Air Filter - What does it look like?

[jensena]

Bit of a silly question maybe, but dont all questions seem silly if you know the answer :-) .
I just thought I would check out my air filter today, uncliiped the air box on top of the radiators, and all that is in there is a an oily piece of foam rubber about half an inch thick! Is that really all the air filter is? I have searched the forums but cant find anything, so I hope someone can tell me.

[mikesr]

Yes thats all the air filter is. Keeping it clean and oiled definitely helps airflow to the engine. End of last season mine must have had the same thickness again in dead flies and other crud

[jensena]

Bloody hell, this PH forum is good !! Thanks Mike, I was just expecting a massive big air filter, and thought that foam strip was just s seal.

[mikesr]

This forum is a 24 carat gold plated life line
You can get cone style air filters to fit in the pipes betwixt the front airbox and the two bolted to the intakes.
I know trackcar (Joo at TCS) does them and I seem to remember some tasty carbon cone shaped covers that actually fit around the covers that leaves the pipe work from the front airbox in place - on Carbon Als site, I think.

Loadsa money for the carbon covers but likely worth it if you want top airflow for top bhp.

[budaholic]

My nasty greasy foam filter gave way to a nice pair of K&N cone filters clamped to the end of my airboxes.

Dunno if there is any power gain, but they look good!!

Bud

[Cyclone1]

jensena said:

Bit of a silly question maybe, but dont all questions seem silly if you know the answer :-) . I just thought I would check out my air filter today, uncliiped the air box on top of the radiators, and all that is in there is a an oily piece of foam rubber about half an inch thick! Is that really all the air filter is? I have searched the forums but cant find anything, so I hope someone can tell me.

I can remember the first time I unclipped the top of the airbox to clean my filter and I couldn't believe that the "oily piece of foam" covered in a thick layer of crud was the air filter. I cleaned, re-oiled and re-fitted it but ideally I would have liked to replace it, however, despite contacting various places I was unable to find a direct replacement, with most places offering me either a Griffith panel filter, which has a smaller surface area (making breathing more restricted) or the Cone upgrade (need the full Carbon Al mods to make best use). It appears that the original foam filters are no longer made. This is a pity as the OEM foam filter performs the best and is the most cost effective, plus with a little ingenuity could be improved further to deliver even better results and life span.

Jules.

>> Edited by Cyclone1 on Wednesday 3rd May 05:37

[Neilus]

mikesr said:

You can get cone style air filters to fit in the pipes betwixt the front airbox and the two bolted to the intakes. I know trackcar (Joo at TCS) does them and I seem to remember some tasty carbon cone shaped covers that actually fit around the covers that leaves the pipe work from the front airbox in place - on Carbon Als site, I think.

I don't think Joolz stock them anymore, but he is working on a straight replacement for the original air filter. clicky

Neil.

[Cyclone1]

Neilus said:

mikesr said: You can get cone style air filters to fit in the pipes betwixt the front airbox and the two bolted to the intakes. I know trackcar (Joo at TCS) does them and I seem to remember some tasty carbon cone shaped covers that actually fit around the covers that leaves the pipe work from the front airbox in place - on Carbon Als site, I think. I don't think Joolz stock them anymore, but he is working on a straight replacement for the original air filter. clicky Neil.

Mmmmm that sounds interesting

[gazzab]

budaholic said:

My nasty greasy foam filter gave way to a nice pair of K&N cone filters clamped to the end of my airboxes. Bud

I got two cone filters. Did you keep any of the old gubbins in place ie on my car the bendy pipes are gone as is the front 'air scoop' but the actual clip down cover (ie the one that normally houses the filter) is still in place as prev owner said the airflow pushed the bonnet up without it left in place.

[Tyre Smoke]

My air filter is probably still sitting in the grass at Maison Blanche. I have the K+N filters on the end of the airboxes. Last year we were investigating the airbox to discover the element was still in there, so to improve airflow I now have an empty box!

[budaholic]

gazzab said:

budaholic said: My nasty greasy foam filter gave way to a nice pair of K&N cone filters clamped to the end of my airboxes. Bud I got two cone filters. Did you keep any of the old gubbins in place ie on my car the bendy pipes are gone as is the front 'air scoop' but the actual clip down cover (ie the one that normally houses the filter) is still in place as prev owner said the airflow pushed the bonnet up without it left in place.

I left the front intake box in place. I've just removed the old filter and the bendy pipes. But my cone filters do seem to be getting dirty quickly.

Bud

[nemasis]

if ya want original replacement filter ring dave at www.automedon.co.uk he can supply you with it

[AlVal]

Im going to contact this company monday, http://www.foamtechniques.co.uk/ hopefully they'll sort me with an appropriately sized appropriately specced rectangular piece of filter foam, already ordered 1L of the castrol filter oil from www.thefastone.co.uk

http://www.foamtechniques.co.uk/

[Mars]

Joo replaced my filter today (with a new one sourced from some kind chap up the road ).

We discussed the alternatives and the options for increasing the length of the secondary section of the inlet in the searc for more power. He's given me a few ideas I'm going to look into once I've got through the MoT.

[brummiewedge]

I believe ITG also do a direct replacement, they also make filters for F1 cars too, so have got half a clue, you can have a choice of filtration level also.

[Cyclone1]

Mars said:

Joo replaced my filter today (with a new one sourced from some kind chap up the road ).

We discussed the alternatives and the options for increasing the length of the secondary section of the inlet in the searc for more power. He's given me a few ideas I'm going to look into once I've got through the MoT.

This is definitely the best option for replacing the standard air filter. Joolz and I tested it and it outperforms the standard one with ease. It is a simple design by Joolz with a twist to increase surface area (which becomes more important on the tuned Cerbs). It is also the correct thickness and has the correct PP rating for foam.

The Cone filters look good but ultimately sap power and torque, if you are not bothered by losing 10-15bhp here and there then go for them.

The work on the lengths of the secondary sections of the air inlet were very interesting and are certainly a viable option for increasing power and torque. I would have pursued this had I kept the Cerb, but hopefully Nige (Mars) will look into it and come up with a working solution with Joolz, there is definitely another consistent 5bhp+ to be had if not a touch more.

There's one or two threads from a few months back on air filters that offers an overview of the options.

Jules.

[Mr M]

jensena said:

Bit of a silly question maybe, but dont all questions seem silly if you know the answer :-) .
I just thought I would check out my air filter today, uncliiped the air box on top of the radiators, and all that is in there is a an oily piece of foam rubber about half an inch thick! Is that really all the air filter is? I have searched the forums but cant find anything, so I hope someone can tell me.

Thanks for asking this. I've been wanting to check this out for a while now and wasn't sure if there was anything more complicated than on a bog standard production car. No need to remove the sensor wire I take it ?

[Mr M]

Cyclone1 said:

Mars said:

Joo replaced my filter today (with a new one sourced from some kind chap up the road ).

We discussed the alternatives and the options for increasing the length of the secondary section of the inlet in the searc for more power. He's given me a few ideas I'm going to look into once I've got through the MoT.

This is definitely the best option for replacing the standard air filter. Joolz and I tested it and it outperforms the standard one with ease. It is a simple design by Joolz with a twist to increase surface area (which becomes more important on the tuned Cerbs). It is also the correct thickness and has the correct PP rating for foam.

The Cone filters look good but ultimately sap power and torque, if you are not bothered by losing 10-15bhp here and there then go for them.

The work on the lengths of the secondary sections of the air inlet were very interesting and are certainly a viable option for increasing power and torque. I would have pursued this had I kept the Cerb, but hopefully Nige (Mars) will look into it and come up with a working solution with Joolz, there is definitely another consistent 5bhp+ to be had if not a touch more.

There's one or two threads from a few months back on air filters that offers an overview of the options.

Jules.

Cycolne - I have the said conical carbon inductors on mine, fitted by the previous owner and with an Austec map. I somehow had a feeling that if these were relying on being driven by the movement of air they may actually be less effective at lower speeds\revs. My dealer suggested leaving it well alone, so I was curious as to where the info comes from on it reducing power\torque. I'd still like to try putting the original pipes back if not just to see how it performs. What do you think ?

[Mars]

RAM air (which I think you're considering) isn't even the slightest consideration below about 150mph. I'll try to find out what sort of pressure increase you could expect from what speeds given the standard front-mounted airbox but from discussions I've witnessed previously, you'd have problems recreating it for mapping purposes anyway.

[Cyclone1]

Mr M said:

Cyclone1 said:

Mars said:

Joo replaced my filter today (with a new one sourced from some kind chap up the road ).

We discussed the alternatives and the options for increasing the length of the secondary section of the inlet in the searc for more power. He's given me a few ideas I'm going to look into once I've got through the MoT.

This is definitely the best option for replacing the standard air filter. Joolz and I tested it and it outperforms the standard one with ease. It is a simple design by Joolz with a twist to increase surface area (which becomes more important on the tuned Cerbs). It is also the correct thickness and has the correct PP rating for foam.

The Cone filters look good but ultimately sap power and torque, if you are not bothered by losing 10-15bhp here and there then go for them.

The work on the lengths of the secondary sections of the air inlet were very interesting and are certainly a viable option for increasing power and torque. I would have pursued this had I kept the Cerb, but hopefully Nige (Mars) will look into it and come up with a working solution with Joolz, there is definitely another consistent 5bhp+ to be had if not a touch more.

There's one or two threads from a few months back on air filters that offers an overview of the options.

Jules.

Cycolne - I have the said conical carbon inductors on mine, fitted by the previous owner and with an Austec map. I somehow had a feeling that if these were relying on being driven by the movement of air they may actually be less effective at lower speeds\revs. My dealer suggested leaving it well alone, so I was curious as to where the info comes from on it reducing power\torque. I'd still like to try putting the original pipes back if not just to see how it performs. What do you think ?

Colin,

I'd say that you are as well to leave you set-up as it is.

Your set-up will produce slightly better results than the cones that are just stuck on the end of the airboxes, however it'll only be 5-10bhp difference and this will become more noticable as the engine bay becomes warmer.

Reverting back to a standard set-up with a good clean filter will see a small increase in power/torque and a different induction noise. The choice is yours as to whether you revert back.

Jules.