Going to divide opinion on this one....

 

I swapped out the perfectly adequate panel filter..

 

 

For a K&N 57i induction kit

 

 

I was offered it at a silly price so I thought, heck why not. I missed a decent induction noise/Turbo spool up from my old MK2 VRS so let's see how it goes!

 

Worried about heat soak, I ignored K&N's fitting advice for the 320d and left the bottom half of the airbox in. This ensures that the cold air feed from the front of the car is still routed up into the bottom of the airbox where the filter will suck it up, while acting as a heat shield as the turbo is located on this side of the engine.

 

 

The effects to the noise are noticable.. the engine sounds a little more aggressive from idle > 3k revs with a nice turbo spool noise (If you're into that sort of thing..which I am!) Luckily, there is no stupid BOV sound when I change gear.

 

Performance wise I've noticed nothing more than a quicker throttle response, time will tell about MPG and heat soak when the weather improves. The kit owes me peanuts, so if there are any detremental effects i'll whip it off.

 

Before and after sounds (not my car but same engine and sounds similar)

 

 

 

 

Edited 25 January, 20179 yr by Ally_bassman

Ally, how did you get on with the DTUK tuning box, both performance and economy wise? I have just got rode of the Octavia FL diesel VRS for a BMW F31 320d M Sport, no regrets and wish I'd bypassed the Skoda. Despite it being a heavier car than the Octavia it is a much more entertaining drive and handling is in a different league but wondering what a bit of tinkering with the engine would do.

12 minutes ago, CWARD said:

Ally, how did you get on with the DTUK tuning box, both performance and economy wise? I have just got rode of the Octavia FL diesel VRS for a BMW F31 320d M Sport, no regrets and wish I'd bypassed the Skoda. Despite it being a heavier car than the Octavia it is a much more entertaining drive and handling is in a different league but wondering what a bit of tinkering with the engine would do.

 

Totally agree, the BMW is much more engaging to drive! Even though they are heavy compared to the Skoda, the RWD setup and a more focused chassis makes it a hoot when pushed.

 

The DTUK box transformed my engine, in stadard form it was nippy enough with 184ps, but the DTUK has given it a nice boost with a clutch friendly map. You don't notice a difference until over 2k revs, then a nice surge of power comes in. I fitted mine pretty much straight away after picking it up from the dealer. I took the box off when it got a service...my days I noticed it was missing.

 

In short - Highly recommended.

 

I am looking to change though, as the car is now out of warranty, I'm looking at getting a custom remap or a new tuning box. RaceChip boxes get good write ups and their intregation with an iPhone to update maps and change settings on the fly does look good....

Racechip sounds interesting, I will have to look that up. I have the 36k mile/ 4 year service coming up so will look at doing a bit of tuning after that. 

air filter doesn't sound to bad probably sounds a lot better on the move? wish it was as easy to fit one to the previous 20d generation.

 

surprised no one has put no point on a diesel yet

It does sound a lot better on the move, i'm really happy with it! I know, i've been waiting for it lol!

I've altered the location of the filter to ensure that it gets a steady cold air feed from the original airbox. I drilled a small hole in the top of the lower half of the airbox and used a cable tie to secure the filter. I certainly feel that inital throttle response has improved and the turbo is quicker to spool up. Overall I'm happy with it!

 

 

Oh and extra gains were had by fitting the K&N sticker...atleast 5bhp.

 

My front number plate was looking a little tatty so I fitted some fresh pressed ones. I'm unsure about the plate surround, i only got one to make fitting the pressed plate easy...alot of them had stupid M logos and 'M power' on them.

 

 

Winter has not been kind to my paint, when the weather improves and I can get some time out of parenting duties..she's in dire need of a clay, machine polish and wax!