currently have the vortex rammer and i keep hearing all the good results from the vararam. do you guys think it will be worth it to switch and sell my vortex setup???

 

I am a big vararam fan, but I really do not think the difference between the two would warrant the expense and work to change them out. I would guess they are within 1 tenth of each other in the qtr mile.

 

 

According to a reputable tuner the difference will be felt at speed though no difference will show up on a dyno

 

only at speed, dyno will be the same

get the Vararam

 

Having done what you are contemplating, it's money well spent. That is of course if you race it.
Bob

 

Same boat as you

 

yes i race it i was looking to get a tune and wondering if i should switch intakes before i do

 

Yes you should switch the intake before the tune. Any mods should be done before tuning so the tuner can adjust for them. Switching from the vortex to the vararam and getting a mail order tune from the Vette Doctors I picked up 4 tenths and almost 4mph in the 1/4. Check my signature, the motor has not been touched and i'm not spraying. Mods are all listed.

 

need some help order the Vararam, waiting for it to come in then i will need someone to install it (am in Iraq want be home until march)am looking for someone in the Augusta area that works on vette's if anyone one the board could help me out.

 

Stick with the Vortex. Both are true cold air intakes, there is no true ram air (pressurized) system. The Vortex has a better filter, search on dirty throttle bodies and see what the vararam doesn't filter. With equivalent filtration you won't see any difference in performance, on the dyno or at the track.

 

Some pretty bold statements. Any proof?

No true ram air! If there was no such thing as ram air your radiator would get pretty hot, yes there is ram air, it is an automotive term used for many years and yes it does exist. Here we go again, whenever I hear this I picture a egg headed professor getting his A$$ handed to him at the drag strip, as he stands there scratching his head with a slide rule in his hand.

Dirty throttle bodies, yes I do remember that , unfortunately after that happened about ten times as many people posted clean TB's with a vararam install. I think we all know just because a couple of people did not install the filter correctly and screwed up the throttle body that is not a very good testimony on how well the vararam filters. If you install the filter correctly you will not dirty up your TB. I know, I have used the vararam in two different C5's which were daily drivers spring, summer, fall and it filtered fine. Plus I believe the vararam is coming with a new filter anyway.

I sure would like to see these comparisons at the track with the vararam and the vortex. I only remember one and the vararam did indeed outperform the vortex. Not by much but if I remember it was around a tenth. I wonder where that tenth comes from, maybe the ambient air being forced up the intake tubes, no that can't be, where is my damn slide rule.

As I said before I don't think you will see a big enough difference to make it worth while but lets not get carried away with the facts here.

 

With that said I hate disagreeing with a fellow Air Force man, sorry.

 

..And more to the point, the A&A example was from a supercharged car!

Would I trust the Vararam and it's suspect sealing on a FI motor? Absouletly not.

Get a Vararam as cheaply as possibly, ditch the silly foam filter, install a K&N, seal it with some weather strip material, you are done.

 

Really I did not realize it was supercharged. Interesting, well that may have contributed to the problem.

For the thread starter, I think Tracy at Tracy's racing tested the vortex vs vararam. He had a thread posted about it. He ended up choosing the vortex although the vararam out performed the vortex by a little. I think he mentioned he thought the vortex gave him more consistent times. (Please search for the actual thread because I am going by memeory here and it is a pretty old post)

Hey if you are mechanically inclined I guess I would switch them. For me the vararam was difficult to install, so I probably would just stick with a vortex if it was already on there.

 

A true ram air would be pressurized above ambient atmospheric pressure. Until you get to transsonic speeds you can't get that with either setup. Both are free-flowing cold air intakes, the Vortex has a proven filter, the Vararam does not. He allready has the Vortex, why swap?

 

Because those of us who did the swap notice an increase of speed as well as a faster 1/4 mile times. As I said above if you RACE it's well worth it. Unless you have used these products please.........let those of us that really know the answer help these guy's out.
Bob

 

You need to research the definition of ram air, you are confusing supercharging with ram air, two entirely different things.

Ram air simply means the vehicle is performing some function by using the air the vehicle is moving through. Ram air cools your radiator, a Z06 brake cooling device uses ram air. Your hair is being blown around by ram air when you take your top off or down. It's there all right, and quite real.

Here are several definitions of ram air from some online Auto dictionary's.



It is an old automobile term, used for many years. Long before vararam used it. People tend to confuse ram air with the properties of supercharging and they are two entirely different systems. Supercharging is not ram air, and ram air is not supercharging.

 

I just switched from a Vortex clone known as Pro-Flow, to the VaraRam, and after another dyno tune I sure can feel the difference in the seat of the pants. It may not dyno higher but it sure does feel quicker Pro-Flow is for sale if anybody is interested.

 

Shurite Your first defination is correct. True ram air increases the pressure in the intake. These do not, at automotive speeds. All they do is provide a low restriction, cooler than underhood air source. As for your second defination...

Just because something is commonly used doesn't make it correct. Eg. Look up the real defination for "deja vu", now think about how most folks use it. Incorrect.

If you measure the air pressure in the intake manifold you won't see any difference between the two intakes, as long as both use a good filter. No filter, or the "supposed" foam filter on the Vararam will be less restrictive because it doesn't filter.

As for using one, I do. Guess which.

Oh, and I do race it, never been beat by anything vararam equipped, either.