Air Filter

[SPGTi 2]

My 205 1.9 8v has a K&N air filter which is looking a bit worse for wear and is crammed up behind the headlight. The battery is in the boot so I have lots of space in the engine bay to postion the air filter and pipein an air feed and even make a box. I know everyone says that the std system is best but I do not have the original setup and do not want to refit one.

Anyway as the dusty season is upon us I want to get a new air filter, at the same time changing the position for best results.

So I have been looking for answers to the following questions :

Are the big name brands really worth the money over the cheaper copies with regards air flow / cleaning properties ?

Cotton gauze (K&N type) vs foam (Ram air , Pipercross type) - which is best with regards air flow / cleaning properties ?

How do all the twister / built in heat shield etc etc types compare to the "classic" induction cone design ?

Is it better to build your own heat sheild /box or use a "carbon" off the shelf one like the Viper /BMC CDA type ?

High powered Jap cars use mushroom shaped filters, would one of these fitted be the same/ better / worse ?

 

Basically I want a filter with good air flow but also good cleaning properties as I will be using the car a lot on dusty tracks and fields.

 

Steve

[feb 47]

Regarding filtering properties paper is best followed by cotton then foam. A test in nasioc proved this and also showed that even the "high flowing" ones gain you 1-2 bhp so I'd rather sacrifice flow for better filtering, the only reason I am having a k&n fitted in my 205 is to make space in the engine bay and I don't know of paper alternatives. For this very reason I replaced the k&n my Fsti came with with a paper Sti panel one. After all that's what rally teams use and I can't be bothered with washing the k&n which means the car can't be used for a day or two.

Edited June 5, 2011 by feb