I don't know anything about physics or ram-air principles and I really don't care about going any faster in my '04 Z06...

That being said, I think the looks really cool

haltech

Now, where's that darn radar detector????

 

I don't know anything about physics or ram-air principles and I really don't care about going any faster in my '04 Z06...

That being said, I think the looks really cool

halltech

Now, where's that darn radar detector????

 

Not true. Density Altitude charts take in the effect on the engine performance. You only have to ask pilots who live in higher altitudes why they buy the same type of planes with turbo chargers.

 

I guess you are one of Vararam's faithful who actually think that you are getting some type of forced air from their intake. It ain't happening dude!. If there is any positive affect on horsepower it would be due to cold air not ram air. I have raced stock, superstock, supergas and super comp and have tested air scoops ad nauseum. I know(read that beyond a shadow of a doubt) what generates positive air pressure in an intake tract and what does not. THE BEST possible air scoop design needs almost 100 mph to show any positive pressure within it. If you add any type of filtering medium to the equation you will almost completely eliminate the positive pressure at any speed. Completely optimized, THE BEST air scoop design(pro stock style) is worth about 28 horsepower h.p. over none at all (at speeds over 160mph). You are correct about one thing though and that is the lack of common sense is truly amazing. -Bob

 

I love these so-called Cold/Ram Air threads. They really generate heated discussion and are fun reads. Me, I put on a Red Halltec Stinger, a hood seal, and opened up the Foglight Shrouds. Did I notice any performance improvement? Nope, but it looks good and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

 

No kidding. That's not what was said. Aircraft are rated for altitude, not depending on the air density on a certain day. Some of you people get so far off track I can't believe I even respond to a dumb statement like that.

Carry on. I'm outta this one.

 

..And you just keep digging yourself a deeper and deeper hole.. Good thing for our sake your an "engineer" and not a commercial airline pilot.

 

SO GETTING BACK ON TOPIC...

Anyone here have the Callaway Honker intake system? I'm thinking about it for my '02 coupe, but it's fairly pricey. About $500, not including installation.

 

But how does that relate to an air intake? Colder "denser" air from what?

 

Hey Rich..

Well, in my view it's pretty simple..

cooler air=more dense=more HP, all other parameters being equal..
hotter air=less dense=less HP, all other parameters being equal..

Air temp under hood=hotter..
Air from outside / front of car=cooler..

Again, I'm not sure how I became the "Vararam champion", when I have no intentions on installing one.. But that fact does not exclude its value as a performance enhancer.

 

The dyno is only part of the story. At the very least I would have wanted to see what improvement, if any, would have been realized on the track. And again, I would not have made just one run. I would have made a series of runs on different days and documented the results taking into account DA, vehicle weight if I could, air pressure in the tires, 60ft times, and any other useful data I could have gathered.

To see no gain on the dyno, is hardly a reason to remove it in my opinion. Especially considering how hard it is to install.

Now if it showed no measureable improvement on the track, after multiple attempts..............then off it comes

 

No kidding, after installing one of these I can not imagine pulling it so fast.

 

I could not agree more


If I didn't drag race then my car would be showroom bone stock. The reason why it is modified, and indeed the reason why it has the Vararam on it now and the Blackwing before that, is because I am looking for any edge on the track.........not the dyno........ I can get.

 

This is all obviously true, and one of the reasons I will be installing a Vararam. The other reason is also linked to the cooler outside air, not only making additional power due to more oxygen, but the cooler air also keeping the timing from being pulled back, which will sometimes occur when drawing in warm underhood air. This is particularly true when launching from a stop, after sitting for awhile. This happened to me, and proved somewhat embarrassing. Also, I figure the
Vararam is the safest, water-injestion-wise, CAI out there, though a person must be alert with any of them in wet conditions.
Ed

 

See you say that but in the other thread where you stuck your foot in more then your mouth. BQuicksilver had done the same thing with better results from the Vararam. But maybe EB20003 is the be all end all.

Thankfully that's not the case. Or nobody would ever buy LG headers

 

LGs headers are a very good choice. You cannot go wrong with them. But you cannot go wrong with a few of the other header choices out there either.

Aquaman, and everyone else; I have put over 300 miles on the Vararam so far, and I cannot for the life of me see how it would not improve my results at the track.

When you look at the design of the thing and what it actually does, take air in through intakes from outside the car and channel it directly to the throttle body, you ask yourself "why wouldn't this help?"

If you have ever driven along and put your hand out the window, and noticed the cooler temperature you felt as the car was rolling along at speed, much cooler than you would feel if the car were parked,..... and a hell of a lot cooler than if you could stick your hand through the firewall and under the hood..... you ask yourself "why wouldn't the Vararam work?"

Guys, it makes perfect sense to me. Too many people with absolutely nothing to gain by lying have reported improvement using it. The principles add up in that cooler air is more dense and carries more oxygen and that more oxygen results in more power.

It makes sense to me. I intend to give it a fair shake. I will be running it all season....

Furthermore..........I know about what a car with my modifications should run!!!!

I am about at the extent of the capabilities of my car with it's modifications. If anyone out there doubts me then find another car in my area, with my exact mods running quicker than mine is. This is not bragging, but last year with the Blackwing 12.5X is about all I could reasonably hope for. 12.4x if I really got lucky.

But my point is that if I listed my mods and asked people to guess my times, they would probably be in the 12.5 range. I know what a car with my mods will run. Indeed I modded it with the intent of making it competitive with, or slightly quicker than, a stock Z06 with an average or slightly better than average driver.

I know of one other person on this board to hit 12.20 with 3.42s, stock internals, 2600 stall, he had stock manifolds, and I believe he did it at a DA of around 500.

I could run from here to eternity with my last year's mods and never see 12.20. But if I see 12.2x with the Vararam or even 12.3x then I will certainly be a believer.

 

EB,

Realize I'm just giving you sh*t.

I am a believer in the Vararam. That;s why I have one now too.

I think the Blackwing was a great filter I had it for 3 years. But I have too many friends that simply went faster with just a Vararam swap. It makes sense on paper and it reacts well in real life.

Just that simple.

 

Oh, I know your statement about the LGs was in good fun
I got a grin out of it.

But I'll say it again, the more I drive around with this thing on my car, the more I am impressed with it. I am expecting measurable and demonstrable improvement from it this spring and summer. Especially this summer.

 

I believe you can make a HP gain with the air intake, but only minimal...you have to upgrade all the components to have a balanced increase. Intake,Exhaust, Fuel, and Ignition. Each one will help the others perform up to their potential. The air Intake by itself is only as good as your Mass Airflow will allow, but you need the fuel and spark to accomodate the extra air too.

 

The vararam is not completely worthless. It is expensive and hard to install and offers very little, if any, performance advantage over a tie wrapped K&N type filter. There is no measurable ram effect. The only possible benefit it may have is allowing cooler air into the engine. Put a thermometer where the stock intake ingests air and put another one where the Vararam ingests it's air. There will not be much difference while driving because G.M. has already arranged their unit to collect air that is cooler than where, say, an old muscle car might have(in the area of the carb/throttle body). My biggest problem with Vararam is the outlandish claim it makes. (This product is not alone in that area) I sold my Vararam because A. the guy running the dyno (a very knowledgable car person) varified what I already had suspected-that it was no better than what I had previously. And B. I had a buyer waiting for it and I was afraid he would buy a new one if I didn't act immediately. Now, I am like the other poster who bowed out of this thread because there is no winning this argument. If you like it great. I certainly have and like a lot of things that other people might find foolish. -Bob