air intakes, are they worth it?

[danzuh]

right i'll keep this short and sweet! is an air intake worth getting on a diesel? are there any major cons with getting them? also if anyone could recommend any brands that would be very helpful indeed.

 

[ukoldschool]

In short - no. Unless you have fitted a larger turbo, the standard intake and exhaust system can easily handle any standard type of increase (tuning box, map etc). That’s not to say there would be no point at all, but you are likely to get the same small increase by fitting a good quality filter panel to the standard air box, at a significantly lower price


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[danzuh]

i've currently got a 65 plate tdi fr which is mapped to roughly 190bhp. i'm more bothered about it sounding nicer than any performance increase. does a filter panel provide the same sound that an actual intake system does?

 

[g_berserk]

i've currently got a 65 plate tdi fr which is mapped to roughly 190bhp. i'm more bothered about it sounding nicer than any performance increase. does a filter panel provide the same sound that an actual intake system does?

Not even close, if we should put (figurative) numbers to the increase in noise it would be something like this:

Stock - 0%
Panel - 10%
Closed Full Intake - 20%
Canister Intake - 30%
Open filter - 50%
Cold Air Intake, and shield - 60%
Cold Air Intake, no shield - 90%


*all links are for representation, not actual systems for your car

There are also small variations that make a system a bit louder or quieter, like for instance, the amount of pieces of the piping, material (ABS plastic, aluminum, carbon fiber), coating, and the cone filter.
With the loudest possible combination being a single piece pipe uncoated on a large diameter with an open end cone filter with metallic structure

 

[Leon Gone]

I had a K & N panel filter in a car some years ago. Did not do it for the sound or performance (neither of which changed) but because it was far more cost effective than replacing the factory one every 20,000 miles. I did 113,000 miles in that car and saved a decent amount.

 

[AndrewJB]

We tested Panel Vs Paper years ago on modified PD170 TDI's and back to back runs no difference at all.

However panel filters let through more fine particles than paper that could allow for more turbo damage.