ShockerRacing

Shockerracing.com
C6 CORVETTE VARARAM INTAKE & THROTTLE BODY SPACER INSTALL

Tools Needed:

Razor Knife
Flathead Screwdriver
Size 4 and Size 5 Allen wrenches
Pliers
White Marker or Crayon
Scotch Tape
10mm Socket and Ratchet

Step 1: First you will need to remove the stock air box assembly. In order to do this unclip the two metal clips on each side of the stock air box and pull the 2 stock air filters up and out. Then there is the long plastic cover that goes over and across both filters, this just pulled up and off once the two factory filters were removed. Then unplug the Mass Air Flow sensor connector, there is a light gray safety piece that has to be pulled out of the plug so that you can unplug this connector. Then unplug the other sensor from the air bridge between the MAF and the Throttle Body. Next, using the flathead screwdriver you will need to loosen the hose clamp that holds the air bridge onto the throttle body. Once that is loose you can pull the bridge off of the throttle body and pull the whole assembly up and off(note; there are two plastic plugs that hold the factory airbox down these unplug just by pulling them up and off).

Step 2: Installing the Throttle Body Spacer: in order to remove the throttle body spacer you will need to remove all 4 of the 10mm bolts that hold the throttle body to the intake manifold. These unscrew pretty easily and will allow enough room for the spacer to slide behind. Using the new bolts that have been provided with the spacer(they are longer), slide the bolts through the throttle body and through the spacer and screw them back into the manifold. You will want to tighten these until they are snug but do not overtighten as the rubber with then become smashed. You will want to come back and tighten these up again after the intake is completely installed and you let the engine run and warm up a bit.
a.

b.


Step 3: Next you will want to assemble the whole intake just so that you know what the whole intake will look like. You can attach the MAF to the intake using the provided adapter (red) and using the two clamps. Then this will all be ready to go after you cut the hole in the radiator shroud.
c.


Step 4: Next you will need to cut out the template for cutting the radiator shroud. Then you will to lay the template out on the radiator shroud and center it. You can see in the next picture how I traced the template. Then the next two pics show how it looked after I initially cut the shroud. I then found after trying to put the intake in that you need to cut further down on the shroud to allow the intake to sit properly. The two plastic humps at the bottom need to be almost completely cut off in order for the intake to sit flush and mount properly. We took our time and kept cutting small amounts off at a time to be sure not to cut off more than was necessary. Once you cut enough and test fit the intake so that is sits properly you can install the rubber gasket piece that surrounds the edge of the shroud where you just cut. This gasket gives the radiator shroud a nice clean look.
d.

e.

f.


Step 5: Next you will need to remove the two allen screws that are in the front of the radiator shroud. The stock allen screws were a size 4. Then you can use the new allen (Size 5) screws that are provided to screw in the red bracket. Once the bracket is mounted be sure to check that the bottom part of the intake hooks on the two plastic bumper tabs so that it looks like picture g. Once this is all set you can slide the bridge back over the throttle body and tighten down all of the screws for the clamps. Double check all of your screws and bolts to be sure they are tight.

g.


Here are some pics of the finished product:




Once everything was installed and checked start her up and let her run a bit so that the Throttle body spacer gets warm and resnug the throttle body bolts.

Vararams instructions are pretty good but I just felt that some things would have gone a little more smoothly if they had been mentioned so that is why I did my own write up.

BLKVETTEVERTZ51

thanks for the detailed instructions. I was thinking of getting the Vararam kit. What is the difference in performance and did you get any codes?

CRZFINN

Manufacturers instructions are nowhere as good as these are! Great write up

DLTruex

Looks great. Nice pics.

How is the quality of the plastic on the Vararam setup. I have a friend that had a Vararam C5 intake that wasn't very durable. If the C6 intake is better quality I might just get one.

ShockerRacing

I have been a big believer in the Breathless Performance Vortex for a while but I thought I would try something new(and $200 less) this time. I was very pleased with the quality of the product and the way the car seems to respond to it. The thing that was most lacking was the details of the install. There were no codes thrown and the car did not have any hesitations after first start up. Also, you can really hear it suck the air in and it sounds pretty cool! Now, if only this snow would melt so I could get it out for a test drive!

Bill Curlee

Please let us know what you think the performance result is when you take her out for a spin! Are you concerned about water injestion?

Thanks Bill C

ShockerRacing

I am not too concerned with water injestion because I would have to drive through some really deep water for it to be high enough and I really try not to drive it in the rain anyways.

Gundam

How long did it take you to install everything? Also, can you give an estimate on how long it would take to revert back to the stock unit? (I'm just asking for a wild guess)

Thanks!

Lusky

I drove through heavy rain several times with the Vararam & no problems.


Lusky

Lusky

I can help answer.
I think it took about an hour to install. I had to use a ss nut(worked like a thick washer ,1/4" thick) on each allen screw as a spacer to bring the bracket out to allow the lower part to remain secure above the bumper tabs. The allen screws provided were long enough to allow this to work.

Going back stock. I can remove the whole assy in less than a minute, but I cannot go back stock because I gave away my stock air assy

Lusky

Gundam

Very helpful post! Only an hour to install? Not bad, I've been hearing more like 3+ hours. And about 30 minutes to reinstall the stock unit. The reason I ask is that I need to have the stock unit in for smog checks. I was going to go with the Halltech intake since it only takes 5 minutes to install and 5 minutes to remove. With this newfound knowledge I think I will go ahead and get the Vararam setup.

TexasTechZ06

Did you not have to cut the "ears" off of the shroud? I couldn't get the scoop to stay behind the tabs in the facia without cutting the little ears at the bottom!

Lusky

No cutting there. By putting a nut as a spacer(for the allen screws) between the car & bracket it allowed the scoop to stay on top the tabs with no chance of falling below.

Lusky

Lusky

I think the only time you waste is trying to get the stock air box to go back together right, the lids are really tight.

Also be sure to protect your a/c condensor from sharp objects falling on it b/c it will puncture very easy

Lusky

ShockerRacing

It took me about 2 hours to do but I was taking my time to be sure to do everything properly(and taking pics) and test it and run the car for a while. I could probably do it in under an hour now. As for putting the stock intake back on that could probably be done in about 1/2 an hour, just a guess.

ShockerRacing

Oh, I also thought I would point out that we did not remove the screen from the MAF (although it was tempting) because of all the posts we have read going back and forth. I figured for the 1-2 rwhp it "might" gain it was not worth the chance of throwing a code and having to buy a new MAF for $250.

Lusky

Minkster

Is the Vararam not CARB certified? Will it fail the visual inspection or what?

ShockerRacing

The car is having Kooks headers with no cats installed today, so we should have some dyno #'s today.

VaraRam Industries

Thanks so much for the great pics and instructions on our C6 Vararam
installation. Maybe we can get you to do the instructions on our next project!!!!! Great job and again thanks so much for helping and clarifying
installation procedures.