I've got a 2006 skoda fabia 1.2 sport (64) and i fancy getting a bit of a nice sound out of my little engine (without sounding like a complete ****y chav), so i came across a K&N air filter,

if anyone could just let me know if you think it'd be worth getting? cheers.

I've got a 2006 skoda fabia 1.2 sport (64) and i fancy getting a bit of a nice sound out of my little engine (without sounding like a complete ****y chav), so i came across a K&N air filter,

if anyone could just let me know if you think it'd be worth getting? cheers.

In my opinion, No.

for the reason that although they may sound nice(you may notice it being slightly louder...but then again maybe not.swings and roundabouts),look nice and may give you slightly better mpg(when new), you still need to think about cleaning and maintaining it regularly. Disposing of the dirt and oil legally as well and not just dumping it down a drain or sink as some people do. For all that you may as well buy 4 or oem air filters and change them every 6 months.Which is what i recommend.

Also each time you clean it, the cotton looses 3% of its material each time. The filtration levels of cotton and normal open cell foam are inferior to paper ones and so you potentially are putting your engine at risk. Dirt as small as 5microns migrate up your intake and into your engine causing damage to pistons and valves. You may not notice immediately but over time it could effect it.

K&N claim alot of things on their website but unfortunately no actual hard documentation other than their own in house testing and the opinions of people who are also biased or under an illusion.

consider this

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/111321-ramair-panel-filter/page__p__1394784__hl__green%20filter__fromsearch__1entry1394784

http://mymiata.paladinmicro.com/K&NComments.htm

At the end of the day it is down to you what you want to do. Whether getting an extra 1bhp and sounding louder from a performance air filter is worth it or whether you'd much rather have a better filter that stops small dirt ruining your engine. I'd personally choose the latter because I have discovered that a clean air paper air filter filters brilliantly and gives me great mpg and performs well.

I myself have been running tests on the filters and so far have found that paper ones do catch more dirt and do actually breathe quite well compared to cotton and foam. If you do buy a k&n hold it up bright light and look through it. you will see holes in it. You could also test it out by using a sealed chamber and see it doesn't catch much dirt at all, even the coarse stuff.

If you want better sound then get an induction kit or sports exhaust. jetex do excellent exhausts and they are slightly louder over standard and give a nice subtle deep tone. With the induction kit however you still have the same issue as filtering efficiency and its at greater risk due a direct cold air feed as is the case in the high end kits such as the viper. You'll also need to make sure its away from engine bay heat as this will starve you of power.

Edited 11 April, 201016 yr by newskoda

Are you thinking of getting an Induction kit or a replacement panel Filter?

I replaced my OEM filter to a panel filter on a Rolling Road and got a massive 1.2 BHP more and this of course is from a 142 BHP vRS. It may be a little more now as the ECU has adapted. I have not noticed any change in mpg