I've had four Elise's, in terms of air filtration systems, two lots of K&N 57i's, one Pipercross, one ITG Maxogen, one Hurricane and one standard airbox.

One K series (current one) fairly standard, one k series and modified, one BAM engined 1.8t 20v and one Honda K20a with a Jackson supercharger. So 2 out of 4 have had forced induction.

Oh, I have had a compeession test done one the Elise recently and it was fine.

Neil, where are you geographically?

I don't doubt the issues reported by our Aussie and NZ colleagues regarding dust- its really fine stuff down there and gets in everywhere!

In the UK/Europe it's not nearly as bad and I'll stick with my original post. For the mk1 octy, a panel filter (even an OEM one) will be no worse than a K&N, unless your after a bit more noise.

If you want to go down the cone filter route, you need to go for a full CAI, otherwise your just sucking in hot air from the engine bay resulting in a drop in power as she gets hotter. That said, given the flooding we've had here recently, I'd stay clear - a friend nearly wrote off her golf due to having one fitted and some poor judgement on her part. Long story, and we can laugh about it now, but nearly wrote off her car.

For the mk1, best bang for your buck is a good quality remap (Shark, REVO, APR or Jabba are the top runners) and a rear ARB. Decent tyres and an updated DV are worth investing in too. After that, Until you move up to stage 2 and beyond, your spending money for bragging rights only (IMO).

Hi Bob,

I am in Saltash in Cornwall so the dust issue is not a problem. I have contacted Celtic tuning ref the stage 1 tuning (about £270) but have not looked into the rear ARB as yet, can you advise on best place to buy one? Also, what about the DV, again, any thoughts on the best aftermarket one to fit/buy?

Ta

There's a few rARB options open to you depending on your budget. Whiteline are the cheapest and many people on here would vouch for them.As for where to get one, ebay would be my first port of call. i believe Awesome Gti have an offer on at the minute too, find them in the sponsors section

as for DVs, Forge 007p are the top one and used on many VAG engines without problems. TBH, the stock one is fine for stage 1, but it's a bit of a weak link and prone to failing, which is why many upgrade. you can pick up a cheaper version on eBay for about £30, but I've never used one myself so can't vouch for them. Pretty sure there will be some info on the forums tho.

Edited 6 November, 201213 yr by BobSmoke

I've also got a K&N pannel filter for my MK2 Vrs. The only problem is, i can't seem to remove the engine cover! A performance pannel filter will be fine on a standard or stage 1 engine up to 250bhp. After this you should start thinking about fitting a full induction kit. A performance pannel filter such as the K&N will increase small amounts of power of maybe 10bhp max. This is not a set number as the results in power various on every engine. Don't expect to feel much difference though once fitted, it will make a bit more noise in the high revs but not much. It will help however if you also change the exhaust to free up gas flow and maybe go for a stage 1 remap. Doing these mods as i stated could see an extra 40bhp max! Good luck!

I'd love to see proof of this alleged 10hp gain that makes no a difference you can't feel.

A remap and larger exhaust will give you about 40hp without a noisey filter installed.