K&N Induction Kit

[blueriver]

I have recently put a K&N Induction kit onto my 1.8T vRS and am not sure about the sound it is making.

The filter is in two parts, it has a main cone and also a small breather filter.

It has given the car slightly more grunt, but also has a really airy sound to it. When I accelerate it sounds with a sssshhhhhhh noise and when I take my foot off the pedal it sounds like I have a dump valve on the car.

Does anyone have the same problem/know if this is right?

Another quickie - has anyone got a gtech pro meter? I'm looking at buying one and wondered how good they are

Cheers

Simon

[cheezemonkhai]

To me based on experience from fitting one to a totally different car...

Have you made sure all the jubalie clips are tied up and have you connected all the hoses such as the EGR intake etc. The thing does sound different, oh and the 1.8T does have a dump valve, just a small plastic one.

[Nigel26]

sounds right to me... the car has a bosch recirc valve as standard so you will hear something when changing gear. Basically your hearing a lot more of the turbo spooling.

[tri_longer]

Originally Posted by blueriver

I have recently put a K&N Induction kit onto my 1.8T vRS and am not sure about the sound it is making.

The filter is in two parts, it has a main cone and also a small breather filter.

It has given the car slightly more grunt, but also has a really airy sound to it. When I accelerate it sounds with a sssshhhhhhh noise and when I take my foot off the pedal it sounds like I have a dump valve on the car.

Simon

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Without the restrictive box and paper filter, the "sssshhhhhhh noise" is the car sucking air in.

And the dump valve noise is the dump (divertor or re-circ) valve. Again, without all that restrictive nonsense it's just more obvious.

Enjoy.

[michael balai]

I've recently fitted a ABD CAI kit which uses a K&N filter and mine makes a similiar type of noise
It is also fitted with a baileys dump valve.
The noise I get is a sort of vacuum noise a sound similar to darth vader, however if on idle you rev the car then it sounds very throaty....

[SkodiRS]

Originally Posted by tri_longer

Without the restrictive box and paper filter, the "sssshhhhhhh noise" is the car sucking air in.

It is the induction noise...air being sucked in but...this is not because the OEM airbox and filter are restrictive but because it is enclosed...with the open filter you can hear the noise now.

Originally Posted by tri_longer

And the dump valve noise is the dump (divertor or re-circ) valve. Again, without all that restrictive nonsense it's just more obvious.

As standard the DV dumps boost back into airbox...as this is enclosed you don't really hear it...you can if you're specifically listening for it....but with the open filter boost is dumped back into the filter and because it's not enclosed you'll hear the "pstssh".

[tri_longer]

I was close In fact considering that i still don't undersatnd why a dump valve works when reversed i would say that was very good for me!

[blueriver]

Cheers guys,

most helpful. Not sure about the re-circ valve. Presume it's just where the air comes out of the turbo and then circulated back again. I never noticed these kind of sounds before 'cause I only had a pipercross induction on my old 106 which did sound really throaty but not so airey.

Are there any other modifications to make the engine bay sound more racey and throaty (I'm looking at getting a re-map done, but will this help much?). It's a shame skoda didn't make their engine more like this in the first place. I want to try and stay away from the dump valve scenario though.

[SkodiRS]

Recirc valve just dumps the air back into the inlet system as opposed to a BOV which vents directly to the atmosphere.

If you have an induction kit on you will here more of the DV venting.

If you didn't want to hear anything then getting a Green Filter replacement panel and smoothing out the aribox would have done the job.

I don't think the kit you have has a heat shield so you're going to get heat soak from the engine....hot air = less power.

You want cold air going in as cold air is denser and typically means more power.

Remap will factor in that you're getting more cold air in...when you're on the move.

[jimmyskeen]

I had a k&n induction kit on my vrs but it caused loss of power and after
a month of driving with it on I had to replace the MAF sensor and it f~#**d the throttle housing at just over £400 i would recommend not to use this type of filter - best to get a CAI kit with an element that is not oiled

[Lummox]

Originally Posted by tri_longer

I was close In fact considering that i still don't undersatnd why a dump valve works when reversed i would say that was very good for me!

Why wouldnt it?

All it is basically is a tube with a 'tap' in the middle that opens or closes to allow boost through. Take your garden hose, doesn't mattter which end you attatch to the tap and which end you attatch to the nozzle, works the same.

[cheezemonkhai]

Originally Posted by jimmyskeen

I had a k&n induction kit on my vrs but it caused loss of power and after
a month of driving with it on I had to replace the MAF sensor and it f~#**d the throttle housing at just over £400 i would recommend not to use this type of filter - best to get a CAI kit with an element that is not oiled

I would suggest getting some good kitchen towel and dabbing the filter element to get rid of any excess oil then refittting it. The thing should be ok to be honest and I can't see how it would break a throttle houseing (didn't these have a failing anyway).

The heat soak will cause power loss unless you got one of the newer kits. These place the air intake filter behind a plastic shroud and have a cold air intake from the outside of the bonnet. The older ones just had a scoop and tube which took cold air up to it when you were moving forward.

[jimmyskeen]

I think the throttle housing probably may have been on its way out
but its typical main dealer thinking about it they see a performance part
that gets instantly blamed for any fault,
might give dabbing the oil out of the filter a go and add a heat shield to it
cheers

[Powerhungry]

this is the sound i wanted when i bought my CAI & DV. love it

had a k&n on the saxo. was the noisiest piece of **** bought. it lasted 1month till replaced by a CDA kit for 3yrs

[Timo]

Have just fitted a K&N, sounds great, please don't put a downer on it with more horror stories.

[blueriver]

Originally Posted by Timo

Have just fitted a K&N, sounds great, please don't put a downer on it with more horror stories.

I think your right. I haven't had anyproblems yet, and it has been on for about a month and a half. Not sure about performance though, need rolling roading to check properly.

Originally Posted by SkodiRS

I don't think the kit you have has a heat shield so you're going to get heat soak from the engine....hot air = less power.

Trying to put some kind of heat shield in is almost impossible as the main filter points directly away from the engine. I can't see it picking up much hot air. I know that the hose that it comes with is not the best of 'air catchers', but i think that for the money it is a good buy. Getting a typhoon kit or similar is obviously going to be better as the air is direct to the filter. but then costs over twice the price.

Simon

[cheezemonkhai]

K&N do kits with boxes to keep the filter away from hot air and tunnel the cold air directly into the box if thats any help.

[Nigel26]

the problem with any induction kit is the dirt retention oil you have to apply after cleaning the filter.

K&N are oiled the heaviest from the factory so removing some of the oil will reduce the risk of damaging your MAF, obviously this will reduce the effect the oil has and the filter will require cleaning more readily.
Green filters are better where this is concerned.
The Jabba Sport induction kit i have uses a JR filter much like the Green or K&N filters but the oil has been developed to reduce damage to the MAF. It also has a stainless steel casing that encloses the filter when the bonnet is closed, this stops heat soak from the engine bay. I have added cold air induction hose from the front bumper as well though.

If you want a more throaty noise then what you've got so far is fine, think about adding a TIP from forge as well, this has made a noticable difference on my vRS since fitting. Its changed the noise, theres a lot more boost noise from the turbo and the induction road seems louder than before.
The only other thing would be an aftermarket exhaust. Something like a BlueFlame system would do the trick.

A remap isnt nessasarily going to give you more noise but it will make the most of the mods and give you very good results.

[dan_ferguson]

I've got a K&N induction kit on my vRS and its fine.

Easy to swap back when needed too.

[texasjohn]

Had a Saab 93 Turbo which has the same diverter valve as your 1.8T

After I fitted a drop in JR air filter I could hear the turbo spool up and the diverter valve venting, which was a new experience as I could not hear either previously with the stock paper air filter.



Then I got it chipped and all I could hear was tire chirp but thats another story!