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swapszone 26th April 2009, 11:50 amPerformance air filters has always been a starting point for those who want to take the first step into car tuning. This is because performance air filters are easy to apply and are not as expensive as the other performance tuning components. I believe the first reason that makes all of us purchase a performance air filter is the sporty sound that we all like, but generally there is a belief that performance filters will give you lots of horse power, like a minimum of 5 hp, maybe more, even on a normally aspirated engine. Now, if I say that performance air filters generate nothing except a sport sound, would you believe it? Your answer would normally be “No!”...Yes, performance air filters do increase horse power but only under certain conditions.
The theory
The theory here is, as you let more air to the combustion chambers to mix with the fuel, you get more power, but the first point is that under which conditions does the air flow and do performance air filters really provide more air as it has been told? Aerodynamics, or let’s call it air flow here, is so complicated so you can never be sure that the replacement of your conventional air filter with an open element filter (like K&N, King dragon or Green) will provide more air flow to the intake system.
Open Element Performance Air Filters
Normally, the air passing through the intake system is 21% oxygen while nitrous oxide is 33% we all know that nitrous oxide is a power-boosting, complete and more expensive mod in tuning process, and I hope we all agree on the performance of this mod. Nitro increases the density of the oxygen in the air to 33% from 21%, which is still quite close to the natural density. Do you believe that a cotton performance filters can increase the density of the oxygen? No... So, the only fact about the open element performance filters is that they only let some more air to pass through, and the most important question is that how much horse-power do we get from them? Tests on dynamometers show that you will lose horsepower, not gain it if you don’t find a way to duct cool air directly to the cone filter. Unshielded cone filters (K&N or any other) were reported to yield a net loss in horse power. The factory filter pulls cool air from outside the engine compartment, while open cone filters will pull warm air from the area behind the radiator. Warm air is less dense than cold, so this can cost between 6-13 HP. Cone filters like K&N and similar only raise the HP's by 0-2 HP's on a normally aspirated engine, however, on turbocharged or supercharged engines, the increase is somewhat higher like 8-10 HP, according to the power and vol. of the engine. Another issue on performance air filters is that they only affect the top end, meaning close to redline. You can feel a power loss at low revs. And one other is that the cotton filters let in considerably more dirt (300-500% more) than stock. Filter allows more dust and fine dirt particles into the engine, but general consensus is that this should make no difference to engine wear.
TOP BRANDS AVAILABLE IN MARKET
| K & N AIR FILTERS | AEM AIR FILTERS | INJEN UNIVERSAL PERFORMANCE AIR FILTERS | S & B AIR FILTERS | GREEN AIR FILTERS |
| PIPECROSS AIR FILTERS |TRUE FLOW AIR FILTERS | F & E AIR FILTERS |
The theory
The theory here is, as you let more air to the combustion chambers to mix with the fuel, you get more power, but the first point is that under which conditions does the air flow and do performance air filters really provide more air as it has been told? Aerodynamics, or let’s call it air flow here, is so complicated so you can never be sure that the replacement of your conventional air filter with an open element filter (like K&N, King dragon or Green) will provide more air flow to the intake system.
Open Element Performance Air Filters
Normally, the air passing through the intake system is 21% oxygen while nitrous oxide is 33% we all know that nitrous oxide is a power-boosting, complete and more expensive mod in tuning process, and I hope we all agree on the performance of this mod. Nitro increases the density of the oxygen in the air to 33% from 21%, which is still quite close to the natural density. Do you believe that a cotton performance filters can increase the density of the oxygen? No... So, the only fact about the open element performance filters is that they only let some more air to pass through, and the most important question is that how much horse-power do we get from them? Tests on dynamometers show that you will lose horsepower, not gain it if you don’t find a way to duct cool air directly to the cone filter. Unshielded cone filters (K&N or any other) were reported to yield a net loss in horse power. The factory filter pulls cool air from outside the engine compartment, while open cone filters will pull warm air from the area behind the radiator. Warm air is less dense than cold, so this can cost between 6-13 HP. Cone filters like K&N and similar only raise the HP's by 0-2 HP's on a normally aspirated engine, however, on turbocharged or supercharged engines, the increase is somewhat higher like 8-10 HP, according to the power and vol. of the engine. Another issue on performance air filters is that they only affect the top end, meaning close to redline. You can feel a power loss at low revs. And one other is that the cotton filters let in considerably more dirt (300-500% more) than stock. Filter allows more dust and fine dirt particles into the engine, but general consensus is that this should make no difference to engine wear.
TOP BRANDS AVAILABLE IN MARKET
| K & N AIR FILTERS | AEM AIR FILTERS | INJEN UNIVERSAL PERFORMANCE AIR FILTERS | S & B AIR FILTERS | GREEN AIR FILTERS |
| PIPECROSS AIR FILTERS |TRUE FLOW AIR FILTERS | F & E AIR FILTERS |
