Well it is different for the ls3 because of the head and intake design that are specific to the ls3. I can tell you two different tuners told me they dynoed it both ways and actually made more power on the stock intake.

 

I saw where one guy on the LS forum did the 102 and the Fast on his ls3 Camaro and he gained 9 rear wheel horsepower.

 

On which one?

 

Which one what? Which car forum? I think it's called LSTech or something, not sure. Not one I frequent, just one that popped up when I did a search.

Here is the deal though, I spoke to an engine builder and a seperate engine tuner that had actually dynoed and tuned for the FAST on an LS3 and one said it was identical to the OEM powerband and another said the FAST was actually a couple of HP down from the stock piece but it was within dyno error.

My tuner thinks the 102 TB alone is worth 10-15 hp but at my hp level, I don't think so. And like I said, there was a guy on LSTech that had a cammed bolt on LS3 Camaro and he retuned and dynode before and after and gained 9 rwhp for like $2K in mods. It's just not a good use of funds with the products that are out there.

Are you aware that MSD didn't release their intake manifold for the LS3 because they 'couldn't make enough power improvement to make it a worthwhile upgrade' even though the same product works well on the LS2 and the LS7?

The stock LS3 piece is designed very well.

There is a very simplistic approach to mods around here and many seem to think more flow = more better but when discussing exhaust and intake on an NA application it's much more complicated than that. The key is to have 'tuned lengths' that result in pressure waves that hit the intake valves just as they open creating positive pressure waves into the combustion chamber in the planned rpm range' and negative waves from your exhaust system at just the right time at the exhaust valve to suck out exhaust. This gives a Supercharging effect and at the sweet spot of operation can up Volumetic Efficiency. This is the principle that the new Vararam manifold is operating off of. It's not about max flow (although that's important too) but about tuned length runners.

 

The key is finding what RPM is in the center of that planned range to see if it fits your application. Tuned for 6500 does not work for a road racer who's average RPM is 4000. The mfg only tells you max HP figures.
Also, what is the "operation can up" you mention?

 

Here is some independent, but reliable data. It's been around for a while.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146174

 

"at the sweet spot of ENGINE RPM (application dependent) can INCREASE Volumetric Efficiency"

 

Small gains from the FAST, but also tuning did not appear to be adjusted which is another variable.

I'll pay in the neighborhood of $65/ hp max for the Vararam manifold. They are making some outrageous claims about it so I'll guess we'll see.

 

I guess I missed the new generation word substitute for increase, raise, elevate, etc.
I'm waiting for some kid to walk in the office and ask for an up on his paycheck. I'll give him the "what's up dude" on the signature line.

 

I received this email just the other day and thought id share. It's too late for me now though, as im getting a Magnuson installed by Katech. Just signed the papers a little over a week ago, but maybe would have held off if I had heard back sooner.

Aaron , I am sorry your email was buried in our spam file for some reason.


We will be releasing lots of info here very quickly on the unit. Price will be about the same as the others .* It will be Polymer and blk in color.

stock engine gains "*over " *the competition are about 5-6% more power and 7-8% more Torque under the curve we are seeing as much as 10% more Power and Torque over the competition.​ More for heavily modified engines .*


stay tuned


VR Tech

 

I've been waiting a long time for this product myself. I've given up on it for the time being. Will start working on my car the middle of next week without the Vararam manifold. It's okay, this will give me time to assess how it works for other people make sure that it doesn't leak, and probably get a better price on it to boot.

 

To me this is just another way of saying it's not ready yet.

 

Think it'll end up being less than or more than 2 years from the original post?

 

I'm pretty tired of waiting too. The racing season is halfway over here, so I won't be buying until at least September. If it's released before the cold country tracks open, hopefully some results will be known by late summer.

That Edelbrock looks good, yet it's still not available either and it's an aluminum casting that has heat soak concerns.

Edelbrock in development for 3 years and Vararam had a prototype they hyped nearly 2 years ago, is an indication that it's a pretty tough job to squeeze more power from the LS3 by simply changing from the stock manifold. Porting the OEM seems about the equivalent of a FAST for a whole lot less $, so you gotta ask yourself how much better can it get.

It strikes me as strange, why you'd even start a project for a new LS3 manifold after the next generation engine was introduced. The new car buyers, who are more affluent and can more easily afford mods, have mostly moved on and the market for this type of stuff is shrinking.

 

I disagree that the market is shrinking. These cars (well all sports cars really) are much more likely to be modified and personalized by the younger less affluent second hand buyers in my experience. And there are a lot of LS3s out there.

I use to waste a lot of time hopping up my old 7.3 Powerstroke. That engines last year of production was 2002. I'd say the aftermarket was still growing a lot around 2005-2008 when I got out of it.

I have texted the owner of Vararam many times and been texted right back. He has kindly kept me in the loop and he is as frustrated as anyone is. The development is completed. It's in production now But it's a multipart intake and some major part is about 30 days out. It is his intention to post results, and a phone # to call and get it coming, all on the same day. He doesn't want to post results, and then you have to wait another 2 months to get it.

What I can tell you is: he is a smart fellow, the intake runners will be offered in different lengths to compliment your intended rpm range and build, and the hp claims for the money are outrageous.

My car should be a 500 rwhp car in 2 weeks on a stock intake. Could you imagine if the claims of 8-10% under the curve (that would be about 30hp/ tq right in the middle) and 6-8% at peak (about 35hp) were true?! That would be great gains.

Here is hoping!

 

Late Spring - early summer release was told to me 2 weeks ago....nothing for sure as we've seen but I am optimistic the product will deliver results similar to the post above with the email from Vararam.

 

Will it deliver better results than a Tony Mammo ported MSD Airforce?

 

Don't know...however I'll bet Tony's porting will improve results from a Vararam as well. We'll eventually have answers to this all and speculation will end.

 

Received these emails today from Vararam. This sounds interesting to me.



"We have stayed quiet to give ourselves the time needed to build and fine tune all of the production tooling . We have been running pre-production units to check all of the tolerances on "real" production parts vs rapid prototype parts or short run test shots.



All will be updated very soon.



VR tech



On Mon, Feb 29, 2016 at 2:16 PM, vararam industries <vararamindustries@gmail.com> wrote:

We did "NOT" get the Patent needed , so we had to re- apply with an altered design. We are confident that this one will pass, so much so that we are already having the tooling produced ​. Its a very critical component because it balances both banks and allows the system to use one OEM throttle body.

There are 6 manifolds not "one" we will be updating everyone on all of them very shortly.

These include some purpose race applications.



VR tech"

 

Edelbrock has the same problem with the unbalance between the plenums. Now I can see why Vararam is waiting on the patent after they have solved the problem. This is a key issue with this type of design.