Results of todays CEL code read and on xcrossing......

VelocityYellowRules!

VelocityYellowRules!

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Jul 15, 2012
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Fairview, Alberta
VetteCoins
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2006 Z06
Good afternoon to all those who have been following this saga!

So today I took the car to the dealer in Fairview. The said they would need it for a few hours as I also wanted to get the oil changed - only 40% but figured I might as well as it won't see too many more km's before storage.

So I went for a nice 12 km walk around the golf course, pretty cold but so beautiful with the fall leaves.

Went back to the dealer. Sadly this time the tech pulled both P0172 and P0175 error codes (right and left bank lean) and laid it at the feet of my "aftermarket air filter system".

1)Service manager suggested putting the old system back in.

2)Tech suggested looking for something like a Halltech Flow Straightener.

Sort of a bit of a disappointment to get and install the Vararam and end up in this situation.

Still planning on going to the autocross in DC on Sunday but now unsure if I should run it with the Vararam or put the original filter back in or what the heck I should be doing.

I feel sort of lost................

Suggestions anyone??

Cheers,

Garry
 
VelocityYellowRules! said:
Good afternoon to all those who have been following this saga!

So today I took the car to the dealer in Fairview. The said they would need it for a few hours as I also wanted to get the oil changed - only 40% but figured I might as well as it won't see too many more km's before storage.

So I went for a nice 12 km walk around the golf course, pretty cold but so beautiful with the fall leaves.

Went back to the dealer. Sadly this time the tech pulled both P0172 and P0175 error codes (right and left bank lean) and laid it at the feet of my "aftermarket air filter system".

1)Service manager suggested putting the old system back in.

2)Tech suggested looking for something like a Halltech Flow Straightener.

Sort of a bit of a disappointment to get and install the Vararam and end up in this situation.

Still planning on going to the autocross in DC on Sunday but now unsure if I should run it with the Vararam or put the original filter back in or what the heck I should be doing.

I feel sort of lost................

Suggestions anyone??

Cheers,

Garry
Click to expand...

Garry , thats all bull s**t . I have and can prove them wrong . I have installed hundreds of these and no issues , F'n Stealerships always want to blame it on sh!t they have no concept of .,,,am I pizzed right now you bet .
What a bunch of clowns
 
I do fully apprecaite what you are saying Manny and it still could be coincidence and I also accept that if this was a wide spread problem Vararam would not be in business nor would owners and people like you be recomending them.

But what I do accept is the error code being accurately downloaded, thus I am unsure of where to go from here. I love CAI to be sure and installed 3 others myself. But I am concerned that I would be running a risk of an overheaded valve or something similar to that.

What would you do in my shoes??

Is is not like the xcross is a hp situation but I sure like having it in there and the extra growl it gives!!

Cheers,

Garry
 
VelocityYellowRules! said:
I do fully apprecaite what you are saying Manny and it still could be coincidence and I also accept that if this was a wide spread problem Vararam would not be in business nor would owners and people like you be recomending them.

But what I do accept is the error code being accurately downloaded, thus I am unsure of where to go from here. I love CAI to be sure and installed 3 others myself. But I am concerned that I would be running a risk of an overheaded valve or something similar to that.

What would you do in my shoes??

Is is not like the xcross is a hp situation but I sure like having it in there and the extra growl it gives!!

Cheers,

Garry
Click to expand...

As you can guess , I am pretty passionate about what I do .

Ok throw the factory one back on , pretty easy . Drive it and see if the cel comes back . If not switch it back the Vararam as the hard part is already done LOL . Let me know . I am going to contact Steve @ Vararam and fill him in on the situation as well and see what ideas he may have .
 
Good evening Manny,

Yes, I know how you feel the way you about your work. You would not be as successful if you were not! It comes through very clearly and is nice to see from a customers perspective.

Now of course they erased the codes so Ih ave no CEL light at the moment. So I wonder if I should drive it again, wait the 100 or so km it seems to take and then disconnect the battery and put the original system back on and see if it codes again.

I mean it is probably a foolish errond to expect anything otherwise but just to confirm one more time that it throws a code with the Vararam on there and then pop the original one back in.

Will I be fine with the original filter AND the hole in the oil cooler/rad cover, in the short term?

I am very much looking forward to hear what Steve with the company says and any suggestions he might have, thanks for looking further Manny.

Cheers,

Garry
 
Tough break Garry. Hopefully works out for you without too much stress and frustration. I would have to say that temporarily reinstalling the factory system seems like the best option but I'm only as in "tune" (no pun intended) with the situation as your posts appear.

Which dealer??? Be interesting to see if its one that is touch with aftermarket mods. I know some offer more assistance with modded cars.
 
Good evening HLN A55,

Ya, sucks to be me. Oh well, it will eventually be resolved I'm sure.

The Chev dealer in Fairview, Adventure Automotive. The tech seems decent enough. I went to the shop and looked around and struck up a conversation with one of them, Tim, and decided he sounded decent enough. Plus he knew the guy that I used for my work vechiles in Spirit River for 16 years and that also made me feel good.

I'll wait and see what Manny says and then go from there.

I'd be a shame to remove it but like I said earlier, it will be a much easier removal than it was an install!!

Goes to show why you never throw the old parts away, right away!

Cheers,

Garry
 
Garry/Manny -- is it possible that a previous owner did some kind of tune, with the OEM intake on, and now with a VaraRam on would mean a lean condition requiring a new tune to accommodate?

Just putting it out there.......Not sure if it makes any sense.

Garry I know you're not in favour of putting the OEM system back on now but it's what I'd do too until you get this figured out.
A bit of a pain but it would be nice to know if the CEL comes back with the lean codes.

Colin.
 
Good evening Colin,

I'm more and more thinking that this will be tomorrow's job when it gets warm. I still don't think that the last field will be dry enough to combine so I can switch it back for Sunday.

The tech mentioned the possibility of it needing to be tuned now but others say that just a Vararam alone should not require this and the ECM should be able to deal with the higher airflow.

Peace of mind for the xcross has to be worth something!

I'm sure I'll still have fun.

Cheers,

Garry
 
As with others, I would drive it again and wait for the CEL to come on, just to verify things. Then, unplug the battery, put on the old air filter and see if it comes on again, if it does, off to the dealership! If it doesn't, bingo, Vararam good!
 
Good morning Riley,

I am still hoping to hear how Manny feels about this. I am not sure at what risk that oh so beautiful LS7 engine is at with these two codes. I'm not so cock-sure that I want to push things that far and so for safety reasons putting the original filter back on while Manny talks with Steve of Vararam about what might be going on.

The discussions lean (odd word to use!) toward the Vararam not having as smooth an airflow into the throttle body past the MAF sensor and this turbulance is causing the car to run lean. I'm not an engineer by any means so I don't know if this is the case or not.

I find it curious that some Vararams are installed by busniesses and the owners themselves without problem and then sometimes like with me, there are problems. The Vararam is really, a very simple bolt-on and so there should be very little that could go wrong........

I will be happy to have it resolved whenever it gets done as it is always a disappointment to spend $ for an upgrade and to not be able to use it.

Two days to xcross!

Cheers,

Garry
 
I found this on another thread and thought it was interesting. If so and the engine is running rich it is not as much of a worry outside of soot and fouled plugs??


"My Z06 was modified back in 06 with a VaraRam ram air, Melrose long-tube headers, Random Technologies cats and a Corsa cat-back. It's been running great ever since (15,000 miles currently) until I decided to clean and inspect the air filter. Opened it up and wow! There's a quarter inch piece of foam for a filter. Decided I better improve this so I called VaraRam and they sent me an upgrade kit which included a new custom pleated and oiled element, supplied by "Green," and a new cover to accommodate the thicker filter. I installed it and it fit great. Off I went to test it out and by gosh it felt even stronger. Stick with me, this may test your knowledge base.

Since I'm from Michigan and was only wintering down in Florida, I shipped it back up north for the summer. This is important as it may figure into the problem. I picked it up from the shipper and filled up the tank at the local Costco. Ten minutes latter I had a "check engine" light. So, I'll now cut to the chase. It posts two codes P0171 and P0174 both indicate a "too lean" condition for banks one and two. I had everything check out and the tech concluded that it may be oil from the new filter (not a K&N but they dispute that their elements do this) or the mass airflow sensor may be faulty, doesn't check out that way but it could need replacing. He cleaned the sensor, cleared the codes and sent me on my way. 5 miles latter it's back.

So, I call VarRam and the engineer there assures me that the problem is not with oil from their filter but rather it's from the engine now getting too much air. It seems that the new pleated and oiled filter flows 20% more air and in response to this the ECM is adding as much fuel as it can and posting a lean code.

By the way, it seems that even though it is saying that it's way lean, it's really "rich." Go figure. The combination of the new air flow and the cool Michigan air has sent the ECM into a faults sense of reality."


Any comments/thoughts on this? Could it be correct? I'm no where near as concerned with a rich mixture as I am with a lean one..........

Cheers,

Garry
 
Good Morning!

Sounds like you have a good plan there. It does suck to not take advantage of an upgrade...however, I guess the only silver lining for the moment is that the revs and speed during the autocross should not be high enough for the Vararam to make a difference so you can enjoy yourself regardless.

If you think about it and have the camera for it. Could you take some video for us and snap some pictures? It doesn't have to be only your car but others there as well. That would be great to see your car in action though!

Best of luck obtaining 2X the winners time! I'm sure you'll do it!

As for the previous post, maybe Manny can shed some light here but would it be possible to check for a lean condition with the OBDII reader? Does it read real time O2 sensor readings? If you have a lot of oxygen getting into the exhaust, you could have a lean condition as there is not enough fuel to burn all the oxygen, and of course if there is not a lot of oxygen, you are putting enough fuel in your car. I'm sure it's more complex than that....and I may be WAY off. Hopefully Manny can shed some light if he wants to.
 
Fear not. Two cameras, spare batteries!

But I'm still having issues with shrinking my picture size from Race the Base even with the software suggestions that were made. Dumb as a stump sometimes this kid!

So I may have to send the images to a member with photosizing skills perhaps for them to undertake this effort.

And I have no idea how to upload video on to YouTube but I'm sure my gf can do that for me..............

I really wish I had a camera mount for inside the car - any recommendations for where to look for one? EBay maybe????

But yes, my intention is to take a mess of pictures since unlike Race the Base you don't have to pay $350 to get one on one with the cars!

Like I said, they had an autocross on Sept 17th and there was a C6 ZR1 there but I suspect that there will not be a mess of Corvettes and just a whole bunch of tuned imports. But still they are nice cars and it will be nice to see them in action.

And I'll admit, my wheel bling arrived today. Please don't laugh. I have yellow tire stem lights that light up from the motion of the wheel moving so at night time they make a circle if the wheel is turning fast enough. $20 including shipping out of China for 10 of them. 4 for the Z06, 4 for the Sentra SER and 2 for my son's bike!! I guess we all have these little moments in our lives. I sure hope I'll be more successful with this bolt-on compared to the Vararam!!!

Cheers,

Garry
 
Maybe. Closest dyno might be Grande Prairie, two hours away..........

I have to ask. AFR is not on my car abbreviations, what does it stand for?

Cheers,

Garry
 
Thanks Manny!

"A dyno, a dyno, my kingdom for a dyno." Good thing Richard is dead..........

So off I go to pull the Vararam...........God I know I kept most things from the original but I hope I have those two silly pins still........

Cheers,

Garry
 
Careful on the wheel bling. Buddy bought some of those Chinese valve stem caps you speak of, they were aluminum and orange to boot.

The oxidized on to the valve stems, cost him $400 to replace the stems.
 
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