[themossman]

After plenty of internet jockey research...and some solid counseling from Vengeance, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. I had decided on the Vararam after ruling out the 'hydro lock' fears because I could not find any substantial evidence of anyone having issues.

Anyway...Vengeance had my car complete several weeks ago and we were waiting for the Vararam piece, but when they said end of August...I decided I needed my car back. So LMR it was...

I had quite a few things done to the car, so I can say what the performance difference was by adding the LMR CAI, but that's not what this review is about. It's about the quality of the piece and my opinions about how it fits (or doesn't fit) in the car. The piece is installed correctly and I've tried 'adjusting', but...it's a design/build issue...not an installation issue.

I think the stock location of the airbox is HORRIBLE..there's zero air getting into the stock airbox and the CAIs that put the filter in the same location are going to run into the same issue. In these pictures you'll see I removed the windshield washer fluid reservoir in attempt to get more air into the cavity, but I haven't noticed much difference.

In picture one, arrow 1...your looking 'inside the airbox and at the strut tower. Arrow 1 shows the measurable gap between the tower and the shield. Arrow 2 shows some bizarre upward curve in the shield...you see a better shot of this from the other side in the next picture.

Picture three shows the 'outside' of airbox looking from rear of car to front. Arrow 1 shows the same strut tower lack of fitment. Arrow 2 shows the mounting bracket.

Picture 4...more of the same...arrow 3 shows where the crappy fit has rubbed paint off the strut tower brace.

Picture 5 shows the inside corner of the shield to show that it fits 'perfectly' on the bottom (ruling out improper installation).

Picture 6 shows the where the washer fluid reservoir used to be...note that there is no positive airflow into this airflow, so the intake is going to pull air from the shield gaps (hot air) just as easily at it will pull air from below.

Picture 7 shows the entire piece...notice the bizarre curve on edge 1...

I'd be interested to see other LMR installs to see if I got a 'bad' shield. There's simply no excuse for this type of fit.

As far as getting air into the cavity...to remove the reservoir, I had to pull the liner out of the front, drivers wheel. There's a shield on the lower grill that's preventing any air from getting into this area, but I believe that shield attempts to direct air into the radiator. If I were to keep a CAI in this area I would certainly look for ways to get a some fresh air into that area.