For those of u who have heard of the MK7 Golf GTi Intake Mod, I did a similar thing to my Superb's air intake, by opening up the blocked off bits on the right side. 

 

However, with the Superb, doing this alone won't be as effective due to the design of the front grille and the plastic moldings behind it.

 

The reason for this is because top half of the Superb's grille is actually blocked across, with air only allowed to enter through the bottom half.  This means the air going into air intake is restricted by two openings feeding the intake.  

 

For it to be effective, you need to also unblock the right side opening that sits behind the grille.  This will allow a more direct air flow, meaning a happier turbo and hence better performance

combined with my CTS turbo inlet elbow, silcone pipe and aFE Magnaflow air filter - it not only feels better, but it sounds good too.

 

I won't explain how to modify the actual front air intake as there are plenty of YouTube videos on it.

 

This will show the modification required specific to the Superb, that remove the restriction caused by the blank plate. 

Mine is a 162 TSi (220). 

The same would apply for the 206 TSi (280).

 

Unfortunately there is no other way to make this mod, but to remove the entire front bumper in order to open up the blocked off panel.

 

The top black plastic cover is fixed to the top of grille, hence can't remove that to access it.

The entire grille is fixed to the bumper, hence can't remove that to access it.

so its a whole bumper off job. 

again, i won't explain how to remove the bumper, but its a wheels off, wheel arches off and underbody skid plate separated job. 

 

below are some pics.

 

this is the bit i'm referring to - from factory the right side is closed:-

 

left side open:-

 

right side closed:-

 

 

the air flow on the left is unobstructed, and flows up and into the intake, most of the air going into the engine bay (as the back is open), and the rest travelling right towards the air intake box. 

 

 

this is the end result, i made holes in the panel on the right, thus enabling air flow to go directly up and into the air intake.

 

 

 

Comparison of before and after.

 

 

originally my intention was to move that blocking plate, so it looks like the one on the left.  but it is one piece with the entire black plastic.  only way was to cut it out.

unfortunately again, that black plastic is metal riveted to the frame surrounding the bonnet release bracket.   grrrr.

 

so i went with plan B and drilled holes.

 

 

finished product - sleeper factory look factory

the only giveaway being the silicone intake hose pipe.

 

 

 

Edited 31 October, 20205 yr by JR RS

Well done mate!

Brilliant, but lots of effort to drill some holes! 

 

I just took the easy way and removed the snow grate. 

2 hours ago, KeteCantek said:

I just took the easy way and removed the snow grate. 

 

I did that about 3 yrs ago.......

Edited 31 October, 20205 yr by JR RS

17 hours ago, JR RS said:

 

The entire grille is fixed to the bumper, hence can't remove that to access it.

so its a whole bumper off job. 

again, i won't explain how to remove the bumper, but its a wheels off, wheel arches off and underbody skid plate separated job. 

 

below are some pics.

 

this is the bit i'm referring to - from factory the right side is closed:-

 

Excellent work @JR RS!

 

I can see your point for removing the bumper, but the grille can come off from the bumper to give you access too.

 

I changed my grille surround by doing it. It's not the easiest job, but I wasn't too keen on a bumper removal on my own 😂

 

Thank you for another great write up. I love how much work you do 💪

@boydeee- I had a go at trying to remove the top plastic bit to access the back of the grille - but it was going to b a pain in the a55 and given that I didn't know wat challenges I was about to face with the blocked off panel bit, it was going to b a far better working space with the bumper off.

Bit of a strange design decision to not have free flowing air to the air intake box..

 

Nice mod

@defiant- I reckon it's to do with meeting emissions and not being "noisy" as that's not wat moat "customers" want.

 

But yes, baffles me why they make the air work so hard to get to the turbo inlet.

I had a look at doing this to my car as well. I've not managed to complete the job yet, but I do believe this is going to be possible without removing the bumper. It is however, very fiddly.

 

From what I can see, you can remove some screws and plugs on the top bit of plastic around the bonnet latch, then pull the plastic up enough to be able to get to 6 of the 7 screws holding it to the front grill. You have to have good hands/fingers here to get it and catch the screws before the drop down when taking them out. 

 

There's one final screw you need to remove to get this bit of plastic off, and it's right in the centre, above the radar sensor. It's a pig to get to, but if you remove the sensor (two bolts), then you should be able to get to the screw with a torx allen key. Once that's removed, the whole top section of plastic should be free to pull away giving you full access to be able to unblock the airflow using whatever method you choose (drill holes, sonic saw or dremel).

I got as far as the last screw in the centre of the grill, so I've ordered some torx allen keys and I'll give it another go once they've arrived.

Edited 9 November, 20205 yr by TheBinarySheep

Just to add, word of warning. It might not be a good idea to remove the radar sensor if you have one. It looks like they need recalibrating and it's not cheap!

I've had to book mine in for recalibration now that I've tampered with mine, so I'll get this mod done before the recalibration.

yes, DO NOT move/disturb the ACC radar sensor as that will require an expensive re-calibration exercise at the dealers!!!!

 

with regards to doing it without removing the front bumper - yes, it can be done @TheBinarySheep , but as i mentioned before it will b very fiddly, and very little room to work with.

the grille is held in place with not only screws, but its clipped in all around the edges.

plus when u drill the plastic, there is going to be lots of plastic shavings that will fall everywhere.

With the bumper off, I was able to comfortably put a sheet cloth covering the air intake, and covering the top of the radiator and inter-cooler.  so all the plastic shaving would fall on the cloth sheet, allowing me to easily remove and clean up.

 

u could use a hot knife to cut out the plastic in a rectangular shape, and thus minimise the plastic shavings, but u need to watch out for the radiator directly behind it.

Edited 9 November, 20205 yr by JR RS

@TheBinarySheep- here is pic of behind the grille.

Not an easy task.

 

U can see all its mounting points.

Circle = screw

Dash = clip

 

9 hours ago, JR RS said:

@TheBinarySheep- here is pic of behind the grille.

Not an easy task.

 

U can see all its mounting points.

Circle = screw

Dash = clip

 

Thanks. 

At the top of the image, there are two clips and 7 screws. Once those are undone, the plastic above the grill under the bonnet should come away. I've managed to get to six of those screws and the two clips. The middle (final) screw I think can be accessed through the pop-off bit in the grill in front of the radar sensor. The sensor needs removing though which is risky.

It's either that way, or whole bumper off job.

I don't want to disagree with anyone, but attached is the access available with the grille off. I went nowhere near the ACC unit. Granted I wasn't going near the air intake either though so I'm not sure if things would be different in that respect. 

 

On refit, I didn't use all the grille screws. I don't think I put the bottom ones in. They kind of went overboard with their fasteners and clips usage! 

18 minutes ago, boydeee said:

I don't want to disagree with anyone, but attached is the access available with the grille off. I went nowhere near the ACC unit. Granted I wasn't going near the air intake either though so I'm not sure if things would be different in that respect. 

 

On refit, I didn't use all the grille screws. I don't think I put the bottom ones in. They kind of went overboard with their fasteners and clips usage! 

How did you get to the bottom screws on the grill, and the centre one above the ACC?

2 minutes ago, TheBinarySheep said:

How did you get to the bottom screws on the grill, and the centre one above the ACC?

I used a small ratchet with a bit holder and the torx bit. 

 

I'm a bit fuzzy on remembering the top one...have you removed the bonnet release mechanism? A clip slides out and you can lift it off for access. 

 

Let me know, and if you've done that already, I'll go out and have a check to refresh my memory.

ah, I've not released the bonnet mechanism. I'll have a look at that tomorrow sometime. Thanks.

Fit an R600 air intake instead and save yourself the hassle. It will more than sufficiently raise your overall contact area for air flow. 

1 hour ago, UndertheRadar said:

Fit an R600 air intake instead and save yourself the hassle. It will more than sufficiently raise your overall contact area for air flow. 

While that’s an option, it’s significantly more expensive.

 

would this blocked of part not reduce the impact the air intake will have? Is it not blocking airflow?

The consensus on the vw forum is that its blocked off to prevent water getting in, but what do I know.

1 hour ago, TheBinarySheep said:

While that’s an option, it’s significantly more expensive.

 

would this blocked of part not reduce the impact the air intake will have? Is it not blocking airflow?

The biggest restriction to airflow would be the overall surface area in the filter housing and the type of filter material used. The intake aperture is more than sufficient for standard and even stage 1 running conditions, otherwise you would end up with a mixture issue. The R600 has been tested upto 600bhp without further intake modifications. But, even the standard running conditions will benefit from the increased surface area of the larger filter box and something like a good quality foam filter, as the turbo works fractionally less to meet the air demand it requires. therefore less stress is exerted over its lifetime. 

The best way to describe it is, if you tried sucking air through a hole the size of a 5 pence piece and then enlarging it to a 50 pence piece. It won't matter how big the entrance is leading up to the 5p sized aperture, as it is in itself the restriction that needs modifying. 

So, you could remove the air filter from the standard airbox, and replace it with something like a Racingline (others available) foam panel replacement filter and receive a safer and probably higher gain while not drilling a safety feature and also retaining all your original equipment. 

Edited 10 November, 20205 yr by UndertheRadar

15 hours ago, boydeee said:

I don't want to disagree with anyone, but attached is the access available with the grille off. I went nowhere near the ACC unit. Granted I wasn't going near the air intake either though so I'm not sure if things would be different in that respect. 

 

On refit, I didn't use all the grille screws. I don't think I put the bottom ones in. They kind of went overboard with their fasteners and clips usage! 

 

by the looks of that, there is plenty of room in and around that plastic flappy bit above the ACC radar

 

ur right, they went overboard with the clips and screws to secure the grille!!!

Not to resurrect an old thread but did this today. I found a brand new Stanley blade worked to cut out the plastic piece out completely. I didn't want plastic bits falling down in front of the air con condenser and it made sense to open it up completely like the other side.

 

I did it without even removing the grill, just squeezed a flexy lead with a T25 bit on between the slam panel and the black plastic upper, bit of a sod but worked. The central bolt was a **** but I didnt want to remove the radar as I know its very sensitive to calibration. Removing the bonnet handle is very easy, pop a little clip out of the back and it just lifts off.

 

I had done this basic mod on my mk3 Octavia VRS with zero issues in 2 years. On the Superb, there is even more of a rise up and over for airflow into the airbox so doubt there would be any issue short of submerging the car through a flood or river. Ive only cut out the central part of the upper intake, I have each side to do still and remove the snow grate.

 

 

Glad u got the job done, but I find it way easier to remove the bumper than to fab around squeezing into various panels n tight spaces.

There is no need or requirement to remove the radar or the bonnet release lever.

 

Not long ago I dremeled out the opening properly - from the holes I had originally to fully open.

 

1 minute ago, JR RS said:

Glad u got the job done, but I find it way easier to remove the bumper than to fab around squeezing into various panels n tight spaces.

There is no need or requirement to remove the radar or the bonnet release lever.

 

Not long ago I dremeled out the opening properly - from the holes I had originally to fully open.

 

I didnt faff with the radar, bonnet release was more so it could easily lift up but wasn't absolutely necessary.

 

I think it makes a small difference, feels a little perkier but could be in my head!