03 plate octy VRS 1.8T

i want to do the wonderful thing and stab a nice K&N 57i filter/kit on or something else thats better (you get the idea) make it sound a little more throaty maybe, and get more noise feedback from the recirc valve

why are people recommending the filter on the end of some stainless steel manufactured tube?

i looked under my bonnet today, and the amount of tubes and pipes going in and out of that Air intake between the Airbox and MAf and where it goes down between the engine and the bulkhead towards the turbo is insane... i dont have that many fingers.

Whats the 'done' thing with these cars? as i can forsee it throwing a complete warning light wobbly at me.

Thanks to those who can help in advance

Edited 12 March, 201115 yr by Milkybadger

Some sort of CAI or modified airbox, not a filter stuck in the engine bay.

Do not buy the K&N cone that sit's on the end of the MAF(air flow metre) as that will just draw in hot air from the engine and performance will suffer.

Either stick to a K&N or similar panel filter that goes in the std airbox or a proper CAI(Cold air induction kit) which is a metal tube that routes from the MAF, down the side of the inner wing / battery and towards the bumper and has a cone filter on the end. This does not suffer from heat coming from the engine and draws in cool air from outside engine bay. Also if you are after more noise then the CAI is the way to go.

Both are easy to fit

Do a search on this forum been covered lots of times with various view points.

Edited 13 March, 201115 yr by Bowders1

Do not buy the K&N cone that sit's on the end of the MAF(air flow metre) as that will just draw in hot air from the engine and performance will suffer.

Either stick to a K&N or similar panel filter that goes in the std airbox or a proper CAI(Cold air induction kit) which is a metal tube that routes from the MAF, down the side of the inner wing / battery and towards the bumper and has a cone filter on the end. This does not suffer from heat coming from the engine and draws in cool air from outside engine bay. Also if you are after more noise then the CAI is the way to go.

Both are easy to fit

Do a search on this forum been covered lots of times with various view points.

I was using the K+N as an egsample so people had a view of what i meant, im not a fan of the oil K+N use anyhow.

i will look up some of these CAI, i wouldnt dream of sticking it in the engine bay btw. thats what a yob from halfords would do then go hold up a post office or something. xD

Cheers, any brand in particular btw?

I was using the K+N as an egsample so people had a view of what i meant, im not a fan of the oil K+N use anyhow.

i will look up some of these CAI, i wouldnt dream of sticking it in the engine bay btw. thats what a yob from halfords would do then go hold up a post office or something. xD

Cheers, any brand in particular btw?

I fitted this one on my vrs. item number 230594327420 (from the same guy as well)sure paid about £50. well worth the money. its a ali tube, 2nd air pipe also fits onto inlet. most of others are £150 upwards. you also get the noise you are looking for!!!! lol

Don't buy one of the cheap ebay cai as over time the inside of the tube flakes and can screw your turbo...So don't take short cuts as it will empty your pockets

Don't buy one of the cheap ebay cai as over time the inside of the tube flakes and can screw your turbo...So don't take short cuts as it will empty your pockets

it a ali one. not painted at all inside

it a ali one. not painted at all inside

Even they flake that is what I am on about..

stick with oem - no filter is gonna increase your power - just replace for a new one if you think it is a bit sluggish

Price doesnt concern me, if i do a car i do it properly, but thank you for the suggestion anyway.

Have we a link to the more expensive £150 ish one? as i can only find the cheap £50 versions

Can you get the kit without the cone?

and if not are you swapping the cone on the end for a non spurious make.

I want to do a few different things, even with the price of petrol going up the VRS's seem to be holding theyre value around the £3k + mark

Edited 13 March, 201115 yr by Milkybadger

I was using the K+N as an egsample so people had a view of what i meant, im not a fan of the oil K+N use anyhow.

i will look up some of these CAI, i wouldnt dream of sticking it in the engine bay btw. thats what a yob from halfords would do then go hold up a post office or something. xD

Cheers, any brand in particular btw?

No worries then..

I have a ABD CAI in mine expensive bit of kit

http://abdracingwerks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ADIAR&Product_Code=70.LAN.1.K

Pre oiled K&N filters are fine, i think a load of scooby owners blame oiled air filters as effecting the MAF, which seems to be a fad that folks talk about. Yes over oiling them when recleaning is not recomended though

Oem is the most efficent and safest! leave it alone, dont cut or smooth anything away on the inside as its designed to work as it and yourll be better off that way

Oem is the most efficent and safest! leave it alone, dont cut or smooth anything away on the inside as its designed to work as it and yourll be better off that way

Not strictly true...........safest maybe but not most efficient

a decent green cotton/jetex unoiled panel filter, will give you extra flow without causing risk to the maf

I would say its the most efficient at filtering. You dont want dirty air entering the turbo.

Edited 14 March, 201115 yr by Liverpool-Lad

I would say its the most efficient at filtering. You dont want dirty air entering the turbo.

OEM is not the most efficient at filtering, an upgraded 'proper' panel filter is more effcient, it has deeper folds of material allowing for more air to pass whilst retaining the same if not better filtration levels.

Hmm id question that, as I believe the paper filter will filter better...

me too, K&N buried deep in their website also agree their filters do not filter to the same degree an oem one does.

p.s. can you explain why more flow is better in a turbocharged fuel injected engine? esp on a standard map? I thought only carbed engines would release more power using these.

sorry dude, you belief is incorrect!

paper filters are paper for a reason....its cheap

see some spiel below from Green cotton

The Green Cotton Air Filter company is Europe's largest manufacturer of premium cotton air filters. Green cotton air filters are used widely in the racing and motor sport industry; including use by the Peugeot and Citroen motor sport teams. The company has received the prestigious EAQF manufacturing standard.

The Advantages of Cotton Air Filters

Cotton is the best material for air filtration. Cotton is organic, so humidity, moisture, weather conditions and temperature do not affect it's performance. Neither will the harsh environment of the engine compartment affect it. By contrast foam, sponge and paper filters tend to absorb moisture and dirt, rather than hold them. When wet their filtration capabilities are handicapped.

Contruction of Green Cotton Air Filters

Deep pleats in double layered cotton gauze of Green Cotton air filters ensure there is a 10-20% increase in surface area; enabling more air to be drawn into the car engine. The double layered cotton gauze is made up of a medium and fine layer to trap and hold dirt, dust and moisture particles as small as 5 microns diameter.

Interesting piece from K&N

Paper vs K&N

To meet minimum filtration standards, paper air filters must be thick and/or the fibers must be tightly compressed and dense. Therefore paper elements that provide adequate filtration are more restrictive to air flow by design. Additionally, as a paper filter becomes more and more clogged, the pressure inside the filter drops while the atmospheric air pressure (approximately 14.7 psia at sea level) outside the filter remains the same. It’s like using your lungs to draw the air out of a plastic milk bottle. When the pressure differential becomes too great, the bottle will collapse. The same thing could happen to your paper filter, although it is unlikely. But what will happen could be just as severe. An excessively high pressure differential created by a restricted filter can literally pull dirt particles through the paper medium. In other words, the performance of a paper filter, i.e. air flow through the filter and its ability to protect your engine, DECREASES near the end of its service interval.

Ergo, paper is cak, cotton is king

me too, K&N buried deep in their website also agree their filters do not filter to the same degree an oem one does.

p.s. can you explain why more flow is better in a turbocharged fuel injected engine? esp on a standard map? I thought only carbed engines would release more power using these.

All engines require air in order to perform, more air is the way to more power (one of) whether its a carbed engine or a turbo.

Your engine has a turbo, why do you think it produces 180bhp, its through forced induction..the turbo is pushing/compressing air, take the turbo off and you wont see that kind of power from a normally aspirated engine.

sorry dude, you belief is incorrect!

paper filters are paper for a reason....its cheap

see some spiel below from Green cotton

The Green Cotton Air Filter company is Europe's largest manufacturer of premium cotton air filters. Green cotton air filters are used widely in the racing and motor sport industry; including use by the Peugeot and Citroen motor sport teams. The company has received the prestigious EAQF manufacturing standard.

The Advantages of Cotton Air Filters

Cotton is the best material for air filtration. Cotton is organic, so humidity, moisture, weather conditions and temperature do not affect it's performance. Neither will the harsh environment of the engine compartment affect it. By contrast foam, sponge and paper filters tend to absorb moisture and dirt, rather than hold them. When wet their filtration capabilities are handicapped.

Contruction of Green Cotton Air Filters

Deep pleats in double layered cotton gauze of Green Cotton air filters ensure there is a 10-20% increase in surface area; enabling more air to be drawn into the car engine. The double layered cotton gauze is made up of a medium and fine layer to trap and hold dirt, dust and moisture particles as small as 5 microns diameter.

Interesting piece from K&N

Paper vs K&N

To meet minimum filtration standards, paper air filters must be thick and/or the fibers must be tightly compressed and dense. Therefore paper elements that provide adequate filtration are more restrictive to air flow by design. Additionally, as a paper filter becomes more and more clogged, the pressure inside the filter drops while the atmospheric air pressure (approximately 14.7 psia at sea level) outside the filter remains the same. It’s like using your lungs to draw the air out of a plastic milk bottle. When the pressure differential becomes too great, the bottle will collapse. The same thing could happen to your paper filter, although it is unlikely. But what will happen could be just as severe. An excessively high pressure differential created by a restricted filter can literally pull dirt particles through the paper medium. In other words, the performance of a paper filter, i.e. air flow through the filter and its ability to protect your engine, DECREASES near the end of its service interval.

Ergo, paper is cak, cotton is king

Green Cotton and K&N would say that though, wouldn't they? They're hardly gonna say that paper ones are better!

And if your air filter is so dirty that it collapses, well, you should be frowned upon for not changing it earlier.

And... A foam or cotton filter will cause a pressure drop when it's clogged, albeit it may last a bit longer before that happens. Either way, if it has got that far, you're not looking after your motor properly lol..

guess they would, but they are not allowed to lie about their products either, so i'm guessing what they say is true, and that their test data is true too.

Either way a performance filter is a tried and tested (by many on here and every other car forum in the world) means of increasing airflow to their engines...we can't all be wrong?

Any filter (paper, foam, cotton or otherwise) surely has to strike a compromise between airflow and filtration capability, among other things.

I would have thought these are conflicting design constraints, the improvement of one having a detrimental effect on the other?

like anything oem its a case of cost, longevity then performace as considerations, stock are fine for just that stock engines, however if you want more power, then you need to look to upgrading lots of things including airfilters. That doesnt mean filtration is compromised however, infact according to the manufactures alternative materials are better, whilst avoiding issues mentioned above ie atmospheric interference.

Any filter (paper, foam, cotton or otherwise) surely has to strike a compromise between airflow and filtration capability, among other things.

I would have thought these are conflicting design constraints, the improvement of one having a detrimental effect on the other?

Hmm .... you can increase airflow by increasing the surface area, where as if the foam paper whatevers density and composition are the same it will filtrate just as good as if the surgace area was half the size.

Exactly. Paper IS the best filtration media, but sacrfices airflow when it is getting clogged.

Just been reading this:

http://www.knfilters.com/filter_facts.htm

It doesn't definitively say that K&N filters flow better or filter better than stock paper filters. It mentions that K&N filter medium flows better, but only on a square inch test size. As we all know, paper filters have way more pleats than K&N ones, so this advantage isn't really relevant.

The only thing it does mention is that K&N filters hold more dirt than your average paper filter. Fair enough. Just change your paper one more often.