Florida Vararam Owners
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 442
Likes: 0
From: Ellington CT
Florida Vararam Owners
I have an opportunity to get a used Vararam VR-1B at a really good price but worry about the hard Florida rains. I really have to wonder if water would get sucked up if driving on the interstate next to a semi that hits a large puddle and sprays the whole front of the car? Or even driving down a normal road here in central florida. I have been driving in a 35mph zone in a real downpour where the roads had standing water of about 2". A truck passed me and totally drenched my car. It is this sort of situation that worries me. My car is not lowered and I have no plans to lower it, so the inlet won't get any lower.
Have any of you had any problems with water? Do you worry about it?
I also wonder how well the filtration is? Any comments on that?
Have any of you had any problems with water? Do you worry about it?
I also wonder how well the filtration is? Any comments on that?
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,987
Likes: 0
From: Orlando FL
Cruise-In VI Veteran
go for it!!! 
did you get my PM responding to your question?? that day driving home from work i hit a BAD rainstorm. couldnt even see anything. my car is lowered on stock bolts, and again, i didnt have any problems.
you wont have any problems, but you might want to change your driving habits when its raining that hard just as an extra precaution. i usually slow down to about 45-50 max on the highways and put my flashers on. this way im not really riding on any cars a** to allow a huge puddle to be thrown at the front of my car.
buy it!
enjoy it! 
did you get my PM responding to your question?? that day driving home from work i hit a BAD rainstorm. couldnt even see anything. my car is lowered on stock bolts, and again, i didnt have any problems.
you wont have any problems, but you might want to change your driving habits when its raining that hard just as an extra precaution. i usually slow down to about 45-50 max on the highways and put my flashers on. this way im not really riding on any cars a** to allow a huge puddle to be thrown at the front of my car.
buy it!
enjoy it!
Pro
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 556
Likes: 1
From: Hollywood , Atlanta Fl
Wow I just moved to Florida and was wondering the same thing. I have the stock air cover removed and duct tape holding the air filter on (just testing) So I went to the scrap yard and got some trunk molding from a 300m installed it on the front as to seal the hood. I hope this works. I read in a post some one had engine lock from hard rain. 
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,987
Likes: 0
From: Orlando FL
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Wow I just moved to Florida and was wondering the same thing. I have the stock air cover removed and duct tape holding the air filter on (just testing) So I went to the scrap yard and got some trunk molding from a 300m installed it on the front as to seal the hood. I hope this works. I read in a post some one had engine lock from hard rain
dont forget to wave! 
anyways... removing the stock air box is a bad idea in my opinion. your really just leaving the filter open to any dust and rain. i did this for about a week, and i was always nervous when it rained. i put on the hood seal as extra protection. but it all just seemed half-a** to me.
i think people get the idea that there is this HUGE suction effect with the vararam, and that falling rain will just get sucked right up into the engine. to be honest i dont think there is enough suction to do so. when i installed mine, i took an air compressor and blew air up the front vents, and put my hand over the top where the filter is... didnt feel a whole hell of a lot. i know driving 60mph+ might be a little different, but nothing to worry about.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 149
Likes: 1
From: clearwater fl
Don't worry about the rain. I've had mine on for over a year and drove through the past three hurricanes that hit central florida(I'm in Tampa). I've never had a problem with water ingestion as far as rain is concerned, although you may want to avoid the puddles that you don't know how deep they are or spraying directly into the scoop using the high pressure sprayers at the local car wash. I put Z06 vent screens on mine so I'm not worried about leaves or other foreign objects entering the scoops. With the Varram system I've really only notice performance differences at higher speeds (70+mph), but as far as driving around town you won't feel it so much. Good luck.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 5
I loved my vararam. It made a huge difference on my 99. I really felt it improve my 1st and 2nd gear, believe it or not. Much less restrictive and much more free flowing. I have never heard of a single case of hydrolock using the vararam. I followed right be hind a huge truck in a rain storm and the mist didnt do anything. If you drive into a puddle that is so deep to hydrolock your vararam equipped car, chances are it would have happened with any airbox. I didn't bother with Z06 screens because its the stuff thats small enough to get through the screens that I was concerned about. A better filter would be good for that, like the k&n. I wouldn't worry about something big getting in there, if it was so big that the screens would have stopped it, it would never make it past the filter anyways. I say go for it.
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