APR or K&N Air FIlter

[brad]

Another reason why a lot of people feel a power gain when they change filters is because in many cases, the filter they swap out is dirty. To do a proper comparison, you need to compare a clean OEM filter with a clean aftermarket filter.

[Finance_Analyst]

I was reading today in the Volkswagen Driver magazine an add for K&N that it can increase your engine by up to 11hp, plus their 1 million km warranty. Is that just a load of crap from what I have read here?

[brad]

I was reading today in the Volkswagen Driver magazine an add for K&N that it can increase your engine by up to 11hp, plus their 1 million km warranty. Is that just a load of crap from what I have read here?

I assume the warranty is true.

The key words are "up to".
The only way you can tell if it's increased power is to measure something - whether it be power, acceleration, etc. Whenever I've fitted an aftermarket filter to recent cars (Nissan & Subaru), there have been no measurable differences in power/acceleration. The improvements happened when i changed other parts of the induction system (you have to fix the worst bits first). As i said before, OEM VW filters are pretty good.

When i got my Bluefin, they made certain power & torque increase claims. I did before & after acceleration tests. While I don't believe the figures quoted by Bluefin were achieved, the car was measurably quicker.

[Corey_R]

Oh, I have no doubt that it COULD increase your engine by 11hp. You know, after you've replaced your entire exhaust, replaced your turbo with a stage 3 kit, upgraded your software, installed water methanol kit, if you're then silly enough to still be running the stock intake, and the air temp was only 10 degrees and the air pressure condusive, I'm sure that you could see an 11hp increase on that car by swapping out an old soiled paper panel filter for a brand new K&N panel filter.

But seriously... if you guys want to spend $110 for "great gains", please spend it on something useful... that'll give you far "greater gains" than wasting money replacing the paper panel filter with another panel filter within your OEM airbox

[nat225]

i witnessed a mk6 gti apr stg 2 (dp, cb and tune) being dynoed last Saturday, 1st run with the stock filter, 2nd and 3rd runs with no intake (basically the pipe just after the MAF was disconnected from the box and lifted up to suck air freely). with stock intake it did 157kw, without intake it did 164kw.

[brad]

i witnessed a mk6 gti apr stg 2 (dp, cb and tune) being dynoed last Saturday, 1st run with the stock filter, 2nd and 3rd runs with no intake (basically the pipe just after the MAF was disconnected from the box and lifted up to suck air freely). with stock intake it did 157kw, without intake it did 164kw.

So was the 7kw because the filter was removed from the inlet tract? Or because the filter was dirty? Or was it because of the other parts of the intake being disconnected? Or was it because the other mods then highlighted restrictions on the inlet side?

The OPs car is factory stock. About the only way to test the efficacy of a "performance" filter is to do back to back dyno runs with no other variables.

[nat225]

So was the 7kw because the filter was removed from the inlet tract? Or because the filter was dirty? Or was it because of the other parts of the intake being disconnected? Or was it because the other mods then highlighted restrictions on the inlet side?

The OPs car is factory stock. About the only way to test the efficacy of a "performance" filter is to do back to back dyno runs with no other variables.

basically it was running without intake filter, the air box was disconnected and free air went straight into the pipe just before the MAF.

and i don't think it's worth it doing dyno runs just for the sake of finding out the improvements on a $110 k&n panel filter. the dyno runs itself would cost around $110! unless it was an organised event like last Saturday, $65 with drinks and food..

[Corey_R]

In any case, I think it proves what we're saying here. There is only 7kw (<10hp) if you remove the entire intake system on a Stage 2 modified car. Thus, even if you change to a pod filter and change the piping all the way to the turbo, you're still not going to get more than 7kw. But the difference between the paper and the K&N panel filter in the stock air box is going to be way less than that... so is $110 worth that? no way. Save up for a real upgrade

[brad]

and i don't think it's worth it doing dyno runs just for the sake of finding out the improvements on a $110 k&n panel filter. the dyno runs itself would cost around $110! unless it was an organised event like last Saturday, $65 with drinks and food..

I can understand your reasoning regarding spending extra to prove the mod was worthwhile...... my reasoning is "why would you spend $110 (although I think the K&N kit is cheaper than that) on something when you don't even know what improvements it will make.

In the past 33 years I've wasted/spent many thousands on car "improvements". Some worked but the bulk of the performance mods were pretty useless - especially on some of the more modern cars. Personally, instead of spending $100 on something marginal, I'd rather save up a few weeks longer & get a remap or some really sticky tyres for a quick launch.

[SamS3]

So how much of the 15bhp/11kw was the 3" Tip (so you mean it was still stock rear muffler/cat etc?) and how much was the panel filter? Would the gains been as good if you didn't do both?
What car was that?

You mean a heat shield between the engine & the stock airbox?

It's an 02' 8L S3 with an APR (I think) stage 1 map.

There were several tests done, not just on mine. I did test with a fresh OEM filter vs the Jetex and 3" TIP (turbo inlet pipe). They were the only part changed.

There were tests performed on Badger5 rollers back to back:
SEAT Cupra.net - SEAT Forum - View Single Post - PRICES/PICTURES-full 76mm/3" k04 LCR/S3/TT ESP cars only TIP-

I know people are going to say he's trying to shift products but I saw similar g/s gains as did quite a few others...

There are other results for stock filter vs Jetex on the same 3" setup and the difference was 7 bhp.