DIY Cold Air Intake for K&N 57I Induction Kit Worth It?
Discussion
Gentlemen,
i have gone to the liberty of attaching a long piece of my old air box ducting to my front grill and then snaking it up toward my induction kit with the intention of siphoning fresh cold air to said ind kit, its made a difference in terms of increased noise but was this worth it? even a tiny bit? see i think this is a good thing to increase cold air flow to an ind kit but a mate that worked for AA mocked me and said to take it of as cars are designed by well paid and well backed technicians for optimum performance and not by 'silly little boy racers'. hahahaha.
so whats everyones thoughts then?
car is a mk1 Focus 1.6, induction is K&N 57i, i am NOT boy racer. lol
i have gone to the liberty of attaching a long piece of my old air box ducting to my front grill and then snaking it up toward my induction kit with the intention of siphoning fresh cold air to said ind kit, its made a difference in terms of increased noise but was this worth it? even a tiny bit? see i think this is a good thing to increase cold air flow to an ind kit but a mate that worked for AA mocked me and said to take it of as cars are designed by well paid and well backed technicians for optimum performance and not by 'silly little boy racers'. hahahaha.
so whats everyones thoughts then?
car is a mk1 Focus 1.6, induction is K&N 57i, i am NOT boy racer. lol
I know you have your answer in another thread but for the sake of completeness;
Cone filters are great for air flow but bad for heat soak. This means the inlet air charge is less dense and this reduces engine power. You can improve it slightly by ducting colder air towards them but usually the original air box is pretty well engineered and the only thing an induction kit will add is induction noise.
Cone filters are great for air flow but bad for heat soak. This means the inlet air charge is less dense and this reduces engine power. You can improve it slightly by ducting colder air towards them but usually the original air box is pretty well engineered and the only thing an induction kit will add is induction noise.
HustleRussell said:
I know you have your answer in another thread but for the sake of completeness;
Cone filters are great for air flow but bad for heat soak. This means the inlet air charge is less dense and this reduces engine power. You can improve it slightly by ducting colder air towards them but usually the original air box is pretty well engineered and the only thing an induction kit will add is induction noise.
so (dont write abuse here, dont want this thread to be ruined too) by me adding this pipe i have actually improved it from heat soak ever so slightly? as i understand the original has a small plastic head that funnels air into the air box.Cone filters are great for air flow but bad for heat soak. This means the inlet air charge is less dense and this reduces engine power. You can improve it slightly by ducting colder air towards them but usually the original air box is pretty well engineered and the only thing an induction kit will add is induction noise.
pros: iv got the induction noise as well as an improvement from heat soak (although NOT over the original filter)
get me? haha
ringworm said:
dont write abuse here, dont want this thread to be ruined too
I resent that remark- It implies I was abusive in the other thread!ringworm said:
by me adding this pipe i have actually improved it from heat soak ever so slightly? as i understand the original has a small plastic head that funnels air into the air box.
pros: iv got the induction noise as well as an improvement from heat soak (although NOT over the original filter)
get me? haha
I think I 'get you'! So your car has a cone filter where the car originally had a black plastic box with a paper filter in it. You have added an extra bit of ducting to direct cold air to the cone filter, right?pros: iv got the induction noise as well as an improvement from heat soak (although NOT over the original filter)
get me? haha
Consider it this way- the original air box enclosed the filter and it would've had an inlet at the front somewhere. This means that it can draw air only from the front of the engine bay near the grille/bumper. That's the coolest and most convenient place Ford could get that air from.
Taking that out and replacing it with a cone means that the filter can draw air from the engine bay which means your inlet air is certainly going to be hotter than in the original arrangement. Hotter air = less power.
The cone filter will allow greater airflow than the original paper one but I doubt a little 1.6 is particularly limitted by the paper filter anyway.
Basically what I'm saying is that no matter what you do with a 57i kit, adding ducting and such, it's never going to be significantly better than standard and without extensive ducting and shielding from hot engine bay components it'll almost certainly be losing you performance rather than gaining it.
However it sounds meatier- so it's up to you really.
HustleRussell said:
ringworm said:
dont write abuse here, dont want this thread to be ruined too
I resent that remark- It implies I was abusive in the other thread!ringworm said:
by me adding this pipe i have actually improved it from heat soak ever so slightly? as i understand the original has a small plastic head that funnels air into the air box.
pros: iv got the induction noise as well as an improvement from heat soak (although NOT over the original filter)
get me? haha
I think I 'get you'! So your car has a cone filter where the car originally had a black plastic box with a paper filter in it. You have added an extra bit of ducting to direct cold air to the cone filter, right?pros: iv got the induction noise as well as an improvement from heat soak (although NOT over the original filter)
get me? haha
Consider it this way- the original air box enclosed the filter and it would've had an inlet at the front somewhere. This means that it can draw air only from the front of the engine bay near the grille/bumper. That's the coolest and most convenient place Ford could get that air from.
Taking that out and replacing it with a cone means that the filter can draw air from the engine bay which means your inlet air is certainly going to be hotter than in the original arrangement. Hotter air = less power.
The cone filter will allow greater airflow than the original paper one but I doubt a little 1.6 is particularly limitted by the paper filter anyway.
Basically what I'm saying is that no matter what you do with a 57i kit, adding ducting and such, it's never going to be significantly better than standard and without extensive ducting and shielding from hot engine bay components it'll almost certainly be losing you performance rather than gaining it.
However it sounds meatier- so it's up to you really.
many many thanks for your experienced knowledge on this, i think i understand now what jobs each do and how well they do it.
as you said it does sound meatier and if its the only slight pleasure i can get out my 1.6 then so be it, ill keep it, im not expecting it to be fast in any way and im not looking to bolt parts on for speed etc, but ill just enjoy what i have in the meantime.
thanks again
ringworm said:
Gentlemen,
i have gone to the liberty of attaching a long piece of my old air box ducting to my front grill and then snaking it up toward my induction kit with the intention of siphoning fresh cold air to said ind kit, its made a difference in terms of increased noise but was this worth it? even a tiny bit? see i think this is a good thing to increase cold air flow to an ind kit but a mate that worked for AA mocked me and said to take it of as cars are designed by well paid and well backed technicians for optimum performance and not by 'silly little boy racers'. hahahaha.
so whats everyones thoughts then?
car is a mk1 Focus 1.6, induction is K&N 57i, i am NOT boy racer. lol
i have gone to the liberty of attaching a long piece of my old air box ducting to my front grill and then snaking it up toward my induction kit with the intention of siphoning fresh cold air to said ind kit, its made a difference in terms of increased noise but was this worth it? even a tiny bit? see i think this is a good thing to increase cold air flow to an ind kit but a mate that worked for AA mocked me and said to take it of as cars are designed by well paid and well backed technicians for optimum performance and not by 'silly little boy racers'. hahahaha.
so whats everyones thoughts then?
car is a mk1 Focus 1.6, induction is K&N 57i, i am NOT boy racer. lol
ringworm said:
pros: iv got the induction noise as well
Mmmmm.Take his advice, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
I replaced the standard airbox on my 924 Turbo engine with a K&N cold air induction kit. I noticed no difference whatsoever and would agree that the standard setup is probably best.
If you start reading the theory on cold air induction you will find it is a lot more complex than it first appears. When you get to Helmholtz resonance chambers (the sucking action utilised by your airbox to draw air in), move away from the internet. :-)
If you start reading the theory on cold air induction you will find it is a lot more complex than it first appears. When you get to Helmholtz resonance chambers (the sucking action utilised by your airbox to draw air in), move away from the internet. :-)
On my Caterham 21, I have created two air intakes with the aim to reduce the under bonnet temperature.
An it worked, the proof is the side skin which are made of plastic (home made for testing purposes)on the exhaust is now deformed, on the inlet side there is no sign of heat deformation.
The engine also now feels more powerfull.
Jack
An it worked, the proof is the side skin which are made of plastic (home made for testing purposes)on the exhaust is now deformed, on the inlet side there is no sign of heat deformation.
The engine also now feels more powerfull.
Jack
Evoluzione said:
Mmmmm.
Take his advice, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
why say this? anyway....Take his advice, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
Yeah i think its different for every vehicle i guess, mind you iv got a lowly 1.6 Focus and its in comparison with a Caterham and Porsche on this forum in terms of cold air feed improvements, the Caterham has been drastically improved whereas the Porsche made no difference, so i think its all about the application rather than the original performance of the vehicle perhaps? Im under no illusion whatsoever that this been a massive improvement to my engine, but if even a tiny bit of fresh cold air is getting to my induction kit then i have improved it as it is, although not as good the original air box.
i had a thought to encase the cone from the ind kit in the old air box, make holes and force the ind kit to suck air exclusively from the cold feed from the bottom of the car thus eliminating the heat soak further, although i can envisage that the ind kit wont be getting enough air as i could be suffocated inside the air box. i dunno its something to do on a sunday morning i guess...
(i may have just angered a few (or all) PH'ers with my comments there, they will all say im a boy racer nd its a lowly focus not worth sh!t and to stick the original air box on, well isnt what im doing more in keeping with some sort of an unwritten Petrolheads philosophy - the fact im thinking these things and getting stuck in with a bit of improvised DIY improvements?)
Yeah i didnt think so guys
ringworm said:
(i may have just angered a few (or all) PH'ers with my comments there, they will all say im a boy racer nd its a lowly focus not worth sh!t and to stick the original air box on, well isnt what im doing more in keeping with some sort of an unwritten Petrolheads philosophy - the fact im thinking these things and getting stuck in with a bit of improvised DIY improvements?)
Yeah i didnt think so guys
I think you're too sensitive. Well done for trying something and it does sound like you are on the right track, just don't discount Ford's technical ability to design an air induction system. An engine will suck air from the surrounding area. Trying to ram air into the engine can be counterproductive. Yeah i didnt think so guys
A real boy racer would remove the filter to clear obstruction from the airbox to the engine. A friend bought a VW Polo from his cousin who had done exactly that. I think it ran fine for quite a few years afterwards. Lucky I guess.
nsa said:
I think you're too sensitive. Well done for trying something and it does sound like you are on the right track, just don't discount Ford's technical ability to design an air induction system. An engine will suck air from the surrounding area. Trying to ram air into the engine can be counterproductive.
A real boy racer would remove the filter to clear obstruction from the airbox to the engine. A friend bought a VW Polo from his cousin who had done exactly that. I think it ran fine for quite a few years afterwards. Lucky I guess.
Your right, I dont take criticism well, even if it is constructive. A real boy racer would remove the filter to clear obstruction from the airbox to the engine. A friend bought a VW Polo from his cousin who had done exactly that. I think it ran fine for quite a few years afterwards. Lucky I guess.
Im not trying to RAM air into the engine, but i guess thats the essence of what ill be doing if i try to lock the cone in the air box and force it to use the air coming from the bottom of my feed tube only right?
A mate tried to fit some Pipercross kit to his st170 but we couldnt do it properly so had to drive with the air box off completely, sounded like a huge and loud leaf blower and engine warning light was on constantly, rather embarrassing actually, so not the way forward for me.
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