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Old May 17, 2016 | 08:23 AM
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Default cai question...

The only mods to my 04 is zip tie mod with the k&n filter,headers,catback, 160 Stat and tuned by ecs. Is it worth upgrading my cai or the zip tie mod is fine for street driven. I feel like the this mod is somewhat choking things up?? Your thoughts please..
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Old May 17, 2016 | 08:41 AM
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I say you are fine for being street driven. If you were into dropping a couple tenths in the 1/4 mile then I would suggest the Callaway honker or vararam.

Last edited by Scotty2000SS; May 17, 2016 at 08:42 AM.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 12:30 PM
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I have no evidence to back any of this up but these are my thoughts...with your basic bolt-ons I don't see the zip-tie mod choking the car up any. May there be a few ponies left on the table vs. going with say a vararam? maybe and probably but I can't imagine much. If you do decide to go with a different CAI setup, you may need retune for optimal results, something to contact ECS about.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 06:47 PM
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Spend your money elsewhere.

Also, flip your airbox upside-down and cut a rectangular hole in the radiator shroud underneath it to suck in cold air from outside the engine bay.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by skyavonee
Spend your money elsewhere.

Also, flip your airbox upside-down and cut a rectangular hole in the radiator shroud underneath it to suck in cold air from outside the engine bay.
He already did that, hence the "Flip tie" mod.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Scotty2000SS
He already did that, hence the "Flip tie" mod.
The OP just said he did the zip tie mod, which just means he removed the air lid and secured the filter with zip straps. Sky is telling him to flip the box and add a hole for it. First mod I did was the zip tie mod, then went with the vararam. Noticeable increase in power at speed with the vararam.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by MY03C5Z
The OP just said he did the zip tie mod, which just means he removed the air lid and secured the filter with zip straps. Sky is telling him to flip the box and add a hole for it. First mod I did was the zip tie mod, then went with the vararam. Noticeable increase in power at speed with the vararam.
Gotcha. I thought the 2 were the same but named by 2 different forum members.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by MY03C5Z
The OP just said he did the zip tie mod, which just means he removed the air lid and secured the filter with zip straps. Sky is telling him to flip the box and add a hole for it. First mod I did was the zip tie mod, then went with the vararam. Noticeable increase in power at speed with the vararam.
you actually answered my question.. an increase at "speed"key word. I was thinking of getting the vortex from breathless performance. Taking air from outside the engine bay has to be worth something...

Last edited by 04zjimc; May 17, 2016 at 09:30 PM.
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Old May 17, 2016 | 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by skyavonee
Spend your money elsewhere.

Also, flip your airbox upside-down and cut a rectangular hole in the radiator shroud underneath it to suck in cold air from outside the engine bay.
This is as good as it gets. It's simple and effective. You will notice ZERO difference between the flip-tie and the $ heavy variram.
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Old May 18, 2016 | 07:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop
This is as good as it gets. It's simple and effective. You will notice ZERO difference between the flip-tie and the $ heavy variram.
As good as it gets? It is good for a free mod but I really doubt its as good as the vararam. And what does $ heavy mean, that it's expensive? A vendor on this page sells them for $259.00. Performance mods don't get much cheaper than that for these cars.


.

Last edited by MY03C5Z; May 18, 2016 at 07:39 AM.
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Old May 18, 2016 | 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by MY03C5Z
As good as it gets? It is good for a free mod but I really doubt its as good as the vararam. And what does $ heavy mean, that it's expensive? A vendor on this page sells them for $259.00. Performance mods don't get much cheaper than that for these cars.


.
Well the flip tie is damn near free, that's about $257 less than the vararam.
Again, for a street car you will never feel a difference between the two and honestly the only real way to measure any difference is timed runs, back to back and I've done that. Spend your cash on something more practical. The vararam is also a pain in the *** to install and even worse to live with on the street.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 01:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop
Well the flip tie is damn near free, that's about $257 less than the vararam.
Again, for a street car you will never feel a difference between the two and honestly the only real way to measure any difference is timed runs, back to back and I've done that. Spend your cash on something more practical. The vararam is also a pain in the *** to install and even worse to live with on the street.
I disagree. The vararam is one of the best CAI available. And for the money is a steal in my opinion. The others like the Haltech are ~$500 or more. The vararam is a great option and the install is not that hard at all. I have installed 2 of them(one on my Z and another on my bro's Z) its rather simple and straight forward. The vararam is not problematic unless you drove through a large and I mean LARGE puddle of water or if you drove across a road that was flooded.

The vararam is a great choice and is backed by numbers at the track.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Ferg03 Z06
I disagree. The vararam is one of the best CAI available. And for the money is a steal in my opinion. The others like the Haltech are ~$500 or more. The vararam is a great option and the install is not that hard at all. I have installed 2 of them(one on my Z and another on my bro's Z) its rather simple and straight forward. The vararam is not problematic unless you drove through a large and I mean LARGE puddle of water or if you drove across a road that was flooded.

The vararam is a great choice and is backed by numbers at the track.
with the vararam a retune is necessary not a big deal....I can't see how there's NO difference. Even if it is a street car your still taking in outside air Not hot air under the hood.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 07:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop
Well the flip tie is damn near free, that's about $257 less than the vararam.
Again, for a street car you will never feel a difference between the two and honestly the only real way to measure any difference is timed runs, back to back and I've done that. Spend your cash on something more practical. The vararam is also a pain in the *** to install and even worse to live with on the street.
Many have shown proven 1-2/10 gains in the 1/4 with the vararam, thats pretty significant imo, not sure how accurate your testing was. I didnt find it that bad to install, might not be the best choice for a dd if you drive through heavy rain. I dont dd mine so it works fine for me. To each their own
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Old May 19, 2016 | 07:57 AM
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Originally Posted by 04zjimc
with the vararam a retune is necessary not a big deal....I can't see how there's NO difference. Even if it is a street car your still taking in outside air Not hot air under the hood.
Ive had the vararam for two years now without a tune. I did add a haltech screen to the intake to help the maf readings. A tune is a good idea but not required to install it. Getting mine tuned now since I also just installed LT's.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by MY03C5Z
Ive had the vararam for two years now without a tune. I did add a haltech screen to the intake to help the maf readings. A tune is a good idea but not required to install it. Getting mine tuned now since I also just installed LT's.
Mine is not a dd... did you get the power duct too?
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Old May 19, 2016 | 08:27 AM
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I live in south Florida, and you don't get more rain than that. Not one issue with the Vararam. It also wasn't hard at all to install, but I'm also fairly mechanically inclined.

As far as power vs the zip tie mod, I can't comment on that, but I have an '01 Z (the slow ones, remember?) and it trapped nearly 117 with a CAI/x pipe as the only mods, so I was pretty impressed with the performance.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by 04zjimc
Mine is not a dd... did you get the power duct too?
No just the VR. Heard the power duct didnt make much difference over the stock piece.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 10:54 AM
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Shop around. I wouldn't spend too much money on a CAI. I picked up a leftover/discontinued Halltech for ~$100 new in the box from a vendor a few years back.
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Old May 19, 2016 | 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by MY03C5Z
No just the VR. Heard the power duct didnt make much difference over the stock piece.
I guess more for looks!
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