Pretty much says it all in the title.

Except I forgot to add Green into the party. My bad.

Looking to replace standard panel filter and improve if possible without spending big bucks and doing silly mods to give me extra power I don't really need. (I would like it, just not the fuel bill thanks! )

In not too distant future, once I've sorted out most of my cars "issues", I intend to get some dyno time and a remap, but I'll be looking for economy, rather than outright performance.

Is there anybody with experience of all of the options (excluding induction kits)?

Pro's and cons etc etc?

Basically, I have plenty of BMC oil/cleaner and K&N oil/cleaner (although I usually use brake cleaner if really dirty and dry for several days)so I'm just looking to save money on filters in the long run, since if this car behaves itself, I'll be keeping it until it dies.

I can see one downside to the pipercross foam panel, in that if it does get really filthy then it ain't gonna be much use. Don't fancy trying to clean a foam filter with solvents (since the standard cleaners are pretty crap in my experience)

Any help, opinions etc. all gratefully received.

Cheers in advance guys,

Daymz

Edited 13 June, 201115 yr by demonufo

Ive got a jabba induction kit on mine that uses a jetex cone filter, if you like to hear induction noise and chatter of standard dump value then put a induction kit, yeah there abit boy racer ish but i dont care

I know several people (self and (ex) Awesome employees included) who run Pipercross, and treat them as disposable. They won't give you "too fouzand break eezee mayt" but do make a difference you can feel to how fast the turbo spools.

Okay, so that's Pipercross out of the running. Thanks for the info.

As for the induction kit, well, drawing attention to myself is the absolute bloody last thing I want to be doing at 35 years old thankyooverymuch. Induction hissing and dump valves looks really cool in a scruffy old Estate banger when you're an old git carting about your old lady and kids around town, honest!

Besides which, I really don't want to go remapping for stacks more power. And I won't be remapping for a while yet. There's absolutely no point increasing the airflow if you're not going to increase the fuelling, and since I'm not going to be remapping for bhp (unless I can gain bhp AS WELL as improve the economy at lower RPM) this is of no use to me really.

Any more opinions out there???

K & N panel filter all the way for a road car, had them on many cars now ( UR Quattro, Sapph/Escort 4x4 Cosworth etc etc) and wouldn't use anything else , forget the pipercross panel filters I fitted one to my first cossy and once it was dirty it sucked more oil from the sump via breather than air through the air filter :( .

just brought a green panel filter for mine

will add results when it comes tomorrow or thurs i hope

I would have said a K&N, but I've recently changed my opinion on them and switched to OE.

I had a K&N in my old car, and ran one in this car for 3 years with no problems. But having worked for and with OEM's as an engineer I trust the OE stuff much more. There is no question that the OE filter has been better designed, tested, developed and approved. Mainly because companies like K&N and Pipercross just don't have the resources to do this work.

To look at it another way, the 237bhp Mk4 R32 uses the exact same filter as our cars, and the 414bhp B7 RS4 also uses the same type of filter element.

Personally, driving a 9yr old turbocharged car, I want the best filtration possible.....

Bodge, just how much "design, testing and development" do you actually think that a piece of filter paper, cotton gauze or a given density of filter foam needs once you've done the basic development to make them as media?

Also, are the OEM developers necessarily working to the same criteria (actual values, not just parameter list) as the aftermarket ones?

I've seen OEM paper filters and cases where the actual working area of a 12" diameter filter was about 2" of the 38" available, and they then expected the air to do a 90deg turn around a square corner into the throttle body (ok carb car, but a throttle body is part of a carb).

Also, there is another elephant in the room for anyone advocating "paper is best" on the simple grounds that it is most commonly used because it's cheapest, and gives the best intake silencing, rather than because it's best at filtering (volume flow rate or life).

And one for the cotton gauze boys; some mass market manufacturers have used filter foam filters, but can you name one who's used cotton gauze?

I've used K&N and Pipercross oh and OEM obviously. Here are my thoughts:

K&N - Very boomy especially when combined with my exhaust which seemed to give a nasty resonance. Also holding it up to the light left me less than convinced by the filtration. The gauze didn't look uniform and there were specs that looked VERY thin.

Pipercross - No increase in induction noise, turbo seems to spin up freely and pulls hard. Only stuck 1500 miles or so on it though.

At the moment I can recommend the Pipercross, would advice against the K&N but in all honesty an OEM paper filter replaced every 10k is the wisest choice.

Besides which, I really don't want to go remapping for stacks more power. And I won't be remapping for a while yet. There's absolutely no point increasing the airflow if you're not going to increase the fuelling, and since I'm not going to be remapping for bhp (unless I can gain bhp AS WELL as improve the economy at lower RPM) this is of no use to me really.

Any more opinions out there???

IMHO, I think your requirement is slightly flawed.

You say you want to get remaped, but not for performance, then why remap? A remap usually will optimise the fuel air boost and ultimatley give you more power. That more power you will use and thus any slight improvement of economy (if any at all) will be lost. You also state you are not into more airflow so there would be no benefit in a replacement filter than std as it does the job(even if they do claim more bhp).

I have tried Green/pipercross/K&N panels filters which all give the same kind of feel, My preference for a Panel filter would actually be a green one as they are very well made and will last ages. The benefits over a std paper filter is questionable regarding performance as others have said but depending on state of tune may give better results if mapped whilst fitted. But as you state that is not important to you. I have a ABD induction kit whilst apprecaite you stated you are not into those kits offers a better airflow again with my state of tune.

If price is your thing then stick with std.

my 2 pence worth..

Standard is the way ahead

The cones are rubbish and just pull in warm air from around the engine as well as dirt!

If you use a panel such as K%N you dont get any real gains but i did read somewhere that they can let in fine particals of dirt, like the cones if you dont keep them clean and oiled!

Id go with a nice clean standard one everytime

Standard is the way ahead

The cones are rubbish and just pull in warm air from around the engine as well as dirt!

If you use a panel such as K%N you dont get any real gains but i did read somewhere that they can let in fine particals of dirt, like the cones if you dont keep them clean and oiled!

Id go with a nice clean standard one everytime

Just to point out to others that when i refer to Induction kit, I am not talking about the cone cr*p stuck on the end of the MAF, but the proper cold air induction kits.

I am sure you folks knew i meant that already......

You say you want to get remaped, but not for performance, then why remap? A remap usually will optimise the fuel air boost and ultimatley give you more power. That more power you will use and thus any slight improvement of economy (if any at all) will be lost. You also state you are not into more airflow so there would be no benefit in a replacement filter than std as it does the job(even if they do claim more bhp).

It's not all about top end though. A decent dyno operator should be able to give you a few options. I want to concentrate on low end and economy is all. Any more boost is a bonus (it will get utilised on occasion) it's just there are other things more important to me. I've got no problem with increasing the airflow and the fuelling, I just don't really want a noisy car with a ridiculous induction roar. I keep a standard exhaust on all my motors for the same reason (the bike is an entirely different story though).

I'm not knocking people who do, it's just for some reason I'm not comfortable with drawing attention, noise, revs etc. Can't really explain it either. Even on the bike, I'm very well behaved unless on a clear open road with a speed limit of 50+ (that makes a road fair game in my view Anything lower gets adhered to vehemently)

To the OP, as some have already said, stick to the OE filter if you are not mapping it straight away.

Wait until you get it mapped and see what the tunner says, I am sure there are a few people here running stage 1's and the likes with the standard filter and box!

Sidebar... has anyone any thoughts on one of those fancy looking CDA intakes? Worth it??

I can end this argument.

If someone can find out exactly what setup was used on the actual Skoda Octavia VRS Rally car engine then surely this would be the best setup for performance??? I`ve been looking all over the net and I haven`t found an engine bay pic of one of the mk1 rally cars yet though...:(

The vRS WRC edition is just a vRS with a few extra options, comes with same airbox & filter as normal vRS

The WRC Octavia rally car, built by ProDrive, isn't really an Octavia, it just looks like one.

It has a different engine, so not really relevant tbh

I can end this argument.

If someone can find out exactly what setup was used on the actual Skoda Octavia VRS Rally car engine then surely this would be the best setup for performance??? I`ve been looking all over the net and I haven`t found an engine bay pic of one of the mk1 rally cars yet though... :(

Complete waste of time comparing. The WRC cars have a completely different engine set up (as mentioned) and thus different airflow filtration systems and also have different needs for noise / filtration etc etc.

pic of a WRC engine bay here:

http://www.briskoda....c-engine-shots/

nothing wrong with STD OEM if the OP is not into noise, expensive costs and wants to keep OEM.

A typical upgrade without noise and too much cost is a Green Panel filter. I have had K&N , Green , Pipercross panel filters and now running a ABD CAI. which for me is heaps better to my cars mapping then the panel filters.

To the OP I would recommend Green Panel over the other panels if upgrading, as better made, no difference to noise , competitive price.

The intake system of the WRC car is also designed to comply to WRC rules, so it actually alot more restrictive than you'd design if going for pure power.

Post WRC, the ProDrive Octavia's were often given a major work-over and had their power output nearly doubled from the WRC spec 300bhp/500nm

itg panel in mine i like it a lot and easier and cheaper to clean