Installed Vararam - Review
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,578
Likes: 61
From: Austin TX
Like I have said in the past, the issue is that there is just not enough compressive forces to keep the gasket in place on -some- installs. I took my car on a 5,000 mile road trip last summer reaching -sustained- speeds of 140mph+ and when I got home my VaraRam assembly looked like it does below, completely in tact and sealing 100%.
Below is what I did to make sure things sealed correctly. If you have nothing forcing the filter into the seals (ie, leaving it's imprint in the gasket), it is NOT sealing correctly.
The ONLY sealing surface that matters when dealing with dirt entering the engine is the air filter surface opposite of the surface shown below. I took the filter and mechanically compressed it into the gaskets on the backside of the filter. I have removed the filter in the past and I can see a VERY defined ridge of where the filter seals into the gasket. I could use my VaraRam just like this and without the lower piece attached and it would seal correctly and keep all the dirt out. The gaskets shown along the sides are mainly only there to help keep the filter snug in it's place (when not doing what I did) and are not made to keep dirt out.
Below is what I did to make sure things sealed correctly. If you have nothing forcing the filter into the seals (ie, leaving it's imprint in the gasket), it is NOT sealing correctly.
The ONLY sealing surface that matters when dealing with dirt entering the engine is the air filter surface opposite of the surface shown below. I took the filter and mechanically compressed it into the gaskets on the backside of the filter. I have removed the filter in the past and I can see a VERY defined ridge of where the filter seals into the gasket. I could use my VaraRam just like this and without the lower piece attached and it would seal correctly and keep all the dirt out. The gaskets shown along the sides are mainly only there to help keep the filter snug in it's place (when not doing what I did) and are not made to keep dirt out.
