hi i  wanted to know what what am i best going for filter wise ,panel filter or a cai.want some feedback from people who are running both really pros n cons of both.cheers car is a vrs 

What's your budget? To be honest there's not much wrong with a panel filter, heat shielded, MAF is secure, good surface area etc. I've opened up the inlet in the box, taken the fins out and run an 80mm pipe down to the front corner with more holes in the corner grill. Works well for not much money. Some Ramair stuff looks ok for the midrange but be wary of securing the MAF if it's insecure it will screw the readings. If you're going CAI then I dare say you generally get what you pay for.

Noone

 

There is no difference in flow between an OE filter and no filter.Was a yt clip somewhere where they measure that very elaborate

I have a Carbonio CAI with a whacking gurt K&N filter as well as the battered original for sale if of any interest? I prefer it to the open filter I'm currently using, but I can't be bothered to refit it and would rather have the money for some tyres instead!

That just sounds weird. Not doubting you've seen the test but it seems odd when you compare all the folds of an oem paper one to the flat foam sheet of a pipercross for example. The whole bottom of the airbox can fill with air with an uprated panel. Plus with the oem the end section goes right across the inlet so flow is restricted before the air has even got in there.

response to previous post.

Ah this old chestnut. Every time it comes up you'll get a bunch of people saying stick with panel in box and a bunch saying go cai.

If you're going to do CAI, do it properly and run a decently made well secured pipe down towards the front of the wheel arch for best temps etc. Don't bother with a cone on the end of the maf, even with a heat shield - pointless IMHO but proper CAI setup will flow better.

However for the expense vs limited gains I'd agree with yellowcar. Mod the standard airbox and plonk in a decent panel filter - pipercross foam or green cotton would be my choice and run a pipe feed up to it.

http://www.wak-tt.com/mods/ramair/cheapinduction.htm this is for a TT but same idea - personally wouldn't bother with the holes in the box but same idea, smooth the inside of the box etc.

Ah this old chestnut. Every time it comes up you'll get a bunch of people saying stick with panel in box and a bunch saying go cai.

If you're going to do CAI, do it properly and run a decently made well secured pipe down towards the front of the wheel arch for best temps etc. Don't bother with a cone on the end of the maf, even with a heat shield - pointless IMHO but proper CAI setup will flow better.

However for the expense vs limited gains I'd agree with yellowcar. Mod the standard airbox and plonk in a decent panel filter - pipercross foam or green cotton would be my choice and run a pipe feed up to it.http://www.wak-tt.com/mods/ramair/cheapinduction.htm this is for a TT but same idea - personally wouldn't bother with the holes in the box but same idea, smooth the inside of the box etc.

Yeah I didn't bother with holes in the box as a bit of warm air could get drawn in, wanted the cold feed as isolated as possible. The box itself does a pretty good job if you open it up and mod it bit. But yeah I agree with Girardi I don't trust cones at maf and/or heat shields, no benefit in fact a power loss is likely. Whatever you do get its feed from that cold corner under the headlight.

At just over 240bhp, Niki at R-Tech ran a back-to-back with my Carbonio and a Pipercross foam thing straight on the end of the MAF. The result was about 2bhp in favour of the setup that you'd expect to lose power, i.e. a filter straight on the end of the MAF gave a bit more power. HOWEVER, I appreciate that a rolling road with a fackin' great fan doesn't not always reflect the heatsoak and airflow characteristics you get in real-life driving/hooning. You pays your money and you makes your choice.

At just over 240bhp, Niki at R-Tech ran a back-to-back with my Carbonio and a Pipercross foam thing straight on the end of the MAF. The result was about 2bhp in favour of the setup that you'd expect to lose power, i.e. a filter straight on the end of the MAF gave a bit more power. HOWEVER, I appreciate that a rolling road with a fackin' great fan doesn't not always reflect the heatsoak and airflow characteristics you get in real-life driving/hooning. You pays your money and you makes your choice.

Interesting, but like you say I wonder how that is after a 2 hour journey with real time driving dynamics.

Interesting, but like you say I wonder how that is after a 2 hour journey with real time driving dynamics.

Get an elm327 obdII dongle, torque, a mobile and find out.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Get an elm327 obdII dongle, torque, a mobile and find out.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Plus £200 odd for 2 filters in order to run the experiment, nah you're alright, I'll just stick with what I've got knowing heatsoak won't be an issue anyway.

thanks yellowcar and girardi ill buy a decent filter n mod the airbox and run some hose down for cold air feed .this will obviously be cheaper than buying a cai therefore freeing up more pennys for a map.yellowcar what type of hose  am i looking at?where did you get yours from?am i drilling holes in the corner grill? sorry for all the questions  

thanks yellowcar and girardi ill buy a decent filter n mod the airbox and run some hose down for cold air feed .this will obviously be cheaper than buying a cai therefore freeing up more pennys for a map.yellowcar what type of hose  am i looking at?where did you get yours from?am i drilling holes in the corner grill? sorry for all the questions  

 

No problem, I got an 80mm pipe by Ramair, they have an ebay store so if you search ramair 80mm cold feed pipe you should see them. You can use other diy type pipes but I went for this as its tailored towards cold feed and insulative.  There is literally JUST enough room for this pipe, gives just enough bend to get the airbox into its position and squeezes passed the battery.  I bought a 1 metre length.  What I did was drill selective holes in the corner grill, the ambient temp sensor plug is behind there and I was a bit paranoid (perhaps too much) about spray and flood water entering that area.  So I left the sensor area complete and basically took out holes in the corner and a line along the bottom.  When you take the corner piece off you'll see where the pipe can get to and see what I mean.  You'll also need to cut away a section of the bumper behind the grill to make a kind of triangular hole.  You can sit that pipe in there facing the air, but again I was paranoid about water so mine comes just below the crash bar and just starts to enter into that area.  Still gets plenty of cold air.  Take your headlight out and battery cover off, will make life easier, there are also some handy points to cable tie the hose to to stop it swinging around.

 

As for the box, when you get the scoop out use the existing hole which is roughly 80mm across, and then make it larger to fill the face of the box.  Again there is JUST enough room for this.  Seal the pipe in with Tiger Seal and get the gap covered right round.  I only took the fins out of the bottom, you can knock em off with a sharp chisel and then just sand the box smooth.

 

Hope this helps, anything else just ask. I use a pipercross panel by the way, very good.

cheers mate thanks for that will getonto ramair now

No worries, by the way when you cut the corner out behind the grill make sure you avoid the plate that the sensor is attached to.

Hiya again I've gone out in the car this morning and after about a mile it started chugging like it was running on 3 or something I've brought it back home now just wanted to know what are the symptoms of a coil pack failure are also there is a strong smell of fuel .i haven't got access to a vag com or nothing to check for faults .can anybody help? I'm starting a new job in Nottingham next week too which is all I need! Cheers

U could try disconnecting one coil at a time. If it conks out its ok if it sounds the same u know what coil pack it is. Have u got a eml?

The fuel smell is most likely unburned fuel due to the misfire. Could be a few things, coils is possible and there could be no codes or EML light with that. As well as the above also try unplugging the maf it will give you a base air flow, if it runs better it's a maf issue.

IIRC a paper panel filter filters better and offers -no- performance increase on a standardish engine?

My elm is always on as I run it with a de cat.how do I remove the packs?do they just pull out or what?do I leave engine running and as you say pull one out at a time?wont I get a shock? Also where is the mag? Sorry to ask silly questions the 1.8 t is new to me ...always had mk1/2 golfs.still got the mk1

Cheers

Sorry where is Maf? Not mag

Maf is after the airbox. Has a wire going to it , unplug that.

They pull up just be careful with them. I'd turn the engine off and do it. Might be easier to just remove the plugs on them. Might be worth calling skoda to see if you have had the recall on the coilpacks.

Yeah unplug and pull up, may need a gentle prise with a flathead but watch the angle. Remove that reservoir box thing too. As said above recall is still open, lots done it recently including myself. Provided they've never been replaced you get all 4 new ones for nowt.

sound ok cheers lads .im gonna see if skoda open tomorrow  too see if i can get anything of them.will let yas no how i get on

Be a good move to get them done and then it leaves the maf which is the next likely cause. Never know you could cure it for free...We like that. If you do need a maf get gen. I'm running a pattern one at the moment out of necessity, it's working fine but they're a bit of a gamble.

Try unplugging maf too though.