Vararam Issues
05-01-2009, 04:55 PM
#21
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EDIT
You ordered a throttle body spacer? Sorry bud, but that's another piece of useless junk. Sorry!
05-01-2009, 05:36 PM
#23
Melting Slicks
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I would love to see some pictures of what you did.
Personally, I reinforced my gaskets with RTV and I inspect them every 1500 miles and change the filter. I have 2 filters so I can swap out the dirty with the clean in 20 minutes. 18000 mile later it still seals well. Rain and deep water however are still a concern.
Personally, I reinforced my gaskets with RTV and I inspect them every 1500 miles and change the filter. I have 2 filters so I can swap out the dirty with the clean in 20 minutes. 18000 mile later it still seals well. Rain and deep water however are still a concern.
The C6 Vette is meant to drive, not be treated like a 1943 carb engine with a manual choke! Gone are the days of checking everything all the time... It's the 21st Century folks!
05-01-2009, 05:37 PM
#24
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it's all about the installation. If you just throw it on without using an ounce of common sense, you will have issues down the road. IMO, these are not something that anyone should buy expecting you can just throw it on and expect it to work like any other CAI sold. The VR does require maintenance far more regularly than oil changes! I also believe that if they were all modified with how I modified mine there would be none of the issues we are seeing. I believe the two halves are pivoting at the connection point in some of the installs which is causing some of the issues.
You are just a barrel of laughs.
Do you really think your average VR buyer who spends $300-$500 on one is not going to throw it on via the oem instructions? Do you really think your average VR buyer is going to check the filter every 1000-3000 miles for the foam falling apart and the crapola it collects? Thanks for the laughs. 
I agree.
Last edited by siffert; 05-01-2009 at 05:52 PM.
05-01-2009, 05:47 PM
#25
This is EXACTLY why I removed mine a while ago. I think the overall design idea is great but the sealing foam gaskets SUCK and always shift around. I was checking mine about every week and never trusted it after I found the upper gasket had shifted. They need to put a lip or ledge in the upper part so the filter will seat into it. Then they can do away with those POS foam gaskets. If VR would fix this problem once and for all I would think about getting another. Until then I agree with the others that said they wouldn't put it on their Vette.
05-01-2009, 07:04 PM
#26
Safety Car
2+ years and the same old story. This is not new information folks. This is old news. I can't believe these problems still exist with this product. It was threads like this (many, many of them) that pushed me right to a Callaway Honker CAI. The way that is designed there is no way anything is getting past the filter. 
05-01-2009, 07:05 PM
#27
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
This reminds me a lot of the leaking tires
I had, the XZX, all 10 of them, from that French company. hmmm, I wonder why I've never bought another tire from them? 
05-01-2009, 07:12 PM
#28
Safety Car
The seal that really counts is the one between the filter and the upper section. If you had debris in the MAF screen that would indicate it was not sealing. I am not impressed with the seal system in my Vararam either. Looks like I need to look at it again to make sure it did not move out of place.
it must have been getting by the fitment of the air filter and the upper tube
05-01-2009, 07:19 PM
#29
The seal that really counts is the one between the filter and the upper section. If you had debris in the MAF screen that would indicate it was not sealing. I am not impressed with the seal system in my Vararam either. Looks like I need to look at it again to make sure it did not move out of place.
Yep check it often.. You're right it's the upper one that matters and that's the one that moved on mine.
05-01-2009, 07:54 PM
#31
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Most people never really give filtering efficiency a second thought. That is a BIG mistake!
05-01-2009, 08:13 PM
#33
Those that are satisfied with the VR are so because of the power the system makes. I do believe that when it comes to power, there is no other system like the VR system. However, what good is the extra power if you are grinding you engine away.
Most people never really give filtering efficiency a second thought. That is a BIG mistake!
Most people never really give filtering efficiency a second thought. That is a BIG mistake!
at the part in red. You have to understand the mindset.
Name the mods you see described in here which have longevity as a priority. It won't take long.
A lot of the people who do many of the mods described on this board, aren't looking to get 100,000 miles out of the engine and other components.
Some of the stuff you see described in here, you know damn well, the person doing it is not going to get even 30,000 miles out of the engine.
There have been automatic trannys to crap out in here, inside of 8,000 miles following mods.
Drivvability, reliability, longevity, go out the window in pursuit of some of the results you see.
05-01-2009, 08:58 PM
#36
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at the part in red. You have to understand the mindset.
Name the mods you see described in here which have longevity as a priority. It won't take long.
A lot of the people who do many of the mods described on this board, aren't looking to get 100,000 miles out of the engine and other components.
Some of the stuff you see described in here, you know damn well, the person doing it is not going to get even 30,000 miles out of the engine.
There have been automatic trannys to crap out in here, inside of 8,000 miles following mods.
Drivvability, reliability, longevity, go out the window in pursuit of some of the results you see.
Unfiltered air is a very quick way of killing an engine. I did this to my old 88 Trans Am GTA when the filter and hose disconnected in my ghetto cold air system. It started to burn oil and compression began to fall accross all cylinders. Never did oil analysis on.....I'm glad.
05-01-2009, 09:02 PM
#37
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Even OEM get it wrong sometimes. I think the full size Ford vans; 2005 or so year model (maybe it was a Chevy van) had some crappy engineered filter housing. They were lose half the time and fit was horrible.
As a vehicle guy for the Air Force, I get to see quite a few different filter housing designs.... we have a zillion different vehicles.
As a vehicle guy for the Air Force, I get to see quite a few different filter housing designs.... we have a zillion different vehicles.
05-01-2009, 10:18 PM
#38
Melting Slicks
That is why I got rid of my Vararam and went back to Halltech. The Vararam is a bottom feeder and inhales things low in it's path. I even had a small US flag lodged in the tube once. It was found by my technician. Incredible. Imagine all the crud your engine is eating if the filter doesn't fit right.
05-01-2009, 11:04 PM
#39
I've had a VR on my C5Z06 for almost 4 years and like it more than I dislike it. It came with the second generation foam filter which stayed well sealed around its periphery, but the foam filter worried me. Before I installed the VR, I changed the oil and sent a sample out for analysis. The analysis indicated an abnormally high amount of silicon in the oil. When I removed the paper filter from the OEM box during installation of the VR, I noticed grit on the bottom edge of the filter leading to the engine side thereof, as if the filter was not sealing well against the OEM filter housing. So much for OEM quality.
After about 3000 miles with the VR and the foam filter, I changed my oil again and sent another oil sample for analysis. The silicon level was normal this time.
About two years ago I upgraded the VR with the green filter retrofit offered by VR. I had to modify the ramtube section of the VR to accomodate the green filter and apply foam gasketing on both sections of the VR. I was very **** about cleaning the plastic surfaces to remove any mold release and purchased additional foam gasketing to place on the side flange portions of the engine-side section of the VR to make sure that there would be no leaking. I checked the Vararam about 3 or 4 times since then (over 2 years) and have experienced only minor gasket movement. My most recent oil analysis after 6700 miles (I got lazy) indicated normal levels of silicon.
The VR could definitely be made better, but with careful installation, some extra gasketing, and some minor maintenance (with the green filter), be reliable. IMO, it definitely outperforms other intakes in summer weather because it picks up air in the front of the bumper, not behind it in the engine compartment.
After about 3000 miles with the VR and the foam filter, I changed my oil again and sent another oil sample for analysis. The silicon level was normal this time.
About two years ago I upgraded the VR with the green filter retrofit offered by VR. I had to modify the ramtube section of the VR to accomodate the green filter and apply foam gasketing on both sections of the VR. I was very **** about cleaning the plastic surfaces to remove any mold release and purchased additional foam gasketing to place on the side flange portions of the engine-side section of the VR to make sure that there would be no leaking. I checked the Vararam about 3 or 4 times since then (over 2 years) and have experienced only minor gasket movement. My most recent oil analysis after 6700 miles (I got lazy) indicated normal levels of silicon.
The VR could definitely be made better, but with careful installation, some extra gasketing, and some minor maintenance (with the green filter), be reliable. IMO, it definitely outperforms other intakes in summer weather because it picks up air in the front of the bumper, not behind it in the engine compartment.
05-01-2009, 11:13 PM
#40
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I've had a VR on my C5Z06 for almost 4 years and like it more than I dislike it. It came with the second generation foam filter which stayed well sealed around its periphery, but the foam filter worried me. Before I installed the VR, I changed the oil and sent a sample out for analysis. The analysis indicated an abnormally high amount of silicon in the oil. When I removed the paper filter from the OEM box during installation of the VR, I noticed grit on the bottom edge of the filter leading to the engine side thereof, as if the filter was not sealing well against the OEM filter housing. So much for OEM quality.
The VR could definitely be made better, but with careful installation, some extra gasketing, and some minor maintenance (with the green filter), be reliable. IMO, it definitely outperforms other intakes in summer weather because it picks up air in the front of the bumper, not behind it in the engine compartment.
The VR could definitely be made better, but with careful installation, some extra gasketing, and some minor maintenance (with the green filter), be reliable. IMO, it definitely outperforms other intakes in summer weather because it picks up air in the front of the bumper, not behind it in the engine compartment.
**** as you are when it comes to installation, gaskets etc.