Air Filter - To Dustbin? Or not to dustbin?

[Aoki Magic Pants]

Having now purchased most of the major upgrades for my Elan (Everest Chip, Piper exhaust, Short shift) I've been looking at getting a K&N filter lately, is it worth just getting a drop in K&N filter for the dustbin? Or doing something more elaborate like replacing the pipe to the turbo & dustbin? It is my understanding that the air filter should have at least some shielding to prevent the intake of hot air in the engine bay, therefore there would be little advantage to getting rid of the dustbin apart from the aesthetics of it?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Alan_C]

For out and out power, a decent unrestrictive intake is required. Now, are you after max power? I'd guess not, at least you're not pushing for every last HP you can get, plus an unhoused air filter on the end of the turbo compressor makes alot of noise. It also sucks warm air from around the engine, not really so much of an issue when the car is moving though, but calculate the power gain of a freer flowing intake against the power loss of consuming warm air (I guess we can't really calculate this) and I think you get the picture I'm drawing? I run a K&N filter in the dustbin and am also happy that it sucks air from between the wheel arch shield and inner wing, cool air supply but more important there's less chance of ingesting water when driving through rain and puddles too. Some may argue with me, but that's my tuppence worth! And you did ask for my thoughts!

[theelanman]

I looked at this a while ago....
decided on the trash can with drop in fiter.......
just decided that cold air from the original set up would be better than the hot air from the radiator.....

[Aoki Magic Pants]

For out and out power, a decent unrestrictive intake is required. Now, are you after max power? I'd guess not, at least you're not pushing for every last HP you can get, plus an unhoused air filter on the end of the turbo compressor makes alot of noise. It also sucks warm air from around the engine, not really so much of an issue when the car is moving though, but calculate the power gain of a freer flowing intake against the power loss of consuming warm air (I guess we can't really calculate this) and I think you get the picture I'm drawing? I run a K&N filter in the dustbin and am also happy that it sucks air from between the wheel arch shield and inner wing, cool air supply but more important there's less chance of ingesting water when driving through rain and puddles too. Some may argue with me, but that's my tuppence worth! And you did ask for my thoughts!

Thank you, reading through previous posts it would seem that people are quite divided over the benefits of the housed/unhoused air filter, and the power trade off between the two. Is there really any noticeable difference between the two (Apart from audibly), or are we just talking a couple of HP?

[theelanman]

k&n claim the drop in filter gives 3bhp more......
Ive nover noticed the difference......when youve got 200bhp 3bhp more is only 1.5% increase....and thats only if you drive it at full tilt........
not sure what the claims are for the induction set up.......but I cant imagine it being much more....
although if you start getting warm air rather than cold then you probably loose more than you gain...........

[tigerdog]

I've always liked the look of Marie's salvaged Honda airbox. Much nicer than the dustbin and I think it still plumbs to cool air from the fender area. I personally have a FOAST (filter on a stick), don't mind the bit of intake noise. I've used Elanscan to record intake temps. At full boost uphill in 4th (at around 60MPH) the air temp recorded by Elanscan was within a couple of degrees of ambient. That's OK for me. So I guess it really doesn't matter...

[steve matthews]

I too went with the K&N (filter on a stick).
During the hottest summer days after beating the car up never was I
able to feel heat from the inlet pipe. This was the Top End Performance
Kit. The filter unit is positioned over the old air induction inlet. The noise
level is their but what is a sports car for. Give me all the HP I can get.
jSteve -w- new lady

[Aoki Magic Pants]

Ok cool, nice to hear a perspective from people with the non-housed filters. So can anybody point me in the direction of 'Filters on a stick' suitable for a M100 to further my investigation?

[steve matthews]

Try herehttp://www.racetep.com/lotus.html