Damn Vararam! 2011 GS - Anyone install one?
 

Has anyone installed this thing on a GS? I should have learned from my last experience with them! There is no way the lower unit will clear the oil cooler. I have monkeyed with it for hours. Of course, the instructions are, as usual, absolutely useless as they bear little resemblance to the actual parts. Getting Vararam on the phone will probably take a week or more.
This is the latest unit with the new mounting system for the lower piece.
The instructions say for 06-07 ZO6, but Vararam had told me it will fit all LS7 & LS3. They admit their instructions are out of date. I'd get rid of it, but now my shroud is is cut up.

Installed mine last weekend. I was in a bad place like you as the drawing for the cutout make little sense and they don't show a picture of the cutout, then there's the huge "F in" oil cooler. So after using a fresh blade and making a perfect cutout and trying for 20 minutes to get the air inlet past the oil cooler I took the scoop in both hands and pushed it together to collapse it, it didn't break and it went thunk right into place. I cleaned up the upper piece, got rid of their crap silicone (I am a silicone hose distributor and wanted black hose) lubed it up with some soap and water and built it from the scoop to the throttle body, I tightened the clamps last making sure they were spaced correctly and looked good/ I only got three clamps with the system and didn't put one on the actual plastic connector and the hose was tight there. That was a week and 100 miles ago, you will feel something is different, I am doing exhaust Monday or Tuesday and the a tune that afternoon so I should have some numbers soon.

My thoughts on the Vararam, instructions for the GS models suck.

The product is poorly constructed, plastic is rough in spots has casting flash on it and some of the weather striping doesn't make sense.

It seems to work and I have only heard rave reviews for it's performance.

Keep trying it will work, drove the truck today or else I would snap a pic for you.

Cut your losses and buy a new shroud and a Halltech MF103.

My belief is most likely anything is better than stock but I don't have the time like I used to to play on the dyno. I purchased the Vararam from a fellow member here new in the box for $200 or else I would have just picked up a Airraid for $170 and been done in 10 minutes but would have given up any ram air function which could be worth a few mph. I know it worked on my Busa not sure the Vette will hit high enough speeds around here for it to be effective.

UGH..I'm so sorry to hear this.

My suggestion is to take a break...have a drink...smoke a cigar...and give it a shot later on..

:iagree:

:iagree:

Absolutely what I'd do.

The Vararam works but I feel it has to many negatives so I finally went back to stock in my LS3.

Get a new shroud and be done with it. Plus the Donalson filter is the best in the business.

Your factory intake is great, but breathes hot air. You could have propped open the bottom of your shroud to get cool air into the factory intake to get a good amount of the gain, once you are moving

But the fastest cars run Vararam, mine has performed great for years now. I've scanned my car up to 185 mph and MAP is .99-.98, just like it is at 30 mph, so no ram air in our cars.

But....at the staging lanes at the drag strip I'm only a few degrees above ambient and stock is up to 150 degrees IAT...even a propped shroud is going to be up 100+ degrees in the lanes, and that robs 12 degrees of timing in the stock tune. That's the value of the Vararam, you're running close to ambient all the time and getting full timing which is a considerable amount of horsepower.

Im interested in scanning with my Halltech to see if in fact the notches in the shroud allow the IATs to stay at +2-4 ambient as claimed by Jim.

I like the idea of the vararam but dont' personally care for the looks of it. The motor is so sleek and sexy, and the VR looks so blocky and rigid--it just doesn't flow in my opinion but to each their own.

OP, good luck with w/e route you take, but chalk up another vote for the Halltech or propped shroud.

Vararam installation
 

I have installed the Vararam in my 06 a few months ago. The instructions are terrible. I can't tell much if any difference even with an aftermarket exhaust. The two clips that hold the two sections together aren't very strong. One side keeps popping loose.

The end of it will pass the cooler but where it curves it hits the top of the cooler. I can't imagine this thing fitting in there. I'll give it another shot today.

For those who say get a new shroud; it appears that I will have to disconnect the oil cooler to get it out?????????

Hmmmmm,, I installed a VARARAM on my 06 and was very happy with the fit and performance. Considering a new CAI for the 2011 GS Vert. I have to consider what others have installed for their choice of CAI.:thumbs:

People that have OTHER THAN VARARAM installed, can you take some pictures of your CAI installed?? :cheers:

BC

Disconnecting the oil cooler isn't a big deal at all. I had to do it when I installed the cam and it only takes a couple mins. There are 2 retaining clips that hold the 2 oil lines onto the actual cooler. You don't need to remove the oil cooler to remove the shroud, just disconnect the 2 lines and take out the shroud/oil cooler as one piece.

Just be sure to put down some shop towels as there will be some oil that seeps out.

:thumbs: I like your thinking!!!

I had it before I owned the car, I'm bad like that, had a new NOS kit for 2 month while Ford built my 88 5.0 Notch :)

To the OP, it will fit, maybe today is your day :cheers:

Afraid not, Dogg! I even removed the oil cooler bolts and moved the oil cooler back. Must be either the wrong lower duct piece or the 2011 GS is different. Is yours an 11? even when I got the two bolt holes to line up, the whole unit, assembled, sticks up 3" too high!:willy:



QUOTE=Kerrdogg;1579207185]I had it before I owned the car, I'm bad like that, had a new NOS kit for 2 month while Ford built my 88 5.0 Notch :)

To the OP, it will fit, maybe today is your day :cheers:[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, and it's the ZO6 model, correct? Mine dropped in once it turned past the oil cooler and the bolt hole lined up well though I am not sure it reused the factory hole on the drivers side. The MAF lined up well but on a slight angle, I trimmed a 1/8" off half the circumference of the hose connector on one end and it lined up perfectly.

Mine's an 2011 GS, wish I would have tried popping the shroud trick, had read about it but didn't know what the shroud was til I had a knife in my hand :eek:

Well, FYI for the next poor devil who tries to install one of these things. I finally got it, but..................................... ..

1. I had to loosen the oil cooler to gain some clearance.

2. The biggest problem turned out to be the provided template. I had to remove an additional 2-3" from each side to get the clamps to clear the shroud!

3. This unit was ordered and shipped 3/11. The instructions, as in previous years, are absolutely terrible. The pictures show the old style mount. They don't show the cutout clearly. They don't mention the two pull pins you have to remove that you can't see. They have very specific detail on washer placement on the MAF sensor but, they don't provide them. I talked to them in the past about this and the sales guy said " it doesn't matter, just forget the washers"!

4. The new clamps that hold the upper and lower sections together are flimsy and not very tight.

I was contemplating an A&A supercharger. It probably would have been an easier install!

toss it and make one out of duct tape