All engines need air filter to enhance their performance. Hence the need to have efficient air filters. Such air filters are neither too thick, greasy nor dirty. This is the point where we now introduce sports panel air filters and induction kits.
Improving Air Sucking
If you tried to breath through a piece cloth over you mouth, you won’t have much problems. However, if you wet the piece of cloth before trying to breathe through it, you will experience some difficulties in breathing. You will have the same experience if you used a much thicker piece of cloth. Your vehicle’s engine experiences the same when it comes to air filters. The question is, do high flow air filters and induction kits always increase the performance of engines?
Read on to learn more about various types of air filters such as Cone, RAM and Panel, among others. You will also learn about the materials used and engine bay temperatures and their effects on intake temperatures. In addition to the above, learn how best to tune various types and sizes of engines for optimum performance.
A look at the various types of air filter materials reveals that the medium of filtration of the best air filters cotton gauze which is lightly oiled. Unfortunately, such air filters are not easily available. Therefore, the most recommended substitute is air filters with sponge treated with dirt retentive oil. Another alternative is the modern gauze air filters, which are artificial in nature. Coating the sponge slightly with oil is meant to help in filtration. Instead of the sponge, you may also opt for air filters with fine mesh of metal. Both of them flow better than the custom paper filters.
If you wish to avoid any malfunction of the mass air flow sensor, apply just a little film of oil on the filter’s air intake side. You should also ensure that the filter is fitted properly. To be on the safe side, check and clean the mass air flow sensor regularly. Having done all the three things above, you will encounter no problem at all, besides maximizing the performance of your vehicle.
About Air Induction Kits
For the best air flow, the surface area of the filter should be largest. In mainstream cars, air intake boxes can be replaced with induction kits. The induction kit enables the engine to suck in much more air, creating an induction roar, which is disliked by some people. However, for cars with small engines, using air induction kits instead of air filters can rob them of power. Air induction kits raise the temperature under the bonnet. If the temperature rises to twenty degrees and above, intake of cold air becomes a challenge, yet cold air has more oxygen that hot or warm air. This can deny your engine power of up to three percent. Temperatures under the bonnet can rise to about double the figure given above. To mitigate the effects of high temperatures on cool air intake, add an inter-cooler to forced induction and Turbo charged cars.
The Solution
As indicated above, cars with small engines, especially those with non Turbo applications are not as powerful with induction kits as they ought to be. The solution here is to replace the induction kit with a panel a filter, which fits in the standard air box.
When the engine sucks in much warm air, it loses power. That is why you should have a pipe to feed the engine with cold air. The pipe should be outside the engine bay. The induction kit can also be sealed with a box. A test carried out recently on the cone filter with and without the air box produced interesting results as follows.
- Within just a driving distance of a quarter of a mile, intake temperatures fell to ambient with the use of an air box.
- However, without the air box, the intake temperatures dropped after driving for about two miles.
It is therefore hopeless to drive for quarter a mile with an open cone filter without cold air intake. The engine bay will be hot throughout the distance.
The Conclusion
Having made the observations above, we can conclude that good induction kits are fitted in the air box and they come with a cool air pipe. To help reduce the noise and lower intake temperature, some kits have long pipes with air filters found near the bonnet.
Lastly, site the cold air intake in a position where the engine cannot suck in water when you drive through a pool.