Will an custom air filter increase performance/reduce fuel consumption on my 202?

[careface]

I hear many rumors, but I have to know for sure before I do anything with it. I've also heard it will give my car a "hotter" sound?

[97C28O]

replacing a OEM air filter? no you will not gain anything at all.

replacing with an intake? no you probably won't gain anything as well. only sound will be the difference.

[Denlasoul]

I agree. Unless you route the intake opening to make a ram air type that sucks in cold air, not hot air from inside the engine bay. Go browse 2Phast's website. He did a small write-up of how he re-routed the intake on his C36.

[zmatt]

yeah a new filter wont do anything.

[Luwin1026]

+1 on the new filter not doing much. A K&N drop-in filter touts increased performance, economy, etc., but it's probably just the excitement factor affecting the butt dyno in a positive way. A short ram intake will give you an increased sound, but will suck in hot air from the engine bay. Like Denlasoul said, going with a cold air intake would yield the most benefits, but if you live in a region where you see rain a lot, you might encounter the risk of hydrolocking your engine as the filter sits a lot lower where it is vulnerable to taking in water.

[careface]

+1 on the new filter not doing much. A K&N drop-in filter touts increased performance, economy, etc., but it's probably just the excitement factor affecting the butt dyno in a positive way. A short ram intake will give you an increased sound, but will suck in hot air from the engine bay. Like Denlasoul said, going with a cold air intake would yield the most benefits, but if you live in a region where you see rain a lot, you might encounter the risk of hydrolocking your engine as the filter sits a lot lower where it is vulnerable to taking in water.

An increased sound is also a benefit, as long as it don't use more fuel. It actually rains 200 days in a year where I live, so it would be optimal to install the filter on the same place as the stock one. I am thinking to get/make a heat shield, wouldn't it work? Just to say, I'm happy about my performance with 122HK, its perfect for my location with all the turns and bad weather, so all I'm looking for is a sexy sound from my beast. All about show off

[zmatt]

do what I did and have a pipe going from the super charger to where the stock airbox is and shove a cone filter on it.

[Yujin]

If you build the intakes into your engine bay, I recommend you try and fit a heat shield. I always tell people this, it does work wonders. My buddy did it for me and a BMW Coupe, the bimmer guy said (according to the mpg cluster) he got better fuel mileage than when he was runing in hot air. Its not hard to make from scratch, you just need sheet metal, sheet cutters and about an hour or so for measuring, cutting and installing.

For your reference...



Although CAI's are wayy better, the risk of hydrolocking is realistic in raining area's. Of course, you can go Logic's way and buy custom intakes - but if your like me, a broke, college student who gets paid in PC games, my way is a bit cheaper on the pocket.

[Pagz]

Has anyone ever recorded intake vaccum between TB and filter,or SC and filter before changing parts?...Just a thought as it would make for an interesting thread.
With temp as constant at least you could compare tests with the new system and prove your custom intake did indeed reduce restriction and therefore pumping losses.

The stock airbox will be pretty hard to beat.

[zmatt]

I haven't, but i kept all the hardware and switching back would be pretty easy. If I ever fit a boost/vacuum gauge I'll try to remember to do that.

[Logic]

like most people know i had mine custom made and the filter was relocated in the bumper . i took every precaution to avoid water with a aem bypass valve. i been threw some heavy rainstorms driving it and had no issues what so ever. mine has been on my car for over 4 years , but i ususally dont drive it in the winter months. i feel the car gets better gas mileage and maybe a few horses if that but the sound is to die for. here is some pictures of it if you havent seen it already.





this can also be seen and heard in youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B_GqYDcNUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0FGd...eature=related

[careface]

Looking awesome, Yujin! Of course I though of having a heat shield, cause everytime i pop the hood after driving, the hot air bursts from beneath it. Is it normal that when its rainy, there is steam coming from the top of the hood (not the engine bay)?
I think i might really give it a shot though. One question though - will it work on my basic non-compressor 180? And btw, I am also a broke right-out-of-hi-school-guy :-)

[careface]

Wow thats some nice work, Logic! I watched the clips, the sound was eargasmic
Was it expensive to have it made?
One question though - my 180 doesnt have a compressor, but it will still work fine?
It was smart to position the filter in the bumper, but I am not sure its something i'd do - i intend to use the car daily, even through winters.
Otherwise, I am planning on getting a second 202 and make a showcar out of it - what ya think??

[zmatt]

An intake will make some difference but it wont be huge. On the kompressor models its probably more pronounced. If you want more power then I would suggest upping to a bigger motor model. The 180 is pretty small. what country do you live in?

[Logic]

i m in it about 560.00 including labor to put it in so not so bad considering most intakes you by after market run about the same .

[NW_Merc]

like most people know i had mine custom made and the filter was relocated in the bumper . i took every precaution to avoid water with a aem bypass valve. i been threw some heavy rainstorms driving it and had no issues what so ever. mine has been on my car for over 4 years , but i ususally dont drive it in the winter months. i feel the car gets better gas mileage and maybe a few horses if that but the sound is to die for. here is some pictures of it if you havent seen it already.

How do you know your car gets better gas mileage or even has more horsepower? It sounds like a honda civic.

[NW_Merc]

Although CAI's are wayy better, the risk of hydrolocking is realistic in raining area's.

No they're not, unless you have a dyno to prove otherwise. Hydrolocking only occurs if your engine sucks in water i.e. if you were driving through a deep puddle where the engine is submerged. Seeing as even in areas where it rains very heavily this never really happens your argument doesn't really hold water (so to speak)

[zmatt]

How would a dyno prove or disprove hydrolock? A dyno only tells you torque and power at the wheels. Hydrolock is a real problem, especially in boosted cars as there is much more force pushing the air, and whatever else gets through the filter into the intake. I've seen it happen before. It's nasty stuff. Water doesn't compress so if you get it in the cylinders you are looking at damaging you valves, pistons, mayble blowing the headgasket. All kinds of things. At the very least it would stall the motor.

[Yujin]

Dyno proves hydrolocking?

If the intake was to suck up tons of water if its placed close enough to the floor (as mine used to be) yes, the car could have hydrolocked in theory, as I didnt have an AEM Bypass valve.

Your engine doesnt have to be submerged, you can suck up water through the intake if the puddle was deep enough. In MA, I passed through a storm and passed through a puddle that covered my entire car, luckily, I got rid of the CAI 2 days before that happened, if I had the intake setup before that, I know for sure, my engine would have sucked up a bit of water. The inside of the engine bay was pretty wet, just to give you an idea of how bad the puddle was.

Cold Air Intakes are better than Short Ram Intakes or Hot Air Intakes. Sucking up hot air from what I understand is not good for power and fuel. Prove me wrong or tell me its a lie, becuase that is what I know and what was told and read all about.

Dont get Honda's and Mercedes mixed, they are worlds apart, and so is the community and people that support these cars. Just because its louder and not a deep rumble doesn't mean jack. A loud supercharger scream does not sound like the garbage Honda's give off.

[zmatt]

Hydrolock is very well documented. I don't want to overstate the risks here, it isn't terribly common and will be most likely if the intake is very low like its in you bumper and you go through a puddle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock