Vararam users: What air duct are you using?
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (indypace78)
Indy, glad to see you coming to the dark (RAM-AIR) side...
You will love it...Keep you Stock MAF ends and Stock Airbridge. Anything bigger will slow down the velocity and thus negate the gain.
I do however use a silicone coupler to the Throttle body..
RAM-AIR... I said it....nener nener nener... :rofl: :rofl:
You will love it...Keep you Stock MAF ends and Stock Airbridge. Anything bigger will slow down the velocity and thus negate the gain.
I do however use a silicone coupler to the Throttle body..
RAM-AIR... I said it....nener nener nener... :rofl: :rofl:
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 17,709
Likes: 1,219
From: Phila PA, Bonita Springs FL
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (chuckster)
Patrick actually never said anything about which air bridge to use.
I do still have the stock duct & silicone coupler that I recently replaced with the Halltech Cobra Tunnel Ram.
Hopefully other guys will chime in on this...
I appreciate you posting in the thread..
Ellis
I do still have the stock duct & silicone coupler that I recently replaced with the Halltech Cobra Tunnel Ram.
Hopefully other guys will chime in on this...
I appreciate you posting in the thread..
Ellis
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (indypace78)
Patrick actually never said anything about which air bridge to use.
I do still have the stock duct & silicone coupler that I recently replaced with the Halltech Cobra Tunnel Ram.
Hopefully other guys will chime in on this...
I appreciate you posting in the thread..
Ellis
I do still have the stock duct & silicone coupler that I recently replaced with the Halltech Cobra Tunnel Ram.
Hopefully other guys will chime in on this...
I appreciate you posting in the thread..
Ellis
In fact I used to play around with Aftermarket MAF ends.. I tuned (with LS1edit) the BPP ends perfectly.. But still felt they were lacking somehow..
So I put my stock MAF ends back on just for a test.. and holy crap!! The slightest jab at the pedal was rewarding.. I am sold on velocity over size.
Hey if you hooked up a 3" pool hose to your outside fawcet and tried to wash your car...you get a bunch of water dribbling out of the end.. Not too terribly effective.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 17,709
Likes: 1,219
From: Phila PA, Bonita Springs FL
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (chuckster)
No problem using the stock bridge w/ silicone coupler if thats what works. :yesnod:
I can always sell the Cobra Tunnel duct...
I can always sell the Cobra Tunnel duct...
Racer
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
From: Below the Mason/Dixon Line Alabama
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (indypace78)
FWIW I'm using the Halltech tunnel (holdover from a prior setup). Seems to work fine, looks better than stock and doesn't ding up Paula's work the way the stock airbridge does.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 20
From: Rockville Centre NY
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (SPEED DOG)
West Coast Corvette carbon fiber air bridge. It just looks so much nicer than that plastic accordion. I'll suffer with the 1 HP loss. Also seems to be friendlier to my air brushed hood blanket.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,204
Likes: 5
From: Bethlehem PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'05-'06-'08-'10
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (c5grandsport)
Ellis, I have run both the stock and now the West Coast Corvette carbon fiber air bridge with my V'ram and really noticed no SOTP difference between the two. When Carmen dyno'd both set-ups, there was a neglible difference....no more than the variation one gets from run to run. Having said this, I am certain there will be others who claim differently. This was my experience. Glad to see you coming to the V'ram side. Good luck with your choices.
Joe
Joe
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,903
Likes: 0
From: Oakhurst NJ
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (indypace78)
I'm using the vortex powerduct but thats just cause I had one on hand. If i didnt i would be happy using the stock one. Oh and with the vararam installed, the vortex powerduct does rub into the hood liner.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 824
Likes: 0
From: Placentia, Ca. USA
St. Jude Contributor '03 & '04
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (kh24)
These are definitely the nicest high flow ducts available for the money! Only $249.00 :thumbs:
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:55 PM 9/9/2003]
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:56 PM 9/9/2003]
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:56 PM 9/9/2003]
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:55 PM 9/9/2003]
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:56 PM 9/9/2003]
[Modified by West Coast Corvette, 12:56 PM 9/9/2003]
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 17,709
Likes: 1,219
From: Phila PA, Bonita Springs FL
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (West Coast Corvette)
I'm really not overly interested in "nice" at this point..
I want what WORKS BEST with the Vararam!
If Patrick recommends one over another, thats what I'll use! :yesnod:
I want what WORKS BEST with the Vararam!
If Patrick recommends one over another, thats what I'll use! :yesnod:
Cruising
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Dallas TX
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (indypace78)
So your saying that installing a differnt air bridge (re power duct) will reduce the velocity of the flow and reduce HP ?
I would think if you installed the vararam, with larger MAF, power duct, silicone coupler, 80mm throttle body you would get the biggest gain.
This is not correct ?
Thanks
Z49
I would think if you installed the vararam, with larger MAF, power duct, silicone coupler, 80mm throttle body you would get the biggest gain.
This is not correct ?
Thanks
Z49
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,885
Likes: 2
From: Corpus Christi TX
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (BLU-BY-U)
anyone know where I can just buy the coupler? I found one at breathless....$70 :eek:
there has to be an alternative. I'd even conisder homemade if I knew where to try and find the silicone tubing.
there has to be an alternative. I'd even conisder homemade if I knew where to try and find the silicone tubing.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (BLU-BY-U)
anyone know where I can just buy the coupler? I found one at breathless....$70 :eek:
there has to be an alternative. I'd even conisder homemade if I knew where to try and find the silicone tubing.
there has to be an alternative. I'd even conisder homemade if I knew where to try and find the silicone tubing.
I just ordered a Vararam today to replace my Blackwing. I'd better feel a SOTP difference with all the claims made about this system. :lurk:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,737
Likes: 2
From: California USA
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (Patches)
Don't believe what you read. Keep the blackwing. After having my vararam installed, I drove away from the shop and almost had to pull over and throwup because of the power I lost. I was literally sick to my stomach it lost so much torque and power right away. This was a disappointing mod for MY CAR and gained NOTHING
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (427CPE)
Don't believe what you read. Keep the blackwing. After having my vararam installed, I drove away from the shop and almost had to pull over and throwup because of the power I lost. I was literally sick to my stomach it lost so much torque and power right away. This was a disappointing mod for MY CAR and gained NOTHING
Did it ever occur to you that you are the minority? That you and one other person I know posted about their disappointment with the Vararam.. But you both have something in common... Neither of you tried to figure out what the problem was.
Maybe your mechanic did a crummy job? This is why I do most of my own work.
You just got disgruntled and removed it.. I will say this again.. People who think you can just modify intake components and have the car run perfectly everytime are mistaken. This is the cause of most disappointment...
Our cars have to either have a chance to learn or be tuned for the mod. If learning is not enough then log the results via Autotap and then Tune for it. If and only after these things have been done and the results are still bad, can you make a blanket statement that "It did not work" Or "gave me bad results"
Most cars run like crap or not at all with a Cam swap.. Does that mean the mod does not work...they must "tuned"
[Modified by chuckster, 9:49 AM 9/11/2003]
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
Re: Vararam users: What air duct are you using? (chuckster)
:iagree: chuckster. I do almost all my own mods also and typically the installation is only the first step in the process. I expect there to be a period of re-learning with the Vararam, including some LS1 Edit tuning and plenty of EFI Live logging. I'm especially curious what happens to IAT and AF with the Vararam as compared to my Blackwing. I also plan to have another tuning session with my local tuner.