K&N Induction Kits

[highlander]

Hi all,

In my first effort to secure a little extra oomph (and I guess some fuel economy) from my 1.8i 406, I have been looking at air filters and induction kits. Spotted this one from K&N, which seems to be specific to the naturally-aspirated 1.8i 406 range (both D8s and D9s, from 1995 to 2000), which includes mine :

http://www.knfilters.com/search/product ... od=57-0507

Does anyone else have any experience with these (bad, good, neutral)? Worthwhile, or white elephant?

How does this result in a change to the noise of the engine? Is the note change comparable (or favourable) to a replacement exhaust? I love the sound of my car as it is and aside from the alloys and CD player, it's completely stock.

Kind regards,
Graeme

[mjb]

Pulling warm air from the engine bay will always reduce power output and efficiency compared to the OEM filter and cold air intake

Either modify the air filter box to hold the cone filter securely or get an enclosed filter and modify it to take air from the cold air intake

Considering exactly the same OEM filter and housing is fitted to the 3.0V6 engine, I'd offer that the OEM setup is easily capable of delivering twice the airflow the 1.8 could ever want

[stevenlizuk]

Apart from making the car sound like it's got burst hoses they make no odds at all.

Even if it gave you 4bhp extra as they claim, which it wont, you wouldn't notice it.

You get the same effect from drilling a 2cm hole in the intake pipe after the filter, more air in the engine and more grit and bugs.
Better left to the wee boys.

[puglover]

my next door neighbour had fitted to to his honda (crx ?)

he didnnt do anyother upgrades to it an just before xmas he got run off the road by a drunk driver who then failed to stop at the scene

although he rolled the car he was fine not even a bruise he informed his insurance who came out to inspect...

the car is an insurance write off as u would expect from a roll .......

but when he fitted the k an n he didnt inform his insurance and they refused to pay out because of this ...

so if you do decide to fit one please for your own piece of mind inform your insurance k an n filters and kits are classsed as a performance upgrade

[HimBigChief]

so if you do decide to fit one please for your own piece of mind inform your insurance k an n filters and kits are classsed as a performance upgrade

Or keep the standard stuff and swap it over before the insurance people come out to assess the car. Done that a few times now when people have smacked into the back of me.

[mjb]

Or keep the standard stuff and swap it over before the insurance people come out to assess the car. Done that a few times now when people have smacked into the back of me.

So you're an uninsured driver, and if you have a write-off (or worse) smash into someone they're totally f*cked? Very nice of you...

[HimBigChief]

So you're an uninsured driver, and if you have a write-off (or worse) smash into someone they're totally f*cked? Very nice of you...

No, totally covered as like I said before I have done this before... All you need to do is remove the stuff before the assessor comes. Usually takes them a good few days to get out and check the car over. Besides, it's not the other person that loses out, it's you.

[mjb]

No, totally covered as like I said before I have done this before...

No, while you have that filter on your car without declaring it to the insurance company, you're uninsured

All you need to do is remove the stuff before the assessor comes. Usually takes them a good few days to get out and check the car over. Besides, it's not the other person that loses out, it's you.

If you have a blow out on the motorway and spin out into the side of me, I'm screwed. My car is written off and I get nothing for it. My insurance company won't pay out for your cock up, it's down to yours.

YOU only claim on YOUR insurance if YOU'RE at fault and you have fully comp. Otherwise you always claim from the other guy. That's why it's illegal to drive a car when not covered by 3rd party insurance. 3rd party means other people and by driving your car in a state which invalidates your insurance, you're a menace to everyone.

[munfred]

Really doesnt cost that much extra to declare modifications so its worth it in the long run.
(Prices are approximate)
I pay £600 a year for the 406 standard 1 years NCB with elephant
I pay £200 a year for the saxo with all mods declared with full NCB with HIC (Body changes, seats, Custom engine, suspension, etc etc over £3k mods declared)
I pay £200 for the MG Arkley SS all mods declared 0 years NCB with Adrian Flux

In the Saxo I have a 1.4 hybrid engine which I built myself and is fast enough for the trackdays I do in it, but with modifications declared it works out cheaper than lower powered 1.6 8v standard saxo.

I have had positive effects with an enclosed type filter on the saxo.

My friend did back to back tests on a rolling road with standard, open and enclosed type filters and the open type provided the most roar and power, but what you have to remember is that when you do a rolling road they use big fans to keep things cool. As mentioned the engine gets hot and instead of sucking in the cold dense air that it is supposed to it sucks in warm air from the engine.
Will definately change the sound of the car. I wouldnt compare this sound to the exhaust note, and really to gain the most benefits from an induction kit you should really try some other breathing modifications at the same time although I am not sure how restrictive the 406 exhausts are.
It will affect fuel consumption in a negative way.


Wouldnt suggest it if the 406 is your daily commute to work. No real benefits for this use.

[HimBigChief]

No, while you have that filter on your car without declaring it to the insurance company, you're uninsured

True, but hard to prove what was fitted at the time of the crash usually. There's the old urban myth about the guy whose Cossie was chipped and he didn't know. He was involved in a crash and the insurance wouldn't pay out because the car was chipped. Besides if I were to spin out and into the side of you as you say, my car would get recovered to a place of my choosing usually so I could swap the parts there before the assessor came out. There's no point in arguing as my 406 has the standard air-filter fitted anyway. It's just what I have done previously, and what I know you can get away with.

Have the people on here that have fitted different splitters informed their insurance company that they have fitted them? Have you informed your insurance company that you have/had fitted an aftermarket stereo, and mentioned any little mods such as clear side repeaters, uprated brake pads, etc? What about the people who have fitted upgrade mods like electric mirrors, leather interior, 406 alloys instead of steels, etc? It's all the same in the eyes of insurance companies, and if they want to get out of paying out, they'll always find a way.

[highlander]

Oooh, crumbs. Best leave the stock filter as-is then.

Why are these things so popular if they don't seem to have any noticable benefit?

And how does it negatively affect fuel consumption? I had thought that if a performance filter is supposed to increase the efficiency of the engine, you would receive more power for the same amount of fuel (thereby requiring less of a heavy foot on the gas pedal to achieve the same speed).

I'm not very mechanically minded, so I guess I just don't know enough about cars to be able to make an informed decision on performance upgrades.

[mjb]

Why are these things so popular if they don't seem to have any noticable benefit?

Because the Max Power reading kiddies think it makes them look cool

And how does it negatively affect fuel consumption? I had thought that if a performance filter is supposed to increase the efficiency of the engine, you would receive more power for the same amount of fuel (thereby requiring less of a heavy foot on the gas pedal to achieve the same speed).

A K&N performance filter will marginally increase the efficiency of the engine (at the expense of letting more crud get into the cylinders) because it sits in the air filter box and offers less resistance to the cold air flow than the standard offerings.

One of those induction kits however pull in warm air into the engine which means that while the engine's still sucking up the same volume of air, there's less oxygen in it because it's less dense, meaning your engine runs rich which is inefficient and causes a drop in power output

The best performance (although still only a marginal increase) comes from an enclosed induction kit, which is designed to suck in air from your existing cold air pipework without exposing it to the engine bay heat

[Welly]

On this insurance thing you can't rely on being able to 'swap' stuff before the assesor turns up. When I had a crash in the FTO you couldn't even open the bonnet afterwards.

And most importantly if you're involed in an injury/death accident (whether your fault or not) they'd be all over your car in a flash down at the accident investigation unit.

I get frightened just having worn tyres because if a kid leaps out in the road and I could have stopped just a little bit before and saved him then I'd never be able to forgive myself.

[teamster1975]

Have the people on here that have fitted different splitters informed their insurance company that they have fitted them? Have you informed your insurance company that you have/had fitted an aftermarket stereo, and mentioned any little mods such as clear side repeaters, uprated brake pads, etc? What about the people who have fitted upgrade mods like electric mirrors, leather interior, 406 alloys instead of steels, etc? It's all the same in the eyes of insurance companies, and if they want to get out of paying out, they'll always find a way.

I must have been lucky then! I converted my 1.8LX into a GLX ('leccy rear windows, mirrors, trip comp etc) and got paid out when it drowned in the floods a couple of years ago!

[munfred]

And how does it negatively affect fuel consumption? I had thought that if a performance filter is supposed to increase the efficiency of the engine, you would receive more power for the same amount of fuel (thereby requiring less of a heavy foot on the gas pedal to achieve the same speed).

If the induction kits were to increase power and fuel efficiency then the manufacturers would have put them on as standard. Power increase is always at a cost. In some cases its filtration and others its fuel efficiency.

Anyone ever used an ecotec valve
I have to confess I do actually have one on the MG...........sorry.