I decided to give this mod ago today. I used a small rubber mallet, small chisel, stanley blade and sand paper. Really easy to do and took 30 minutes.

Been for a short drive and already the engine feels smoother and throttle response is crisper. I will know better once I have been to nottingham tomorrow and had a proper drive in it.

I took a couple of pics of the now smooth lower airbox.

Every little helps

keep us posted

I will Basil. The reason I did it is because a lot of the octy vrs owners on this forum swear by this mod. So I thought...why not try it on the fabia?

I like mods like this and the b&q air vent in wheel arch, credit crunch and all that

Yeah good idea - like it a lot!

cant believe this can effect performance..

I like mods like this and the b&q air vent in wheel arch, credit crunch and all that

I would agree..but a large dose of boredom and time on my hands was the main factor of the mod

It was used to good effect on the MKI Octavia and proved that the CIA had no real benefit

How will this improve performance? Surely the air must flow up through the fins and folds of the air filter after this section of the box. This will negate any smoothing of the airflow into the lower section of the air box.

Placebo - I'm sure.

I think not my learned friend

Hmmm would be very sceptical that this would have any difference to the performance....???

i was thinking placebo too.. however looking at the course the air takes on a mk2 octy i have thought about one of those air kits straight in instead of the 450 degrees of bends it has to take.

I havent yet driven my car to tell the difference yet. I will report back tomorrow once i have been to Nottingham today in it.

But I have been doing some research about the mod and on the mk-iv forum, which is about golfs. A bloke on there called GaryM has done a lot of testing work on the benefits of removing the fins. His findings were that 10% more air was shown on the MAF reading with the smooth airbox mod done. It was more than a carbonio air filter. I appreciate it was on a golf with a different shaped airbox. But a lot of other forums say to remove the fins as well. So there must be something in it if others are doing this mod and finding a benefit from it.

If it works for you then all is well. That is the point on making modifications or "modding" the car.

I have had loads of Golfs in the past hence the moniker. The last was a MK3 16V. The only mod worth doing on that airbox was to remove the trumpet from the airbox. As far as I could tell the only effect was to increase the induction noise (which was nice for a time until it got on my t1ts) and a bit more at the top end of the rev range 5.5k + RPM. Since I hardly used this rev range on a daily basis it was put back to normal again.

On the Fabia box as yours, the air will be swirling as it enters into the box and then be drawn up though the filter and on into the corrugated trunking to the inlet etc. I would think that most effect would be to smooth the air path AFTER the filter? The air is in effect making a 90 degree change in direction after it enters the airbox before it hits the filter panel. The fins might help to achieve this or they might hinder this. Your results will be interesting.

This is only my opinion and since I have only had an Octavia and a Fabia for 8 weeks I know little about Skodas and diesels in particular at present.

Well I have done just short of 200 miles since doing this mod. The engine is whisper quiet when cruising along at any speed. Though you do get slighty more induction roar when you accelerate hard. The engine is really smooth as well. I thought I was imagining it...but it was confirmed by my partner (who never normally comments)

She said to me "have you done something to your car?"

I replied "Why?"

She said "It's quieter than normal and doesnt sound diesely. Its also feels very smooth"

I have noticed that I hardly get any black smoke at all out of the exhaust now. I used to get a little black smoke on w.o.t, but now it seems to have gone? I have not done anything else to the car and the engine does pull harder now than before. I have also noticed that I have lost 2mpg and get 48 mpg rather than 50 mpg.

I would be interested to see if anyone who does this gets similar results for comparison?

hmmmm i might have a go what tools did you use?

I used a small rubber mallet, small chisel, stanley blade and sand paper.

... I have also noticed that I have lost 2mpg and get 48 mpg rather than 50 mpg. ...

Is this based on the trip computer or actual diesel used (brim-to-brim)?

Is this based on the trip computer or actual diesel used (brim-to-brim)?

The figures were based on what the trip computer told me, so probably not entireley accurate..more a rough figure?

did you take the airbx out?

When I was definning with the chisel. I left the lower half bolted in and them removed it later to sand it down.

ok i couldnt figure how to unclip the tube fromthe lid??

do you come to nottingham alot im from nottingham

Did a bit of a search on this..

Seems that some people do get a tad more bhp but a tad less mpg.

One guy put in a ramp effort down below to help redirect the air upwards.

Heated razor blade seems to work well.

Heat-wrapping the downpipe after the airbox is supposed to do more, as you insulate the ally from the engine heat..

Interesting mod, will think about doing it, thanks for bringing it up...

Bas

ok i couldnt figure how to unclip the tube fromthe lid??

do you come to nottingham alot im from nottingham

I do come to notts from time to time, as Im just down the road in balderton near newark. If you need any help then pm me.

If its the tube which goes from the air box lid to the air pressure unit. Just use a flat blade screwdriver and lever it off whilst pulling gently on the tube. It is tight but will come off.

I will look into heat wrapping the pipes after the airbox once I have been paid again. Thanks Basil:thumbup: