Go faster with an air filter kit?
When car manufacturers design air intakes they are concerned mainly about making sure the air reaching the engine is perfectly clean, and that there is no noise from the filter. In fact, because on sporty models, some noise builds up with engine revs – because people like it.
These days, there is a big market in air filter kits and inductions kits for sporty cars like Subarus and Ford Fiestas. Of course, if you buy a real muslce car like a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X or Ford Focus ST, you don’t need these kits.
Most of the firms selling these air filter kits Well, it depends on the car and the induction kit. Most air filter kits comprise a pipe from the engine to a conical or cylindrical filter with no enclosure – this gives less air resistance. And that is what these filters are all about - less resistance.
Actually, an air filter kit of this type should give a little more power. My guess is about 2-3 per cent. We actually got a gain of this type by altering the shape of the air intake mouth of a filter housing before it went into production.
Need to get cool air to the filter
One disadvantage with a filter of this type is that it is in the engine compartment, which is hot. When you drive fast it gets hot. When the filter gets hot, the air temperature gets high, too, which results in less power. So ideally, you want cool air coming to the engine. You can take an aluminium pipe from the filter housing to above the radiator, where there is a good flow of cool air. This results in a cool air intake.
Watch this, though: make sure that when you take the pipe out behind the grille, ensure that the tube has a bend near the front end, so the entry is not pointing forward. This way you will avoid getting insects into your air filter in hot weather.
The best thing is to have an air pipe from the front to a BMC carbon dynamic airbox that houses the filter to keep it cool as well. This way you can get the best out of your {air intake system|air induction kit|engine.