Pontiac G8 2008-2009 - No BS dyno test of Vararam CAI for G8

The first mod on my G8 GT was a dyno tune. My power rose from 307rwhp/333rwtq to 325rwhp/335rwtq with the tune (87 octane tune by the way). It was all outlined here:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/dynamometer-results-comparisons/1157609-another-strong-87-octane-g8-tune.html

Yesterday, I installed the Vararam cold air intake for the G8 as the second mod. I've seen some pretty outrageous claims from different people on the gains from installing the VR. Mine was going to be a true A-B-A comparison. Tuned with the Vararam, back to tuned with the stock air box, back to the tuned with the Vararam. All on the same dyno within a one hour time period.

The results for the Vararam were good, but certainly not nearly as high as other people's gains. We dynoed the Vararam and it made 334rwhp/341rwtq. Then we reinstalled the factory airbox and it made 325rwhp/335rwtq. Then we reinstalled the Vararam and it made 335rwhp/342rwtq. A gain of 10.5rwhp and a torque gain of 7. This gain was not as much as some others had posted which leads me to believe that perhaps the Vararam may gain more on an untuned application or maybe people were testing the stock airbox with a stock tune and the Vararam with a power tune. If that's the case, then my total gains for VR and tune were 28rwhp and 9 rwtq.

Here's the dyno of the Vararam compared to the stock airbox. All adaptives were reset before each pull and the oil/water temps were all the same. Like I said, this was a no-BS test.

http://guerragroup.com/G8_VR_dyno.JPG

nice work suka....good honest info.

WTH, when did you dump the GC? How's the G8? What kind of mileage are you seeing?

WTH, when did you dump the GC? How's the G8? What kind of mileage are you seeing?LOL Chris, yes I sold the GCSRT8. It's rare that I keep a vehicle longer than 2 years. I was starting to put some heavy miles on the Jeep so I decided to sell it while it was still worth some money. With the money I made selling the Jeep, I was able to buy my daughter a new Honda Fit to take to college and have money left over to buy the G8.

The G8 is a really nice car. The ride is better than the Jeep (no surprise), but I miss the seats, stereo, NAV and foot room of the GC. The SRT8 was a phenomenal all-around vehicle, but with very expensive cost of ownership.

With my tuning tweaks, I can cruise in 4 cylinder mode at 75mph in the G8. I knocked down 26mpg on a trip to Texarkana last week. A solid 2 mpg better than the EPA highway rating. My around town mileage is 16 which is around what the Jeep would get on the highway, haha.

I am getting 22.3 MPG tank to tank on the GXP M6. Best I have seen on the highway is 24 so far, 100% highway. It is very easy to knock it down to 18 MPG tank to tank.

I think it could do better with tuning, also.

I did a different version when I had a Roto fab. Jason at TSP did the dyno. Roughly, hp only,tq was about 5 more all the way up, stock 303, Rotofab 313, tune 330, all hood up..one last pull with hood down 320. I think the Vararam would do a little better with the hood down. All pulls were with the standard big fan in front of the car.

Nice work Patrick! Almost a 10% increase in RWHP and improved drivability.

I guess I could say I saw the tune/CAI dyno first hand:) You forgot to mention it was 105 frickin degress on those pulls too! Even hot for a Texian.

kinda figured

LOL Chris, yes I sold the GCSRT8. It's rare that I keep a vehicle longer than 2 years. I was starting to put some heavy miles on the Jeep so I decided to sell it while it was still worth some money. With the money I made selling the Jeep, I was able to buy my daughter a new Honda Fit to take to college and have money left over to buy the G8.

The G8 is a really nice car. The ride is better than the Jeep (no surprise), but I miss the seats, stereo, NAV and foot room of the GC. The SRT8 was a phenomenal all-around vehicle, but with very expensive cost of ownership.

With my tuning tweaks, I can cruise in 4 cylinder mode at 75mph in the G8. I knocked down 26mpg on a trip to Texarkana last week. A solid 2 mpg better than the EPA highway rating. My around town mileage is 16 which is around what the Jeep would get on the highway, haha.


Same here, usually 18 months for me. I may get rid of mine and just drive the GTO for awhile and sit on the cash. Nothing out there really excites me except the new "V", but I'll wait for them to drop.

I did a similar test when I got my New Era side mount style cai. Swapping the stock airbox and cai back and forth after a tune and headers it showed a gain of ~8rwhp for the cai. I know the OTR style cai should have some ram effect at speed but I just don't see that much gain to switch from my current cai.

Pic of the VR setup Patrick?

Not Patricks car, but a RED G8.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04868.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04869.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04870.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05008.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05009.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05010.jpg

I love the engine shots with out the cover. Reminds me of my Trans Am only nicer. Maybe when I start modding the G8 I will remove the cover.

And the Air Intake is nice too. I like this design best.

I finally had a chance to log the MAP numbers of the stock airbox vs the Vararam on the dyno and at speed. Here are the findings:

Stock Air box:
kPa would drop from 101 to 96kPa at WOT on the dyno and at speeds of over 100mph. No ram air effect.

Vararam:
kPa would drop from 101 to 98kPA at WOT on the dyno. (2 kPa better than stock).
kPa would hover between 99-100kPa at speeds above 60mph with an occasional 101kPA. (4-5 kPa better than stock).

Net result, the Vararam gave 2 kPa less restriction on the chassis dyno vs. the stock air box and added an additional 2-3 kPa in pressure at speeds above 60 mph. Since we gained around 10rwhp on the dyno with a 2kPa gain, it is possible to pick up a total of 20rwhp over the stock airbox at speeds over 60mph considering the 4-5kPa gain of the VR vs. stock.

Not Patricks car, but a RED G8.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04868.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04869.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC04870.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05008.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05009.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm132/charlesvanwormer/DSC05010.jpg

I took the Vararam Sticker off and it looks..OEM..LOL:corn:

I took the Vararam Sticker off and it looks..OEM..LOL:corn:I took mine off too. I like the OEM looks without it. Here's a photo of mine:
http://guerragroup.com/2009_G8_2.JPG

What about IAT temps stock vs Vararam?

What about IAT temps stock vs Vararam?In my experience, the VR places the MAF much closer to the motor and radiator fans making it heat soak much easier than the stock air box. Fortunately, the temps drop much faster with a whack of the gas than stock. Still, I would highly recommend you purchase a heat soak relocation kick (HSRK) which moves the IAT sensor out of the MAF and closer to the beginning of the airbox. Otherwise, you could have your tuner revise your IAT temp timing retard settings to compensate. That's what I did.