GTI Jake
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Leaving it stock will save all the money. Wish I could, but man beating v8 cars is fun lol
7
Mods you're wasting money on...
- Thread starter GTI Jake
- Start date
Leaving it stock will save all the money. Wish I could, but man beating v8 cars is fun lol
Diggs24
Autocross Champion
- Location
- de plains! de plains!
- Car(s)
- 2015 GTI
Just travel around like a gypsy year round following where the cool air is. #migratorygti
alper
Ready to race!
- Location
- cloudy but not too cold
Cold air is something we got plenty of here... seems I'm going to leave it untouched then?
I do fancy the turbo inlet pipe upgrade though. It's cheap, I haven't tried it before and there are minor gains to be had also if i remember right from a comparative dyno posted a while ago. Definitely better bang for buck to a full CAI system.
KevinC
Autocross Champion
- Car(s)
- '19 Golf R, '21 M2c
Pretty much. Many people ignore the fact that the factory airbox is a "cold air intake" by design, and seem to trust a couple of knuckleheads in a back room in Pacoima to have more engineering expertise to design an airbox than the VW engineers in Wolfsburg. Kinda mind-boggling.
tknj99
Ready to race!
- Location
- Central VA
AtlantaDad
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Cumming, GA
I'm not much of a gearhead. But a buddy of mine who was more into cars told me once about an air filter study. Someone did independent mass air flow measurements on OEM paper filters vs cotton/oiled/washable after markets filters. There was no measurable difference in the "upgrade." So even the drop-in filter improvement comments here made me wonder. But I still like washable/reusable filters... less waste at the very least.
I'll have to search for it, or maybe there is another study contradicting it now. Like nutrition studies...they change the advice every couple years.
I'll have to search for it, or maybe there is another study contradicting it now. Like nutrition studies...they change the advice every couple years.
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Over here there have been tests done on various filters like this article:-
https://www.fastcar.co.uk/tuning/performance-car-air-filter-test/
oh & the old chestnut of "oiled filters damage the MAF" ...proves they don't understand that all petrol cars have a crankcase breather pipe to balance out the pressure either side of the pistons which connects between the air filter (engine side) & the throttle body...& this pipe has oil vapour in it as the so called "oil separators" are not 100% effective at removing this oil vapour...& its that oil which FUBARs the MAF...seen it with paper OEM filters...just look at the oiled vapour trail from the breather pipe...
All cotton, foam, & stainless mesh have to oiled...& ITG (re-branded for VWR) make two grades of oil for their foam filters..
tknj99
Ready to race!
- Location
- Central VA
Happy with my AFE pro-dry panel and stock intake plenum opened up on drivers side.. adds an interesting whistle at high load and seems to have increased throttle response, plus its washable in the future; win-win
im IS38 and running the same setup with a CTS TIP and budget inlet tube. Doesnt feel restricted to me at 28psi!
That's the most recent filter I ran in my TDI. I liked that it didn't need oiling and was washable. Still would be interested in seeing test results on something like this vs OEM paper. "Up to 50% flow increase" says AFE. Hmm.
cb1111
Newbie
- Location
- Virginia, USA
The only way to increase airflow (while keeping the same physical size) is to decrease filtering.
This is the issue with ANY replacement filter, oiled/dry/washable/whatever - you cannot increase airflow without decreasing filtering.
Agreed - that's my understanding as well. This is a subject that probably already has multiple threads. The subject at hand just brought this element (no pun intended) to mind.
Great thread.
deanmarr
Ready to race!
- Location
- Anaheim Hills Ca.
BOV and DV.
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
True...BUT the OEM filter is designed to cope in very sandy/hot countries.....& service free...
A good washable/oiled filter will filter just as well for most conditions with long service washing...or very sandy conditions with more frequent servicing/washing...ITG/ Pipercross/ K&N/ Green Cotton are all used by rally cars in the deserts, 4x4x on Paris Dakar etc...
Lack of care with oiled filters leads to most written about so called failures....I've run K&N, & Green Cotton on previous VAG cars no problems...trying an ITG (VWR) foam on this one soon...