Hey Guys,
Any thoughts on the Vararam cold air intake? It looks good to me, but I'm not sure. Also, what would be a fair install price? This one shop I spoke to told me they charge $85 an hour for labor, but that sounds real high to me.

Here is the link for the Vararam:

http://www.thelapd.com/Merchant2/mer...e_Code=thelapd

Thanks in advance.
RJ

'04 C5 Coupe
Borla Stinger 7.5 Dual Pipes
Sweeet!

 

I bought one for my 97 and it did make a noticable change and higher speeds 100mph and up. I did get in a little high water(about 6 inches) in Houston Texas last year and feel it may have been a part to severe motor damage i e $10,000. My 97 has been lowered quit a bit. Rain is not a problem as far as I could tell. I took mine off and a person could buy it for $225.00 just because it was installed and $85.00 for labor is not so bad there are higher places. The main thing is they know vettes insde and out.


[sm=signs003.gif]

 

It's a cool looking system. I think the 40 bhp as advertised is probably higher than you could expect. I could see where this would help you at the track, but with daily driving, I don't see it being much better than some of the other C.A.I. out there. Obviously the faster you go, the more air you push through the ducts, the better it will perform.
One drawback I could see would be driving it in wet conditions, I may be wrong but wouldn't it be prone to sucking in moisture on a rainy day, with the air ducts located so low?
I read that it's designed to get rid of any moisture or wetness before it enters the upstream ducts but I could see where on a really rainy day, and freeway driving it could pose a problem.

I'm still debating on which one to get also. With so many to choose from, I want to make a good choice here.

 

Thanks guys for getting back to me.
Well, maybe $85 is okay, but they told me it would take 3 hrs. to install and I know that is not right. I'm pretty sure they were just trying to take advantage of me, since I know very little about this topic. Regarding rain: I never thought about that (once again, I know very little about C.A.I. kits) but it almost never rains in So Cal and besides my vette is not my everyday car and I never drive it in the rain. I'm going to keep looking and wait to see if I hear from anyone else, but it does look like a good one to me.

Thanks again and stay safe.
RJ

 

Man thought I found another system, but for C6 only

http://storesense.megawebservers.com...ail.bok?no=264



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Varar...mZ290022754236

 

Thanks for the clarification.

Rita

 

Rita,

I would stay away from any (smog-illegal) intake system that requires many hours of labor to install. The Callaway Honker is the best smog-legal intake you can buy and should be every bit as effective as the Vararam I feel that the Honker is better-engineered, with a re-routed MAF (as in the C6). I have the Halltech Stinger, which I feel is the best bang for the buck system. Although it is not smog-legal, it can be removed in 10 minutes. It cost half what the Honker costs and I recommend it highly for those who think $500 is too much money.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave for this info. I saw something about a certain model not being street legal, but had no idea why. Now I do. Don't think I want anything I will have to remove once every 2 years - unless it is super easy. I'll checkout the Callaway and the Halltech.

Thanks again.
Rita

 

The Callaway, and the Halltech are the 2 I am leaning towards.

The Halltech would be very easy to change out for the smog test, however I love the fact the Callaway relocates the MAF sensor, and it's Smog legal

 

I also like the smog legal factor of the callaway CAI system. I have been reading everybodys comments and advice and I'm very thankful for all the Information.