Mk5 TDI intake

[dieselcentregc]

I advise not to use a KNN or other oil based air filters as they can destroy your Air Flow/mass Meter. If you want improved performance we are a dealer for Steinbauer Diesel Performance Modules

[nick_sixx]

Ok will avoid a panel filter which is a shame, because thats what i was hoping for. Any suggestions on filters that will give a decent induction/flutter noise?

(unsure on the flutter....i know STI's become like 8 times louder just by fitting a pod so was wondering if this is applicable to the golf?)

[Maverick]

Ok will avoid a panel filter which is a shame, because thats what i was hoping for. Any suggestions on filters that will give a decent induction/flutter noise?

(unsure on the flutter....i know STI's become like 8 times louder just by fitting a pod so was wondering if this is applicable to the golf?)

Your first post you wanted an ok power increase for $100 by changing the filter and now you only want more noise?????

What do you want to achieve, more power, more noise or both?

You've got a diesel and you've never going to get it sounding like a WRX no matter what you do.

[Guest212]

I have nothing against not OEM filters as long as the filtration is not affected.
Our Forester has Unifilter it the place of OEM air filter from 12,000km (it filtrates better than OEM one and the fuel economy had improved). VW cars get OEM filters - no reason to muck around - good fuel economy and good power.

Yes, keep the TDI standard.
P.S. I don't mean you. How is your 12V fan instalation in the engine bay going? I hope you will post the pictures with other details (what fan etc.)

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer ie: you get it from the manufacturer. i think you're a little confused as to what it means.

better flow = less filtration. you are probably killing your subaru. Not to worry though, it'll eat one of its head gaskets before the rings wear out.

[Greg Roles]

You've got a diesel and you've never going to get it sounding like a WRX no matter what you do.

...and that's a plus!

[Transporter]

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer ie: you get it from the manufacturer. i think you're a little confused as to what it means.

better flow = less filtration. you are probably killing your subaru. Not to worry though, it'll eat one of its head gaskets before the rings wear out.

There you go - you learn something new every day.

Thanks for advice and your handy Subaru expert tip.

You know you can do the used oil analysis if you want to be sure that your air filter is filtering properly.

P.S We've done 150,000km in that Subaru and the engine sounds like new and looks like new.

[POLARBEAR666]

better flow does not mean less filtration.

You can have a much greater surface area on a pod filter which means that when dirt starts collecting there is still a greater surface area of clean filter left to suck air cleanly and with high flow.

Also, as the heavier particles accumulate on the surface of a pod they can catch smaller particles coming in and thereby increase filtration. Especially on an oiled pod filter.

[Guest212]

You re correct polar, more surface area means greater airflow until complete blockage.

But 99.9% of cars these days have panels, not pods. Even the humble cyclonic airfilter is dying out it seems.

Your last theory does indeed work on oiled paper and cotton filters, but it does not work for oiled foam filters. Foam filters rely on being oiled to catch dust. The idea is that there's no straight through path in the foam, the particulate will eventually run into a wall in the foam and be stuck there by the oil film. This does definately work when fresh but once its dirty, the oil film gets clogged leaving nice open pathways for the dirt to "bounce" through and into your combustion chamber. Unifilters are oiled foam. They have their uses but I certainly wouldn't want to use one on a car!

[Transporter]

OK,
Unifilter filtrates particles 5 microns and bigger, Subaru OEM air filter filtrates particles 25 microns and bigger (when new). Unifilter recommends checking and re-oiling every 10,000km and you don't have to let it dry out it's not drop it in and forget air filter. Just follow the instructions and everything works as designed.
I still recommend that people use the genuine air filters.

[POLARBEAR666]

I wouldn't worry so much about the odd thing going through the engine.

I have a friend who managed to drop 2 cable ties into an engine. When faced with a complete tear down or just firing the bastard up and giving it some throttle you can guess what he chose to do. Hesitated for a few k's every now and then as it chomped on the cable ties and the plastic melted and evaporated into chemicals.

Then his car was back to normal.

[Greg Roles]

Guess your friend isn't so up to speed with valves through piston crowns!

He was pretty lucky!

[nick_sixx]

ok thank you for your very informative points on air filtration....But i would still like to know what filters or bang-for-your buck intakes would be benificial for power/noise....please keep your filtration quality comments to yourself

[mikinoz]

The Modshack gives you as you can see from the charts in the other thread, that the curves are nicer, but overall power is no greater.

The noise however, is definitely much improved and it sounds like the car is going to suck up children in front of it.

A pod without a shield however may not help engine temps...

Where are you located Nick?

[peter]

6 months ago I had a weak moment and got a K&N panel filter . The car had done 60000 and was up for a new one anyway.

I can't say I can feel any great improvement in acceleration.
There's better tractability at low revs though and maybe ever so slightly better economy. By how much? Maybe 0.2 L/100km...woohoo. I'm still getting 5-5.5, although if I drive really, really carefully I can actually get it under that now whereas I couldn't before the K&N. On a couple of 950km fills it averaged 4.7 but it just wasn't that much fun to drive.

Could the improvement on airflow be reducing the load on the turbo enough for it to accelerate and spool up faster? Is that accounting for the better tractability and slight improvement on economy? Maybe.

I've occasionally checked the filter housing and it still looks clean on the filtered side. So I'm pretty happy with all that. ...but if I was expecting more power I'd be dissappointed.

[nick_sixx]

The Modshack gives you as you can see from the charts in the other thread, that the curves are nicer, but overall power is no greater.

The noise however, is definitely much improved and it sounds like the car is going to suck up children in front of it.

A pod without a shield however may not help engine temps...

Where are you located Nick?

I am in Brisbane. Thanks to Centrelink + K-Rudd I now have around $500 to spend on mods. Thinking of doing a decent intake.