Powerflow filter kit , recommended or waste of time ?

[ukmastiff]

Has anyone any experience of these. I wasnt particularly thinking of one but thought , my car is due an oil and filter change anyway , is it worth taking the 50 pounds all in offer on one on Open day then its only really cost 40 pounds for the 'upgrade' as I would have had to buy an air filter to do my oil change service [&:]

I have read on the web ( not to be taken as gospel) that using open air filters can be a very bad thing as you get hot air from under your bonnet directed in instead of cooler air from the pipework that leads to your 'proper' filter box , having just had a good look at the standard air intake setup I'm actually wondering how sticking a powerflow kit could be anything but a ' downgrade' ? ?


Cheers Mas

 

[Riverside]

You're on the money, they sound good but the standard airbox will have a smoother airflow & cold air feed. I have a K&N on mine, it had a cheap cone on it when I bought the car & I just replaced it with a K&N one. No problems to report but no noticeable extra power either. I do like the noise though.

 

[Eldavo]

I asked my mechanic about this a bit ago, he said I was better off with a k&n panel filter as the airbox assembly takes a cold feed and is optimised for torque too. He said an induction kit would sound nice and perhaps increase top end power a couple of bhp at the most but this would come at the cost of low and mid range torque.

 

[Suffolk944]

Yes had a cone on my previous car don't think it made any real difference and would concur about the issue of it drawing in warm air into the engine. Got a K&N panel version in the standard airbox now on my present car doubt it gives much of gain but every little counts ! []

 

[DavidL]

What about reducing risk of foreign body ingress, like water, if the air intake is much higher up in an induction kit?
I nearly drowned my car last winter, the water was rather deep mind, but it did occur to me I might have been better off if the intake was not so low?
Or I could buy a Range Rover!

 

[PSH]

Hot air from the engine on the 944 is a problem. even more so for the turbo. Having said that I've been using a cone filter for many years ( 368bhp with cone filter)and only recently have i been looking closer at this due to recent high intake temps being recorded. I have been researching my next step to reduce the intake temp particulary in regards to the various Cold feed Intake sytems available today. I was considering the K&N Apollo which would be ideal as it'll fit where my current cone is but has a couple of draw backs, 1: it has a smaller neck than my MAF so would have to use a reducer hose( not good for max power) and 2: it's rated for a max of 350bhp which is too low.
My son then suggested the pipercross Venom which is huge[], on receiving the specs from pipercross it became obvious that it will not fit where my current cone is behind the N/S light but on making a template for the correct size I believe it will fit in front of the timing covers which is clear since it no longer has it's original airbox. Add to this that it has the same size neck as my MAF unit ( 75mm) and also is rated for around 50bhp more than the K&N and I think this will be best for my car.
Of course this will mean a complete re-think for my intake pipework but it will be worth it in the end, while at it I'll cut down the length of pipe coming from the turbo( replaced the J-boot) as I no longer need the dump valve recirculating pipe since it's been changed for a dump to atmosphere type.This and a 90 degree bend to bring it in front of the engine, heat resistant paint for the pipe to be sptrayed both inside and out and my intake temps should be greatly reduced and thus more power...[8D][8D]
To sum up I would suggest it's worth looking into the cold intake induction kits available as they will do far more for the car than the original airbox, better response, better fuel economy , more mid range and top range power.. sounds good to me...[][]


Pete

 

[sawood12]

For a road car pumping out stock power or modest power hikes (say upto and a bit over 300bhp) then yes - you're not going to get much better results than with the stock airbox. If you are going for big HP numbers then it wont be long before the stock intake becomes a restriction. I think the stock airbox arrangement is great - it sucks cold static air in from under the wheel arch (don't go for this RAM air nonsense - its BS - you can only compress air via RAM effect at speeds close to the speed of sound, and even then the pressure rises are very very minor until you get upto and over Mach 3. 944's are fast, but not that fast), it protects the cold air from the heat of the engine bay. Induction of warm air will loose you far more HP than a half inch restriction in the snorkel cross-sectional area, and higher intake temps will increase risk of knock. For turbo's, they love cold air as cold air can be compressed far more efficiently than warm air (you really do notice a difference on a cold crisp day compared to a warm day), and like all things aerodynamic, it is not a linear relationship so you get more payback the lower you can get the induction temps - again - another reason why temperature is a bigger killer than a slight restriction in the pipework.

I'm not even convinced by K&N panel filters. I read that the increased airflow through the panel filter is soon reduced to the same as a standard paper filter within about 1500 miles due to the filter clogging. So in short i'd say, save your money and stick with stock with this sort of thing.

 

[PSH]

I would agree with you Scott in regards to a RAM effect , I see that as a sales gimmick but as you have already stated cold air is what's important to an engine and cold air is exactly what a RAM air induction kit delivers. The Pipercross venom cold air induction kit ( some times also called ram air but not so in this case) delivers a healthy amount of cold air through it's cold feed pipe, this pipe can be upto 100mm wide which is a big jump over the stock intake, it can also be routed to a far better place than the inside of a wing such as directly in open air. Add to this a filter that is far more free flowing than the Porsche original and i'm sure you'll appreciate that there is room for a significant improvement in BHP and Torque.


Pete

 

[garyalanlane]

Would be great to see some pics on how it fits if you go ahead with this install

 

[JamesO]

I ran a cone filter for a while on my lux and in the summer the intake temps got very high around town and normal driving, but at speed/giving it some they did drop down to 20 degrees or so.
I have gone back to the (slightly modified) stock airbox and the temps have stayed lower all round. I did feel the cone filter was better over 4000 rpm but its hard to quantify. I prefer to trust the paper filter plus it has a larger suface area.

 

[PSH]

Would be great to see some pics on how it fits if you go ahead with this install

will do Gary.. not that I've tried to post pics before...lol... I have ordered all the components now so it will fit some how even if I have to move everything around.. the filter is huge and with a 3 inch feed to the MAF and a 3 or 4 inch feed tube ( choice) it's going to take some doing. I was looking at the planned install area this morning while getting the car ready for MOT, it was a case of yes it will,no it won't, yes it will,... of course it will fit, I'll make the damn thing fit..[8|]

BTW car passed it's MOT with flying colours, no adviseries and a clean bill of health.. that's the 10th MOT that it's sailed through since I've owned the car with 1 a few years back that required some suspension work, not bad for the old girl[][][]

 

[robwright]

ORIGINAL: PSH


( replaced the J-boot) as I no longer need the dump valve recirculating pipe since it's been changed for a dump to atmosphere type.

I might be interested in having that J boot off you mate if it is still in good nick. I had to make a repair on mine when I did the turbo.

 

[PSH]

I might be interested in having that J boot off you mate if it is still in good nick. I had to make a repair on mine when I did the turbo.

ahh.. i meant the replacement pipe used when fitting the Lindsey super 61 turbo, this was a replacement for the original J-boot. Having said that it's possible that i may still have the old j-boot, if so your welcome to it Rob FOC. I'll try to look for it tomorrow after i finish some machining.. yes i have to work even if at home tomorrow...

 

[robwright]

Pete you are a gentleman. Defo worth the price of a brew if I see you next Saturday night mate. Oh and could worse mate I have to work at work tomorrow!!!

 

[PSH]

True at least i'll be at home... i just don't fancy spending hours working over a lathe and mill tomorrow.. it's been a tough enough week as it is....[] but hey a brew on saturday sounds good...[]