up water" on here brought up. I've never heard of it actually happening. Can someone post up with an experience that water from rain has been a legit issue? If it has actually happend seems like we would hear about it loud and clear here. Conversely, there has been posts of people driving in hard rain with the Vararam with no problem at all, which is my actual experience too.

 

I didn't say driving in the rain, I am talking about hitting a low spot in the road filled with water during a rain or after and the VR intake sucking up water, It has happened and what happends is you hydroloc your motor in the worst case. Do a search.

 

I have never heard of a Vararam sucking up water,lol.Actually a stock intake is a bottom feeder and so the stock intake is much lower!The airfilter housing is higher,true,but it sucks air(and possibly water) from a much lower position.Though I would think both would be a remote possabilty at best.We have regular frog choker thunderstorms down here and none I know of have ever had a problem with a vararam.

 

Congrats on your mod...once you get a tune it'll really start to come alive and the vararam will start to shine! mind did. Basically just don't go driving through any puddles and you will never have to worry.

 

Hopefully not $70 all together.

There are the Z06 screens with the actual housing around them and the set with the rubber mold around them. The rubber mold set suck!

Anyways the VR sucking up water is a myth. If you take your C5 in deep enough water to hydrolock it with the VR the stock intake will do the same thing. Stay away from deep waters and you will be fine.

I've run my through the great downpours of Oklahoma plenty of times and my car is still running better than ever.

 

from a few years back

See the following thread for poll of CF members who have actually experienced hydralock .... only 8.33% were using a Vararam B2 , yes another 12.5% were using a B1 but that means 80% of actual cases where with other ( including stock) air intakes ! Halltech had 2x the incidence of the Vararam B2 and Vortex had 4 x the incidence....

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...sponsible.html

 

What was your old 0-60 and what's the new 0-60 time?

I have a 2004 A4 coupe with Vararam CAI and a CoW tune, and my 0-60 time is 4.5 seconds on standard street tires.


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Actually, they are they same screens that you referred me to, I just bought 'em from Corvettemods.com at 40% off.

I did not time it, but the initial jump from a dead stop was much better and I can just tell that it's pulling a lot harder in the lower rpm range. Before, it felt real boggy right off the line until it got up to about 2000 rpms then it would start pulling hard. Now, it's pulling hard right off the line.

 

I just got mine installed today as well. Really feeling the change in the throttle response. How much HP do you think it will add to my 97 C5 (not remapped yet) ?

 

Get screens!! I found a bird lodged in mine a few days after a spirited run, not good