Installed Vararam - Review
Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,553
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From: Westlake Village CA
Yep same here. You can always improve on something, hence all of us mod our cars and dont keep them stock.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
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From: Goleta California
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Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,553
Likes: 6
From: Westlake Village CA
Its funny to hear all the people hating on the duct tape when in all reality it works perfect and has a very slim chance of losing its adhesiveness. Yes I do race the car and plan on racing it plenty more. A little duct tape on the intake doesnt effect me. The only reason I open my hood is to work on the car, I do understand it wouldnt look good with most of your guys chrome radiator caps, alternator grills and painted valve covers
I can confidently say, there is no way in hell dirt is going to get in there....
I can confidently say, there is no way in hell dirt is going to get in there....
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,435
Likes: 874
From: Bay Area CA
The only winner on that one is the mechanic who gets to rebuild the engine sooner than it should need due to the dirt the car sucks in through the Vararam. The ram air concept is great, unfortunately the execution falls short. There are a lot of quality CAI out that don't have this fitment issue. I would select one from Halltech/LPE/Callaway etc that don't have these issues to put on my car, maybe a few ponies less, but unless you are really racing the car is it worth it? Duct tape !
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Can you say M.I.C.K.E.Y.M.O.U.S.E.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,578
Likes: 61
From: Austin TX
Its funny to hear all the people hating on the duct tape when in all reality it works perfect and has a very slim chance of losing its adhesiveness. Yes I do race the car and plan on racing it plenty more. A little duct tape on the intake doesnt effect me. The only reason I open my hood is to work on the car, I do understand it wouldnt look good with most of your guys chrome radiator caps, alternator grills and painted valve covers
I can confidently say, there is no way in hell dirt is going to get in there....
I can confidently say, there is no way in hell dirt is going to get in there....
As far as the dirt, good luck. You might get lucky.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,999
Likes: 200
From: Bay Area Ca.
You'd think Vararam would of done something to end all this negative publicity. I run one and got it updated but it still leaves something to be desired. Nice try but they did not go far enough.
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Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Westlake Village CA
The intake is actually positioned far infront of where the actual engine is. I have already examined the vararam after a prolonged hard driving session and the part where the intake is duct taped remained cool the the touch so I am not too worried about heat warpage.
In terms of the dirt, from my understanding the only way the dirt can enter the intake passed the filter would be where the two parts of the vararam meet and that is completely sealed. Am I right?
In terms of the dirt, from my understanding the only way the dirt can enter the intake passed the filter would be where the two parts of the vararam meet and that is completely sealed. Am I right?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,578
Likes: 61
From: Austin TX
The intake is actually positioned far infront of where the actual engine is. I have already examined the vararam after a prolonged hard driving session and the part where the intake is duct taped remained cool the the touch so I am not too worried about heat warpage.
In terms of the dirt, from my understanding the only way the dirt can enter the intake passed the filter would be where the two parts of the vararam meet and that is completely sealed. Am I right?
In terms of the dirt, from my understanding the only way the dirt can enter the intake passed the filter would be where the two parts of the vararam meet and that is completely sealed. Am I right?
If it were mine, I'd glue the filter into place with a silicone sealant. When it was time to clean it, just use a razor blade to break the seal. I've never examined one closely, so I'm not sure how it seals exactly.
Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Westlake Village CA
IIRC, the dirt finds it way around the filter, in some cases at least.
If it were mine, I'd glue the filter into place with a silicone sealant. When it was time to clean it, just use a razor blade to break the seal. I've never examined one closely, so I'm not sure how it seals exactly.
If it were mine, I'd glue the filter into place with a silicone sealant. When it was time to clean it, just use a razor blade to break the seal. I've never examined one closely, so I'm not sure how it seals exactly.
I already used silicon all the way around the filter then used duct tape all along the outside of the seal between the 2 parts of the vararam. I am pretty sure Im covered.. but all you guys are getting me ancy. I am going to re-check the vararam today now that I probably have about 150 miles on it. I will post up my findings but I am pretty sure I am going to be fine.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,860
Likes: 5
From: Tampa FL
I already used silicon all the way around the filter then used duct tape all along the outside of the seal between the 2 parts of the vararam. I am pretty sure Im covered.. but all you guys are getting me ancy. I am going to re-check the vararam today now that I probably have about 150 miles on it. I will post up my findings but I am pretty sure I am going to be fine.
Last edited by goatts; Apr 6, 2010 at 08:46 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
Sounds like you've been overly cautious, you went well beyond what I did and I had no problems. Had it on my C6 for about a year and a half. Just check on it occasionally. You'll find many of the critics haven't even seen one let alone had one on their car yet they're on here giving their opinions about it.
Last edited by achilds; Apr 6, 2010 at 09:06 PM.
Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Westlake Village CA
I have seen them and I have read many posts on them. When I chose a CAI for my 06 coupe I selected the LPE CAI based on the issues that had been posted by owners of the product. When I selected a CAI for my 08 Z06 I research the internet and forum to see if the product had been improved. Again there were many owners expressing poor opinions with respect to this product. I selected a Halltech CAI for my car. Both of these units are quality fit and finish. There is no way I am going to put something on my car that requires duct tape and silicon seal to do the job it should have been designed to do.
Ok so your issue is that you have to spend 5 minutes to fix the intake and dont think you should have to mod the part before you put it on your car. point taken. that does not bother some of us. The design of the vararam in terms of performance is superior to that of the others. So i have to spend 5 minutes to improve on it and make sure it doesnt let dirt in. No big deal to me
As your post reflects, you primarily care about the fit and finish, I dont care about the fit and finish but more about the extra 1-2 hp I might get from the vararam. Different strokes... .....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,578
Likes: 61
From: Austin TX
Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,553
Likes: 6
From: Westlake Village CA
Yes we do, but people are just so anti vararam, the worlds going to come to an end, your engine will get damaged when in reality, after sealing the vararam the way I did will ensure that it deters dirt from entering the engine just as good if not better than the lpe/ callaway/ etc.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,578
Likes: 61
From: Austin TX
Yes we do, but people are just so anti vararam, the worlds going to come to an end, your engine will get damaged when in reality, after sealing the vararam the way I did will ensure that it deters dirt from entering the engine just as good if not better than the lpe/ callaway/ etc.
Thread Starter
CF Lifetime Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,553
Likes: 6
From: Westlake Village CA
I think the reason for the "anti vararam" is people being caught by surprise when on disassembly they find a ton of dirt/debri in the intake track behind the filter. Doesn't always happen, but it has happened. You seem to be on top of the issue to prevent that from happening to you - likely due to having advance warning from the anti vararam crowd. Most buy products like these not expecting to have to repair them to make it function correctly.
any one have any headers with a slight leak? Ill take those too real cheap and spend a few bucks to fix them.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
Ok so your issue is that you have to spend 5 minutes to fix the intake and dont think you should have to mod the part before you put it on your car. point taken. that does not bother some of us. The design of the vararam in terms of performance is superior to that of the others. So i have to spend 5 minutes to improve on it and make sure it doesnt let dirt in. No big deal to me
As your post reflects, you primarily care about the fit and finish, I dont care about the fit and finish but more about the extra 1-2 hp I might get from the vararam. Different strokes... .....
As your post reflects, you primarily care about the fit and finish, I dont care about the fit and finish but more about the extra 1-2 hp I might get from the vararam. Different strokes... .....