Air Filter choice

H

heinrad

Full member
Points
51
Car
Ford Focus 1.6 LX
Hi,

I just read the article on this very site about fitting an induction kit.

I'm interested in fitting one but the article raised an interesting point:

Smaller engined cars can actually lose power when an induction kit instead of an airfilter is fitted
Click to expand...

Is a 1.6 engine 'small'? Should I go air filter route or induction kit route?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
with a 1.6 mate id stick with a panel filter for under a high powered 1.8. However its you choice,
do you want the induction roar ?

Hey and welcome by the way
 
On high revving engines like the Civic VTEC an induction kit makes more sense but I would stick with a panel filter in the 1.6 focus.

If you did go with an induction kit I would say you'd only lose a little of the bottom end torque and still get a slightly higher peak power gain. The panel filters will tend to give a better power gain througout the rev range.

If it is the sound of the induction roar you are after then a panel filter is not for you, unless you drill a couple of holes in the bottom of your air box. You should also try and take a cold air feed to the area around the holes because the engine bay gets pretty warm;).
 
An induction roar would be tempting, but I also have to balance the difficulty of the installation with my lack of knowledge and dependence on the car for work in case I screw up.

At the moment I think i'm leaning towards the panel, in these crunchy credit times I think it would be a safer option and then take another look during the summer months when it'd be a bit more clement for prolonged tinkering.
 
There isn't anything that can go wrong when fitting an induction kit as such ;)

The cheap little universals are just as good as the more expensive makes usually too ;)
 
You know, I've just had a browse through youtube to try and get the sound of an induction roar, and i'm sold.

I guess I'm just a little aprehensive at tinkering under the bonnet when I havn't really done it before. Everyone has to start somewhere I guess.
 
The sounds on youtube usually sound rubbish compared to how nice they genuinely sound, In my opinion, you cant beat the sound of a car that drives past in 2nd gear at 35 mph with an induction kit :)

Basically, old air filter box out, (read Haynes manual!!) attach induction filter to the end of the pipe that connected to the old air filter box, secure with jubilee clip ;)

done it for you.. :D
 
To be honest, the car is never going to be uber quick with basic mods, so go for an induction kit if you can get it cheap, at least the noise will make it sound quick. You wont notice the little loss in power.
 
BMC CDA supposed to be very good but £££££
it was one i looked at along with the carbonio ( unavalible for the focus ) then decided to go down the OEM route
you might be able to do something similer with airbox off a bigger engine
 
Or to really save the pennies got a drill out with a big drill bit. An go to work on your original airbox. Below the filter so it sucks all the air through the holes. Very crude but very cheap and effective...:D:D
 
Ha Haa! I'm not THAT tight on money.

Looking at the prices for Induction Filters they don't seem to be that expensive, so I think i've set my heart on that route now.

A further two questions:

1)Looking at the instructions, it shows you have to place an air intake pipe on the lower grill, I assume you have to get under the car to correctly fit it, how would be the best way to that seeing as I don't have access to any type of garage situation, only a gravel drive.

2)On the K&N site instructions it shows said pipe going to a grill, I don't have a grill, more of a vane type setup, thats not going to be a problem is it?

Thanks in advance.
 
heinrad said:
Ha Haa! I'm not THAT tight on money.

Looking at the prices for Induction Filters they don't seem to be that expensive, so I think i've set my heart on that route now.

A further two questions:

1)Looking at the instructions, it shows you have to place an air intake pipe on the lower grill, I assume you have to get under the car to correctly fit it, how would be the best way to that seeing as I don't have access to any type of garage situation, only a gravel drive.

2)On the K&N site instructions it shows said pipe going to a grill, I don't have a grill, more of a vane type setup, thats not going to be a problem is it?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Mate all you have to do is find somewhere in the bumper for it to pick up cold air. And you should be able to do this without jacking the car...:D
 
A quick bit of fact I'd like to add to the Feature ;)

You dont have to have a small engine for it to lose power with an iduction kit. Anyone remember the problems I had with my 2.5 V6? I bought a K&N 57i kit suited for my car, and also purcheased only the back box of te exhaust system. First time I went out in it, reved great up to about 3000rpms and then sounded like it was choking and wouldn't acclelerate. Turned out that the car was sucking in far too much air that it couldn't get rid of it quick enough. Thats when the total bill just for the exhaust system went up to £800 :( However, I did have my sytem made to the exact same specifications as the Calibra Touring Car lol and then I felt a difference :)

So bear in mind it's more down to how your car can breath rather than the engine size. Make sure your exhaust system can expell the gasses as quick as the air is gettin sucked in.
 
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