Can someone explain the pro's/con's of Ram air over a CAI. i'm debating between a Callaway Honker CAI and a Vararam intake for my 2005 LS2.

 

several cai's have options for ram air setups. some come with a ram air setup built in like the vararam

some people complain about their concerns of running through water and having the ram air scoop send the water into the motor

different companies have different things to say about this concern in regard to their products. In general, from what I have seen from the intake pictures that are available I'd think you would need to be drunk to choose to drive through enough water to flood the motor...

as far as which is best - that is a subject that will start a lot of back and forth bickering on this site, but the haltech and vararam are among the most popular.

hope this helps

 

I have a vararam and it breathes well, but if I chose an intake today I'd go for one of the big CAI's.

The vararam has a habit of inhaling the gasket that seals it around the filter and the gasket will get caught on the filter and block air flow.

The vararam is definitely an improvement over stock but I think some of the other options are better and there's less risk if swamping the engine. (As noted above you have to drive through pretty deep water for that though.)

 

I have the Vararam on my C6 and have achieved some awesome track and street results with it.




In my opinion, any puddle (river?) deep enough to get water into one's aftermarket CAI is likely also deep enough to even cause a problem for those that still retain their stock air intake set up as well.
I usually prefer to drive my Corvette on land.

 

I'd say go with which one you can find used on the forum. Makes it cheaper if you decide to switch. I went with a used K&N cai on mine and like it. Though I have the z06 front bumper so the scoop lets more air in than stock.

 

Buy a cheap intake kit used from somewhere, then just modify your shroud, there is a thread about the new Halltech MF103 Superbee and a PDF showing where you should cut your radiator shroud to let cool air in.

 

The ram air makes more HP than a CAI. The VR is more of a hassle because you have to remove the double sided taped on seals and glue them on with a heat resistant adhesive.

Is the hassle worth the extra HP? For me it is.

 

It's not a case of CAI Verus Ram air.

All Ram air setups are CAI's by definition, not all CAI's are Ram air.

 

There is no such thing as ram air. There have been countless threads about this issue and the concept of ram air is pretty much a myth. There have been numerous tests done where people have measured actual manifold pressure on kits like a vararam and there was no change in manifold pressure.

The benefit you really see with a vararam is lower IAT's. It does an incredible job of lowering IAT's due to drawing cold air from outside of the engine compartment.

Both the vararam and honker do a very good job with this.

 

Oh ok, and whats IAT?

Thanks for reply!

 

Intake air temperature. It's one of the sensors that's used to determine how much timing the engine sees. The higher the IAT, the more timing that gets pulled.

 

I have the stock Z06 intake and I have the cold air intake also. Did it by installing a Vette-Air scoop behind the grille, that directs air to the filter. But, problems can occur, just as they do when installing most aftermarket air intakes. I had to fabricate a flat diffuser plate to keep the air from being forced directly into the mouth of the stock air breather which was driving the MAF crazy from the air turbulence.

 

The Vararam will give you a 0.3 sec improvement at 1/4 mile and I think this is due to the ram design. I have not seen anything like this documented with Honker although it's a quality unit.

 

Chonger got it right. THERE IS NO RAM AIR EFFECT with any on the market cai's. The vararam is a bad design, WHEN it seals it gives water no place to go but into your engine. BOOM. It doesn't take much water and it doesn't need to be that deep. All it takes is another driver motorboating toward you throwing water off the front tires and you may be in trouble.

Of course, most folks report how badly it seals and end up with major dirt in the engine instead of water. Either way, it sucks.

 

Wow ok, well I've decided I'm going to go with the Callaway Honker then!

 

I've driven through some of the worst storms in my life with the VARARAM and not one problem yet. To make it "seal" you'd have to submerge the whole nose of the car. I've never seen dirt pass the filter.

 

Bad design?
Hmm, so are you implying that all of the other CAIs don't seal (allowing precious cool air to escape to areas other than the motor LOL)?
Not sure I'd really want a CAI that doesn't actually seal and hence also won't allow as much cool air onto the MAF and into the motor, I thought that was kind of the purpose of a CAI.

 

The Honker and the VR are similar. If you are worried about water then you don't need either. I have the VR and I don't know how much performance it gave me because I don't track my car. I have driven the car in storms that were so bad I couldn't go faster than 35 mph due to heavy rain. If you drive through a lake then you will probably have issues but I think most of the nay-sayers greatly exaggerate the issue (and I’m sure most of them don’t drive their car in rain anyway.) The intake is about 10 inches off the ground so if you go through that much water I think you are in trouble regardless. Those that spend a lot of time at the strip have slips that do prove that the VR does give you a few tenths on the strip. Some of the best shops in the country sell and recommend the VR. The only issue I had with mine was the seals. I did the DIY VR seal upgrade in the C6 FAQ and have had 0 issues since. I can't really give feedback on the Honker but many on here like it as well. I think it’s a waste to get a CAI that doesn’t require shroud modification. You will just be sucking up the hot air under the hood instead of getting the cooler air from outside the engine bay. The LS3 air intake is more than adequate but the LS2 air intake should be replaced. Good Luck with your choice.

 

I was going to go with the Vararam. I emailed them a few questions to get their take on the gasket issues and deforming plastic issues I have read about on the forum. Never received a response - I was hoping to hear they had updated their design. I'm now trying to decide between the Honker and the Super Bee.

 

Have you ever owned one?