Use the 'search' function. No one will ever agree on the Vararam but I think most agree it's a poor filter.

Bob

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with it. I do think some people are overly **** about the car and worry too much about the filter ability of the vararamm foam filter.
In the end, any filter is a trade off. As the engine is a huge air pump; the more air you can get into and out of it the more hp it will make. An air cleaner that filters extremely well will decrease the amount of air that can get into the engine and thus rob hp. Whereas, a more free flowing air cleaner will not filter the air as well but, will produce more hp. So each person will have to decide where they will sit. Do you want more power or do you want really clean air going into the engine????

If you want the best filtering, sitck with the paper filter.

Personally, I have not had any problems with the Vararam filter and have been using it for over a year.

 

That is probably a call on your part once you get it. I just didn't trust it to protect my car and there is no going back if something happens. I like the Vararam idea and went a different route on the filter. Just my opinion, you need to evaluate the filter and where you drive.

 

A lot of the stuff we are putting on our cars can and will possibly shorten the lifespan of vital parts in the car. If not the entire car.

From high stall converters, to aftermarket cams, forced induction and nitrous, drag radials, aftermarket programming, etc.

If you want your car to live long and die a natural death, then don't modify it.

 

I've had the 1b now for a year and a half through dust, heavy rain and at times, lots of neglect. I've posted several times before regarding how well it's been working and how little need there is to worry about water. I still stand by all of that. Recently however, I punched it out of a parking lot and the engine started running erratically. i couldn't check it till home that night and found that the filter had been gulped up in towards the MAF, sideways. I cleaned it, straigthened it out and put it back in and it's been running fine. It is though looking a little ragged and am thinking of going to a K&N or a more robust Vararam filter, if they make one. Whatever I put in I will secure it in place with silicon or whatever works. Anybody have experience with getting these filters more secure? The fit of the plastic at the filter seems a little loose too and I'm concerned about sucking in raw air.

 

I purchased a Vararam two years ago. Never put that thing on my car. Got a Blackwing and put that on. Any breather mounted in front of the radiator with a good filter will perform as well as any other.
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I didn't miss anything...I just don't agree and don't know where you base your statement. I am basing my comments on personal experience (my own) of both filters and the knowledge that the Vararam has proven to provide *some* level of positive pressure to the intake AT SPEED. Whether it is a few ounces or a few pounds doesn't really matter to me. It's all good. If the Blackwing were to do the same, you can trust that Donaldson would take credit for it--they don't.
Both are great filters from a performance standpoint IMO, the vararam is just a little better. The filter media needs some attention. I am trying to see what Patrick can do for me right now in that regard.

Bill

 

Hey Bill, we're . I base my opinion on 35 yrs engineering experience. There is no such thing as ram air with the Vararam or any other breather. The only reason the Vararam may perform better than others would be due to the poor filter.

I say if you put a decent filter on it you will see comparable results with any other breather mounted in front of the radiator.

This was posted by Tracy Lewis "but we are racing this car 2-3 times a week and we saw the best performance w/the Vararam....but only 2-4 hundreths in the 1/4 (with all factors considered...DA, Temps, Fuel load, Track prep, etc."

A lot of people agree with me and a lot of people don't. I'm outta this one cause no doubt the retards will be showing up. Keep the shiny side up and I hope you resolve your filter situation to your satisfaction.

Bob

 

Laying the groundwork for your "concession speech" eh, Korreck.

Of course he is prepared to prove this with before and after results of a Vararam running it's supplied filter and a "good" filter. Or is he?????

I guess we will just have to take his word for it based on his 35 years of experience with model trains.

There are more people who disagree with you than those who agree with you.

Initially he says that the Vararam does not work. Now he implies: "yeah, it may perform better. But it is due to the poor filter and nothing else."

Only problem is that there are those who run the K&N filter with the Vararam, who report better performance as well.

If it is as some imply, only the "cheapness" and the "excessive flow" of the Vararam filter then why doesn't the Vararam outperform the Blackwing on the Dyno??????

Another one of your misleading posts.

He neglected to mention that this is what Tracy noticed in difference between a previous cold air intake which Korreck says is BS anyway, and the Vararam. And I believe the prior CAI intake they had used was a Breathless product of the cut radiator shroud design.

As I recall that initial comparison post between his prior Cold air intake and his Vararam Tracy mentioned the significance of the results considering the type of racing they use the car for. I recall others in that thread pointing the relative "insignificance" of a 2-4 hundredths difference. I vaguely remember Tracy replying that 2-4 hundreths in their case could mean the difference between success and failure.

Do a search and you will find Tracy's original comparison post with regard to the Vararam. It is a post of about a year or so ago.

 

Korreck,
What is your engineering degree in and what kind of work do you do? No flames here, just wondering.

Bill

 

Korreck I've seen more than one or two posts by you in regards to the Vararam. Why do you have such a hard@n for them? To each his own but you really seem to be on a vendetta. I know no such thing as ram air, exaggerated performance claims yada yada. And really you know how people are about their cars and mods on this forum. Nobody wants to hear how bad the product they have is. Over and over and over.

 

The important topic of this thread is to determine if a better filter exists for us Vararam users. Please don't let it detour to the age old discussion on Ram Air vs .

Just my $.02

 

I put in a K&N 33-2522. It doesn't fit perfect. I had to trim the corners to get the radius to match the Vararam cover. I also had to trim the length about 1/8". Once it fit good, I got four finger clamps from Sears and a little piece of wood. I put a bead of silicone around the inside of the cover and then put the K&N onto the silicone. Using some wax paper to prevent sticking, I used the wood to hold the ends of the filter down with the finger clamps. Once this cured overnight, I went around the filter with a bead of silicone and smoothed it out and let that cure overnight as well. The filter is now leak proof around the edges. I figure you can clean the filter by simply leaving it in the cover and removing the cover/filter as a unit.

I have also contacted one of our forum vendors about getting a special filter from S&B filters that will fit the Vararam. There is some interest in doing this but it will likely be a while before we see anything so for me the K&N is the best route. As previously stated, I will know next winter if the filter works because my oil analysis will show any filtration issues.

 

Sounds interesting. wondering if you took any pic's so you could post as a DIY project. Thanks for sharing

Ed

 

Out of curiosity, and this may not be reasonable as I do not know the thickness of the K&N edges, did you think about using the LAPD Vararam filter in conjunction with the K&N? In other words make a filter "sandwich". That way the Vararam foam edges could act as the edge seal, and basically, the lion's share of the filtering would be performed by the K&N. I do not believe the restriction would increase much over the pure K&N as the Vararam foam is very thin and I've got to believe its restriction, and filtering action, is minimal, at best. As I said, this may be a foolish and totally infeasible thought, but was wondering, so thought I'd throw it out. Be gentle!
Ed

 

Ed,

The LAPD filter is actually pretty thick. It wouldn't fit with the K&N at the same time. I did assemble the unit with no filter to see how it fit together. Now with the K&N and silicone seal, the filter lid fits in about 1/8" less than before. This tells me it is against the K&N filter flange and holding things in place so I am not totally dependent on the K&N fit to get my seal.

 

Thanks. Not quite sure what to do here...buy the K&N, and seal as you did, or wait and see if a new filter comes out for these things. I have not installed my Vararam as yet.
Ed

 

I have the newer filter and is made up of 3 diffrent density foams, The perimeter or gasket part doesnt let any air through. It is large and thick enough to provide a good seal at the joint where the filter box joins to the intake piece I did a scientific test I tried sucking air through it with my mouth . The acctual filtering part is made up of 2 layers the primary to catch the bigger particles and the secondary layer that is suppose to filter down to 6 microns ( K & N claims 5.5). There is a metal wire grid that is located on the top ( closest to the MAF ) that keeps the filter from being sucked into the intake. It works for me!

 

Thats exaclty the kind of info I was looking for. The Vararam filter will provide equal filtering compared to the K&N. 5.5 vs 6 is miniscule