Hey, iv just cleaned out my air filter and bloody hell, what a difference! pick up on its great! i just vacuumed it out but can you wash them? its just a standard filter so what solutions shall i use? does it need oiling or something? im a complete spaz wit all these things so explain as if u wud to a child!!

cheers guys

if its the standard paper air filter element , and its black/dirty , throw it away and get a new one or an aftermarket one like a Green cotton or Pipercross

thanks for gettig back to me

whats the benifits of green cotton or pipercross ones? which is better?

Performance air filters flow more air than paper filters do.

Cotton gauze filters (Green, K&N) are generally thinner than foam (Pipercross) and require oil to sufficiently filter air as it passes through your airbox. There is thought that oil from performance filters contaminates the MAF sensor in the air intake which can cause all manner of fuelling-related problems.

Pipercross filters for the Fabia are oil-free.

Cotton gauze filters flow more air when new than any other filter (paper or foam) but after a thousand miles or so, as more dirt is trapped by the filter, it will start to restrict the air to the engine flowing less than a dirty paper filter would at the same mileage.

Paper filters can typically be used for 10-15000 miles, foam for 25000 miles.

Performance filters can also be cleaned and reused.

Ok, nice one, would i be better of with a pipercross filter then as they are foam?

Can u just wash the pipercross in a bowl of soapy water wen they're dirty?

If you've got time and money, a clean cotton-gauze filter will give you the best air flow, but you need to clean them often. Better still, fit a new one every 5k.

If you're not going to clean them (and re-oil them) then don't bother and get a "fit and forget" filter like the Pipercross.

Yup you can just wash the Pipercross with water and a mild soap solution (fairy liquid).

Rinse the filter through first in the reverse direction to airflow (so the water lifts out as much loose dirt as possible) then massage in the soap and keep rinsing and repeating until the filter is squeaky clean.

You can get proper cleaning kits from Pipercross which help to break down any road grime in the filter.

Speak to Awesome GTi on here as they can supply the filters at a great price (I believe Sarah has a Pipercross panel on her own Fabia vRS) and can offer you any other advice you might need.

Although saying all that, don't expect miracles - you will not notice any performance difference compared to a clean paper air filter, aside from a bit more induction noise. I opted for a K&N cotton filter (

Hi All

As has been said , the Pipercross one is a foam filter and has no oil

This means that it can be cleaned as has been said

Clever lot on here arn`t you?

The Pipercross one is the one I have had on mine for 40k and the price is

A bit of both SarahBabe. A mate of mine has recently done an "eccentric" turbo conversion on an MX5, and took lambda voltages and and acceleration figures before and after. The results of these confirmed my opinion that any EMS plus lambda or MAF car will retune itself when fitted with free-flow filters or zorsts, as long as you don't give it so much extra airflow that you max out the injectors. Even then you can't do any damage to a diesel.

Nice to know that

The MAF`s do the adjustments for the lambda`s so you dont need to worry about them

Nice one

Sarah

I've been checking out my service book at it doesn't look like it's head a air filter change... ever?! It's just under 60k miles.

Service is in 3k which I will get it changed.

Until then is it worth cleaning / hoovering like mentioning in the original thread?!

Yes, but in the time it takes to unscrew the airbox and take out the filter to clean, you might as well put back in a clean paper filter and not worry about a performance one until next service.

It's only 3k away, so will probably just leave it anyway! Do you have to tell insurers about anything but an OEM filter?

I would.

Do you have to tell insurers about anything but an OEM filter?

You should, but as it doesn't alter the performance, it won't affect your premium

Chris

Awesome quick replies as usual, thanks guys!

It's only 3k away, so will probably just leave it anyway! Do you have to tell insurers about anything but an OEM filter?

Not on a panel filter as they're OE replacements. You're not modifying anything, just like you wouldn't notify them if you start using BP Ultimate Diesel instead of something you've just drained out of a JCB at the side of the road.

Getting some great tips here guys, vry knowledgable bunch!

Is that BP ultimate much better then say shell? iv read BP's version of how good but what made me scepticle was they put two 106's in a race and told u 1 had Ultimate and one had normal and of coase the Ultimate won! What a load of ****!

For diesel, I would say no and I've tested pretty much all of them, and always come back to bog standard Tesco diesel (and collect my Clubcard points!). The higher octane petrol certainly makes a difference on performance petrol cars

Chris

I've tested a few types of diesel too and the only difference ive found is the

difference between 98.9p litre (tesco) and 105.9p litre :eek: (bp) nothing else

Of course the difference they make in the long run with sooting of fuel

and emissions components may well be noticeable with the bp supposedly

running cleaner but who`s to say

With "Petrol", as octane number ^ power ^ (assuming engine retuned [including things like knock sensors] for higher octane number).

With "DERV", as citane number ^ power \/ and smokiness \/ believe it or not. My source being a fuels chemist.

My source being a fuels chemist.

You might want to tell him it's cetane then Wikipedia explains it nicely

Cetane number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chris

You might want to tell him it's cetane then Wikipedia explains it nicely

Cetane number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chris

Why? Any speeling eerors are mi own!

It could also be argued that in stock form the Diesel engine has all the air it could ever need and adding more air flow will do nothing for it.

Though I just noticed the OP has a remaped car. So this probaby isn't applicable.

Is that BP ultimate much better then say shell?

My personal experience was that the Ultimate did make a difference, not to fuel economy (even the quoted gains are tiny), but the smoothness and pick up were noticeably improved. I think it shows up more on a remapped car.

I only use BP Ultimate now, unless I've forgot to fill and get stuck.

I'm not knowingly susceptible to the 'placebo effect' !!

Andy.