0Brian@RPT

We had the opportunity to test the Vararam Power Wedge for the LS3. The test vehicle was:

2008 Corvette LS3 M6 with 24,008 miles
Katech LS3 Torquer Camshaft
Kooks 1 7/8” Longtube Headers
Kooks 3” Catted X-Pipe
Stock NPP Exhaust
Halltech MF107R AIS
Vmax Spiral Ported LS2 Throttlebody
Stock LS3 Heads
Stock LS3 Intake Manifold
Stock Thermostat
Target AFR is 0.86 Lambda
Tuned by RPT using a Dynapack 4000 Chassis Dyno using SAE J1349 Specification.

The initial run was performed with the following conditions:

Coolant Temp – 207 degrees
Engine Oil Temp – 201 degrees
Air Temp – 75.1 degrees
Humidity – 23.6%
Results were 462.3 rwhp and 420.4 ft-lbs

Something to note, I have dynoed this car a lot across they last month and always dynos 462-466 rwhp. So, this is a very consistent vehicle. I pulled the car twice and both times was 462 rwhp.

Installed the Vararam Power Wedge and took about 10 minutes.

Coolant Temp – 207 degrees
Engine Oil Temp – 201 degrees
Air Temp – 75.6 degrees
Humidity – 22.1%
Results were 468.9 rwhp (+6.6 rwhp) and 425.5 ft-lbs (+5.1 ft-lbs)

This was better than I expected since this car has tuned so meticulously. Just thought I would share the results.

0Brian@RPT

Pics can be found HERE

5knives

Did you retune the car after installing the power wedge, or is that just the wedge?

Thanks for doing some independent testing?

S'vette

ditto. Im glad we have some more info on it. Curious about retune too. In your opinion does it even need a retuen with a modded car? My mods are very similar to the car you used so very curious about retuning. Results look good without retuning anyway. Do you see this as a plenum spacer or is it changing the air flow?

sallen619

I believe the Vararam website says you should re-tune....it goes into to detail why...

S'vette

Yea I know they say that for an already tuned car and a stock car doesnt. I think I know why for the stock car. Im guessing the mappings will adjust. In a tuned car, and Im no tuner so I really dont know, do they still leave room for the mappings to adjust too or is a tuned car set and has no room for auto adjusting to minor changes in air flow?

Just a note from the graph, it looks like its more of a TQ thing than a HP thing as the HP really doesnt improve till way up in the rpms.

All_Motor_C5LS6

Was the car retuned after the wedge?

I wonder what gains could be had on a LS2?

5knives

Is a retune needed to bring out the most power from the wedge or is it needed to fix drive-ability issues or potential problems with having an untuned wedge on a modded car? If these results are typical and can be duplicated on my H/C/I LS2 without a retune, I'll buy this today.

Lethal Racing

We have tested 3 cars with the wedge. With no tweaking we have been picking up 7-10rwhp and 8-12rwtq. Definately a nice piece and worth the 100.00

Shawn

TLTONEY

Thanks for the test Brian.

5knives

Was this on stock cars or modded? If modded, what was the extent of work done?

Thanks

FloydSummerOf68

Any LS2s?

CMEGONE

I'm still waiting for LS2 results as well!

5knives

I've come to the realization that I really want this product to work. I just need something to convince me it's actually worth it. So far....eh

S'vette

Well quit hidden in the shadows (avatar) lol and get it so we can all see. Im looking hard at this too without retuning for it, so like you I need to know if the 7 or 8 gains was on a stock car or a tuned car too. Im kinda at the point of having done most of the big mods Im going to do and now just looking at smaller mods to stay NA. Might do a water/meth kit too.

5knives

Ha....I'm in the same situation. I already have all the major NA mods and I'm not looking for a significant build change. Usually I don't even bother with companies that play games or avoid questions, but I'm itching for a new mod. This would be a nice addition if it's legit.

I just need to know how important it is to get a retune. I emailed VR a few days ago but it's a holiday weekend so I'll probably have to wait until Monday for a reply.

Still waiting on info from the above shops.

Speedforhire

The OP states the car was varied between 462 - 466; so the power wedge only shows a +2 difference between their variance. Is it worth the $100.00 price tag? I'm still not convinced.

I can get more than that from a tank of race fuel...........just sayin!

5knives

This is a good point but the OP did state he dyno'd the car twice before the install and both readings were at 462rwhp. The addition of the Power Wedge could be the result of dyno variations. But, it didn't lose power.

TurboVic

looks like it gained all across the curve, which is better than just peak.

HOXXOH

I really don't put much stock in dyno tests, so I'd like to see some timeslips. Since it's a simple 10 minute install, a test at the track would tell the real world difference.

3 passes to establish consistancy, then 2 passes with the wedge to show the difference, and 1 more pass without the wedge to verify a return to the previous numbers and eliminate DA and track condition variables.

I'd gladly pay $100 to cut as little as a verified .05 off my ET.