1 Week Vararam Review

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

Well I have had it on the L99 for a week and thought I would give you all my thoughts. I have also talked to Patrick allot during the week with questions learning about the Vararam and cars computer.

Setup of my car:

GMPP Street Axle Back Exhaust
Rear Tires are Hankooks Z Rated Ventus ST

With my car before the Vararam I could spin the Hankooks up to about 3K with just WOT the car. Now with the Vararam I will spin them all the way thru 1st gear and at times will spin some in second.

The above was with traction control off.

With traction control on with stock setup slight spin of tires in first and then T/C would kick in. With the Vararam tires spin and T/C kicks in but at times the T/C light is even coming on under WOT.

At stock if rolling up to a stop light and it turned green and you punched it the car would pause then respond. With the Vararam it just goes and pushes you back in the seat.

I have also seen in several stock L99's that when WOTing it near the 2nd to 3rd shift the car will bog for a second. This is now gone.

Now for the bad. The computer has to learn every single tempature range. This means the car may buck a little until it gets about 100-150 miles in every set of tempature ranges GM has programmed for the car. Mine got set and works great in the 45-60 range. Today it is cold and it is bucking a tad bit and idle is a little rough. BUT is has been getting better with me driving today in the 35 degree temps of today so far.

Patrick told me it will just have to learn all the temp ranges and once it does the car should be fine. I tell you what it does sound mean and throw me back in the seat alot more than stock. The front end actually feels light when under WOT.

Well that is my impressions so far. Any changes I will update.

Scott

[Ghost of Vincent Price]

Sounds like every other CAI plus bucking.

[hamad_311]

for how much did u get the vararam intake,,, do u know anyone who wants to sell his?

[Jekyll-N-Hyde]

I dont understand why this CAI makes the Car buck.

After 100/150 miles will the Becking stop ?

And is it a promise that when I get my Vararam Cai and install it on my L99 will it buck for a while as well?

Thanks Scott for the upate

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

I do not know how much the Vararams cost. Vararam gave me this unit for free.

The car has to learn air fuel mixture along with temps and set the timing and such. Since you are bringing in alot more air into the car than stock it has to learn it. The one thing I can say is no codes have been thrown so far. I have heard some CAI throw codes due to car being to rich or to lean.

So far the car is quicker and sounds meaner. The bucking went away after 2 days of driving in the 45-60 range. Now when I say bucking it is not like my car is surging forward or surging really at all. You can just feel a small pull then pull back and when it does happen the tach moves about 200 RPM. Idle will bounce around 200 RPM or so when learning the new temps but after it has figured it out idles good. Actually mine idled better with the Vararam than stock in the 45-60 degree range outside.

Right now the temps are just being crazy around the country. Will be interesting to see how spring and summer temps do. Jannetty Racing (could be spelled wrong) did air intake temp readings and once the car gets 88F temps coming in it pulls timing and really drops the HP. If the Vararam can keep the air cooler coming in to the MAF I should not lose as much HP in the hot summer.

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

Sounds like every other CAI plus bucking.

geez...do you need to troll in every Vararam thread? You don't want one...don't buy one.

[SS 376]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

geez...do you need to troll in every Vararam thread? You don't want one...don't buy one.

[Camar0wn3d]

Originally Posted by Jekyll-N-Hyde

I dont understand why this CAI makes the Car buck.

From what Patrick explained to me (hope I remember this correctly), if the fuel trims go beyond a certain amount, the engine freaks out and the ECM will close/re-open the throttle (thanks to the throttle by wire) to attempt to re-gain control the amount of air coming in.

After 100/150 miles will the Becking stop ?

I believe after the ECM learns from how it's running, the bucking will go away, or at least be less noticeable. Ambient temperatures have a lot to do with it also.

I went ahead and re-scaled my MAF calibration after about 50 miles and 99% of the bucking went away immediately. The only times I get bucking now is at the transition from very low throttle to closed throttle and in my log, my fuel trims go way negative (like -10% but before my tune it was +10%, still have some tuning to do), so this data would support the theory above.

And is it a promise that when I get my Vararam Cai and install it on my L99 will it buck for a while as well?

It all depends on your setup and other mods from what I understand. You may not get any bucking. If you do have any problems, call Patrick at Vararam and he will get you running right, their support on this product for me has been second to none.

Bottom line though, this unit is AMAZING.

[axis]

For those that have put a computer on the PCM, what are your FT's? 3D stated +10 and I remember someone else saying his was around +15. Just wondering if this is the norm? The variation could be from the different size filters too.

Thanks for the honest review Scott. Hope all is going well in your personal life and glad you got to keep the car.

[hamad_311]

Free, haha wanna sell ill pay you $400 wat ya think

[camaro1]

if the engine is bucking / surging , you need a tune, i would bet your STFT/LTFT's are way out of wack!

[Ghost of Vincent Price]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

geez...do you need to troll in every Vararam thread? You don't want one...don't buy one.

Well it sounds like every other review of every other CAI, plus bucking. Im not allowed to mention that? Geez, Vararam is the only company out there talking smack on other products....the only one. If they werent so cocky with there comments I wouldnt care, but I hate when companies talk shit and dont back it up, or put out a faulty product. Still waiting to see 30hp improvements over stock.

Im sure that the vararam works just as good as, and possibly better than every other intake out there, but when they talk smack, it better be a flawless product...which I havent seen one flawless review yet.

[Camar0wn3d]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

...Geez, Vararam is the only company out there talking smack on other products....the only one...

I haven't heard them talk ANY smack about other products....links?

[Slowhawk]

You guy's sure go indepth about this air filter assembly.

For year's they have been making products and for years Corvette owners have had the same problem with aftermarket air filter setup's like this.
What happens is the airflow changes dramaticly and the computer tries to compensate for it.Remember the car is tuned for the stock airbox so changing the airflow will throw things off.Luckilly the GM computer can make changes to compensate.Is it the correct way -no, but it works.

The correct thing to do is to tune the car for the mods done to it.This will set in fuel trims and get the computer tuned back to the factory correction factor and greatly improve drivability,power and gas mileage.Spend all the $$ on bolt-ons but no $$ to make it run 100% doesn't make sence to me?

Now,tuning and warrenty problems. Well,you can thank the tuning software company's selling everyone tuner packages.If it wasn't for the people that hacked tunes into there cars in the past,blow them up and then try to warrenty them we wouldn't have this problem with warrenty's. FYI-I've known of 4 cars that were tuned and went for warrenty and none of them were denied coverage.So,just be smart about it.

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

Well it sounds like every other review of every other CAI, plus bucking. Im not allowed to mention that? Geez, Vararam is the only company out there talking smack on other products....the only one. If they werent so cocky with there comments I wouldnt care, but I hate when companies talk shit and dont back it up, or put out a faulty product. Still waiting to see 30hp improvements over stock.

Im sure that the vararam works just as good as, and possibly better than every other intake out there, but when they talk smack, it better be a flawless product...which I havent seen one flawless review yet.

I haven't seen them talking about any other intakes...but I've seen you trolling in every vararam thread. I hate people who don't like a product and keep beating a dead horse about it trying to get everyone else to hate it too.

You want a flawless vararam review...MINE...IT ROCKS. Of course now you're gonna say my review doesn't matter because I have a tune. OK, but it still rocks. Everyone who has one (even with the bucking issues) all seem to say that the performance is surprisingly impressive.

[Camar0wn3d]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

Everyone who has one (even with the bucking issues) all seem to say that the performance is surprisingly impressive.

Understatement. I am blown away by the results, at WOT especially, but even part throttle it makes the car feel lighter.

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by Camar0wn3d

Understatement. I am blown away by the results, at WOT especially, but even part throttle it makes the car feel lighter.

lighter and more violent. WOT @ around 3500 is nice isn't it?

If everyone wasn't BLOWN AWAY with the results, no one would bother trying to get the bucking worked out...they'd just buy something else. All the haters should do instead of bitchin in all these threads. But sooner or later, they'll feel the results first hand and realize they bought the wrong one.

[live2well]

I have the almost the same setup as the OP except I have Borla type "s" cat back. I followed the instructions and have had no issues thus far. (just over 100 miles).

When I first started my car the idle was up and down. (surging) I let it idle for about 15 minutes and the surging went away. Temps here in MD have been around 30 - 45 degrees. Everything else I have experience has been like the OP. except I havent had any residual surging. Great POST O.P.

[Ghost of Vincent Price]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

I haven't seen them talking about any other intakes...but I've seen you trolling in every vararam thread.

"Our competition will talk,
but they will not outflow it or outrun it. They will never outperform it!
Every aspect of induction technology has been used in this system.

The days of a "cone with a pipe" are dead,
because there is no air colder than Ram Air! ™"


Maybe you didnt go to their page...like me, who is actually interested in one, just not the marketing bs they throw behind it. Just because its different or more expensive doesnt make it better. Real data makes it better, not buttometers or sounding louder. LOL. BTW I didnt hear any other company talking smack about anyone elses design....just vararam.

All that being said, if it gets you an honest to god extra 1/10th over a "cone with a pipe" so be it, I will get one. Just things are not looking too good with delay after delay, then faulty units ship, then new units ship and still have bucking. Tell me they didnt know about that before sending them.

[Camar0wn3d]

Dude...that's not talking smack...that's what the other units consist of (besides New Era)...cone filter and pipe.

If someone said that the Vararam is a "airbox with a filter" I wouldn't consider it talking smack, because that's what the VR is...

[Johnwayne]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

Well it sounds like every other review of every other CAI, plus bucking. Im not allowed to mention that? Geez, Vararam is the only company out there talking smack on other products....the only one. If they werent so cocky with there comments I wouldnt care, but I hate when companies talk shit and dont back it up, or put out a faulty product. Still waiting to see 30hp improvements over stock.

Im sure that the vararam works just as good as, and possibly better than every other intake out there, but when they talk smack, it better be a flawless product...which I havent seen one flawless review yet.

BINGO!

I also think that vararam is garbage. They have had a whole lot of bad ones and people not getting thier money back and whatnot. But their are really happy customers as well and their all loyal and will get all mad and start posting but the reality of this is that there are a bunch of unhappy customers. and compared to the other companys they dont soooooo. thats my .02

[TommyTSquared]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

"Our competition will talk,
but they will not outflow it or outrun it. They will never outperform it!
Every aspect of induction technology has been used in this system.

The days of a "cone with a pipe" are dead,
because there is no air colder than Ram Air! ™"


Maybe you didnt go to their page...like me, who is actually interested in one, just not the marketing bs they throw behind it. Just because its different or more expensive doesnt make it better. Real data makes it better, not buttometers or sounding louder. LOL. BTW I didnt hear any other company talking smack about anyone elses design....just vararam.

All that being said, if it gets you an honest to god extra 1/10th over a "cone with a pipe" so be it, I will get one. Just things are not looking too good with delay after delay, then faulty units ship, then new units ship and still have bucking. Tell me they didnt know about that before sending them.

I wonder what you think about ads on TV, radio, the internet, wherever else that says someone's product is better than the rest.

[Bell040]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Vincent Price

"Our competition will talk,
but they will not outflow it or outrun it. They will never outperform it!
Every aspect of induction technology has been used in this system.

The days of a "cone with a pipe" are dead,
because there is no air colder than Ram Air! ™"

......

and I guess you found that offensive ??

so when the other guys (cone and pipe guys) say that ram air is a myth... you just choose not to hear that part?

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by Camar0wn3d

Dude...that's not talking smack...that's what the other units consist of (besides New Era)...cone filter and pipe.

If someone said that the Vararam is a "airbox with a filter" I wouldn't consider it talking smack, because that's what the VR is...

this could just go on forever I'm glad there are some people here who have common sense.

Now we've got John Wayne joining Vincent Price on the trolling mission. Every time there's a new vararam thread, it starts all over. Why is it so hard to believe that an intake could be better than all the others, and there may actually be some satisfied customers who are being honest about its kick ass performance???

[Ghost of Vincent Price]

Originally Posted by TommyTSquared

I wonder what you think about ads on TV, radio, the internet, wherever else that says someone's product is better than the rest.

They said the days of a cone and pipe are dead.....prove it. Dont make shit up then release faulty products. They were working on this product how long...yet the no tune still needs to be tuned to avoid bucking? I didnt see them mention that anywhere.

If you own company A and say your product is better than company B's design, its not hard to grab a stock car, run it down the track, then at the very least put your product on the car and do it again.

Then if your product is so much better than company B, you could put company B's product on and do it again...or in any order. Hell they could do that with the dyno too.

It would shut the naysayers up dead in their tracks. But they make ship up about tunes...and whatever else they can think of to avoid direct comparisons.