Vararam TCR-7 CAI installed ....
10-01-2017, 08:47 PM
#21
Not correct.
The other brands and even the OEM are lower at the top, so the whole top is at the same elevation as where you see the word "Vararam" on all others and OEM.
On this intake filter housing, you see how it raises in a triangle shape towards the fender (the part that says "true cold air")? You also see the black foam triangle on top corner (kinda by the alternator)? That is what allows the housing to seal itself against the fender ridge and pull air from the hood to fender gap, yet stay sealed off from the engine bay's hot air. This intake creates a fully sealed section to pull from the outside.
If you dremel a hole on any part of the top of the OEM or any other aftermarket intake, all you will be doing is drawing in extremely hot air from the engine compartment (same as an open filter would do in this location). It would be not even close to the same thing as what this intake is/does.
The other brands and even the OEM are lower at the top, so the whole top is at the same elevation as where you see the word "Vararam" on all others and OEM.
On this intake filter housing, you see how it raises in a triangle shape towards the fender (the part that says "true cold air")? You also see the black foam triangle on top corner (kinda by the alternator)? That is what allows the housing to seal itself against the fender ridge and pull air from the hood to fender gap, yet stay sealed off from the engine bay's hot air. This intake creates a fully sealed section to pull from the outside.
If you dremel a hole on any part of the top of the OEM or any other aftermarket intake, all you will be doing is drawing in extremely hot air from the engine compartment (same as an open filter would do in this location). It would be not even close to the same thing as what this intake is/does.
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VNAMVET (10-03-2017)
10-02-2017, 12:27 AM
#22
Supporting Vendor
[QUOTE=\Boost Monkey/;1595680522]I’ve already answered this in another thread, but I’ll do it again here. It does not draw hot air from the engine bay:[/QUOTE
You are correct!
If people drill holes into their stock boxes they will be in for a few rude surprises. They won't just get hot engine air ,they will get the hot air from the radiator fan blowing directly under, around and into the holes they drilled . The additional turbulent hot air will throw off the MAF sensor and then the car will run worse. The Next item that will happen is the car will detune. There is far more going on in here than people realize. If I were to go into how the MAF and ECM's correlate and react to alterations that would take a dissertation and far more time to answer than a quick reply on a forum.
Bottom line is, GM isn't stupid , they are conservative.
This isn't the 1980's or 90's either. WE tested all of the cheap/free mods yrs ago when these cars came out. Destroying a $479 OEM air-box doesn't sound like a good idea to me either. Trust me, I already have, several times over!
In the end though, WE can only lead a horse to water , we can't make it drink.Even when the water is guaranteed to be good !
VR tech
You are correct!
If people drill holes into their stock boxes they will be in for a few rude surprises. They won't just get hot engine air ,they will get the hot air from the radiator fan blowing directly under, around and into the holes they drilled . The additional turbulent hot air will throw off the MAF sensor and then the car will run worse. The Next item that will happen is the car will detune. There is far more going on in here than people realize. If I were to go into how the MAF and ECM's correlate and react to alterations that would take a dissertation and far more time to answer than a quick reply on a forum.
Bottom line is, GM isn't stupid , they are conservative.
This isn't the 1980's or 90's either. WE tested all of the cheap/free mods yrs ago when these cars came out. Destroying a $479 OEM air-box doesn't sound like a good idea to me either. Trust me, I already have, several times over!
In the end though, WE can only lead a horse to water , we can't make it drink.Even when the water is guaranteed to be good !
VR tech
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VNAMVET (10-02-2017)
10-02-2017, 07:26 AM
#23
Racer
[QUOTE=dmhines;1595670317]Am I the first ?? Maybe .... 
My Observations so far ...
Looks better than the crazy Tubing from the factory with all its accordion sleeves and muffler/silencer extensions and protrusions but pretty much any CAI cleans up the engine compartment.
Sounds cool .. can definitely hear throttle open and close. Also .. you can hear the air sucking (whistling?) through the hood as per the design .. or at least I could with Top down and radio off. With radio on you don't notice it ...
I am fairly positive that throttle response is better and it is not my imagination. Also .. it seems like Engine braking is reduced.. also pretty sure its not my imagination since my car is a manual I notice stuff like that!
FYI .. as you can see in pics I sanded off the logos and names on the top of the intake and then painted it black ... I like the subdued look ..
Also ... this intake requires a very precise fit under the hood ... and I did have to make some modifications via a grinder to make it fit to my liking ... but I don't mind a project so I was OK with that.
Is my car faster or have more HP ?? I have no idea really .. but I didn't buy it for HP .. I bought it for looks , sound and tts the least expensive CAI on the market right now.
Another note .. not sure what I did but I did have a check engine light at first start .. I think during testing I may have started it with the PCV hose disconnected. I used my OBDII scanner software to check it out and found Out of range error for Barometric Pressure sensor and Air Intake Temp Sensor and the only thing I unplugged for the install was the MAF sensor. I reset the Check engine light and cleared the DTC's .. Put about 25 miles on car around town and no issues.
.
DMhines,
Congrats on your purchase. Was wondering if you researched other CAI on the market? For example, aFe, K&N or Halltech? If so, what did your research reveal? Specifically, increase in horsepower, torque and air flow. According to aFe, they advertise a 18 horsepower increase, 42% increase in air flow and 22 ft/lbs increase in torque. Was wondering how your new CAI compared to the competitors on the market.
Enjoy the new sound and looks.
Oh, what did you do with the two PVC hoses that you disconnected from the OEM air intake? Hard to see in the photos, but did they connect to the large rubber hose/grommet...how were they connected? Not sure what its called, but where the system connects to the engine.
Thanks and congrats again.
Semper Fi
My Observations so far ...
Looks better than the crazy Tubing from the factory with all its accordion sleeves and muffler/silencer extensions and protrusions but pretty much any CAI cleans up the engine compartment.
Sounds cool .. can definitely hear throttle open and close. Also .. you can hear the air sucking (whistling?) through the hood as per the design .. or at least I could with Top down and radio off. With radio on you don't notice it ...
I am fairly positive that throttle response is better and it is not my imagination. Also .. it seems like Engine braking is reduced.. also pretty sure its not my imagination since my car is a manual I notice stuff like that!
FYI .. as you can see in pics I sanded off the logos and names on the top of the intake and then painted it black ... I like the subdued look ..
Also ... this intake requires a very precise fit under the hood ... and I did have to make some modifications via a grinder to make it fit to my liking ... but I don't mind a project so I was OK with that.
Is my car faster or have more HP ?? I have no idea really .. but I didn't buy it for HP .. I bought it for looks , sound and tts the least expensive CAI on the market right now.
Another note .. not sure what I did but I did have a check engine light at first start .. I think during testing I may have started it with the PCV hose disconnected. I used my OBDII scanner software to check it out and found Out of range error for Barometric Pressure sensor and Air Intake Temp Sensor and the only thing I unplugged for the install was the MAF sensor. I reset the Check engine light and cleared the DTC's .. Put about 25 miles on car around town and no issues.
.
DMhines,
Congrats on your purchase. Was wondering if you researched other CAI on the market? For example, aFe, K&N or Halltech? If so, what did your research reveal? Specifically, increase in horsepower, torque and air flow. According to aFe, they advertise a 18 horsepower increase, 42% increase in air flow and 22 ft/lbs increase in torque. Was wondering how your new CAI compared to the competitors on the market.
Enjoy the new sound and looks.
Oh, what did you do with the two PVC hoses that you disconnected from the OEM air intake? Hard to see in the photos, but did they connect to the large rubber hose/grommet...how were they connected? Not sure what its called, but where the system connects to the engine.
Thanks and congrats again.
Semper Fi
Last edited by Former USMC; 10-02-2017 at 07:26 AM.
10-02-2017, 07:19 PM
#25
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
I did find out about the Check Engine light. Apparently the intake air temp and barometric pressure sensor are all part of the MAF sensor. During the install I was opening door, opening hood, closing hood, closing door, etc .. This of course powers dash every time. It seems that there is some sort of sensor or system check going on when you open the door and the dash turns on. I discovered that even if you don't start car you will get pre-DTC's registered. On my car the pre-DTC caused the cooling fan to run FULL SPEED when I started car even with no check engine light present. If you have no ways of resetting DTC's yourself you should disconnect battery before install.
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Mike Campbell (10-02-2017)
10-03-2017, 10:46 AM
#28
Supporting Vendor
We will get one in here and test it. Due to the materials used I am fairly sure of how its going to flow. Its going to flow far less than is needed, but I will see what that does to the overall aerodynamic combination as well as how the ECM reacts to it all.
VR tech
VR tech
10-03-2017, 12:04 PM
#31
Le Mans Master
They actually posted a video of a Corvette on a dyno with the stock intake and then showed the stock torque and horsepower figures. Then they immediately installed their cold air intake and gained about 20 horsepower and 18 ft lbs of torque on their video. I seem to remember it was on their website.
10-03-2017, 12:06 PM
#32
Supporting Vendor
Our Job is to beat our competition.
Most importantly is to outperform them on the road and track. Vararam Systems are engineered to use the air flowing around the vehicle in actual on road/track use. This allows us to maximize power and efficiency vs say sitting still on a dyno, where the loads are completely different. For this reason, We have always outperformed our competition where it matters most, on the road and on the track where you drive your vehicle.
VR Tech
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08velocity (10-03-2017)
10-03-2017, 03:59 PM
#33
Vr
Sorry guys,
all of this sounded nice seing the technical explainations ...but .... the plastic finish looks like average quality,
And for that vortex thing...well hope there won't be vortex of debris...leafs...oil during maintenance..etc etc.. very risky bet to me that "wild" opening under the hood !!!
Lets make time judge the thing , then maybe I'll go
that said, I had a VR SCII on my C6 that worked very well... C7 design is simply not put for ram air design wich was VR reason to exist.
all of this sounded nice seing the technical explainations ...but .... the plastic finish looks like average quality,
And for that vortex thing...well hope there won't be vortex of debris...leafs...oil during maintenance..etc etc.. very risky bet to me that "wild" opening under the hood !!!
Lets make time judge the thing , then maybe I'll go
that said, I had a VR SCII on my C6 that worked very well... C7 design is simply not put for ram air design wich was VR reason to exist.
10-03-2017, 05:13 PM
#34
Supporting Vendor
Sorry guys,
all of this sounded nice seing the technical explainations ...but .... the plastic finish looks like average quality,
And for that vortex thing...well hope there won't be vortex of debris...leafs...oil during maintenance..etc etc.. very risky bet to me that "wild" opening under the hood !!!
Lets make time judge the thing , then maybe I'll go
that said, I had a VR SCII on my C6 that worked very well... C7 design is simply not put for ram air design wich was VR reason to exist.
all of this sounded nice seing the technical explainations ...but .... the plastic finish looks like average quality,
And for that vortex thing...well hope there won't be vortex of debris...leafs...oil during maintenance..etc etc.. very risky bet to me that "wild" opening under the hood !!!
Lets make time judge the thing , then maybe I'll go
that said, I had a VR SCII on my C6 that worked very well... C7 design is simply not put for ram air design wich was VR reason to exist.
As for Ram Air - There is ram effect by design at specific RPM points and its significant enough to add CFM to the cylinder head during flow bench testing . In these tests the "others" can't even supply the stock head/manifold combination.
On the road ,the additional volume ,velocity and cool air help the VR system hold MAP pressure where others fall off and pull ignition timing.
VR tech
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harris48cars (06-19-2018)
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tony abbski (10-06-2017)
10-12-2017, 05:41 PM
#36
Race Director
Member Since: Oct 1999
Location: Phila PA, Bonita Springs FL
Posts: 17,005
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Nothing special .. I used a couple of nut drivers and a 10mm ratcheting wrench for the install ... All fasteners are metric ...
I did find out about the Check Engine light. Apparently the intake air temp and barometric pressure sensor are all part of the MAF sensor. During the install I was opening door, opening hood, closing hood, closing door, etc .. This of course powers dash every time. It seems that there is some sort of sensor or system check going on when you open the door and the dash turns on. I discovered that even if you don't start car you will get pre-DTC's registered. On my car the pre-DTC caused the cooling fan to run FULL SPEED when I started car even with no check engine light present. If you have no ways of resetting DTC's yourself you should disconnect battery before install.
I did find out about the Check Engine light. Apparently the intake air temp and barometric pressure sensor are all part of the MAF sensor. During the install I was opening door, opening hood, closing hood, closing door, etc .. This of course powers dash every time. It seems that there is some sort of sensor or system check going on when you open the door and the dash turns on. I discovered that even if you don't start car you will get pre-DTC's registered. On my car the pre-DTC caused the cooling fan to run FULL SPEED when I started car even with no check engine light present. If you have no ways of resetting DTC's yourself you should disconnect battery before install.
10-12-2017, 10:13 PM
#37
Supporting Vendor
YES it is Best to do a battery disconnect for two hours after installing any product intake or exhaust. This clears the ECM and starts it a dead zero on fuel trims .It will adjust from there .
This system gains air-flow when the vehicle is moving, so its important to give it learn time. 28-32 miles of normal driving is standard long term fuel trim learn time. HWY driving is best , sometimes city will take a bit longer.
VR Tech
This system gains air-flow when the vehicle is moving, so its important to give it learn time. 28-32 miles of normal driving is standard long term fuel trim learn time. HWY driving is best , sometimes city will take a bit longer.
VR Tech
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Zap City (10-15-2017)
10-18-2017, 02:33 PM
#40
Supporting Vendor
Test Filter due in Thursday .
We will flow test it for basic flow to SAE and then conduct some special flow tests that we do to measure pressure drop across it etc.. Then we will run it on the car and check to see what it dos to the ECM.
Give you guys an update soon.
VR tech
We will flow test it for basic flow to SAE and then conduct some special flow tests that we do to measure pressure drop across it etc.. Then we will run it on the car and check to see what it dos to the ECM.
Give you guys an update soon.
VR tech
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spinkick (10-19-2017)