K&N Addresses MAF

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

I'm sorry you feel I was Backhandedly Condescending as this was certainly not my intent.

It would be unfortunate if you decide to leave the Forum, because Everyone, in His/Her own way, makes a contribution...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[eslai]

I agree that on a naturally-aspirated car, a K&N filter isn't going to do anything for performance, if that's all you've done. Even with a full exhaust, it's not going to do anything. However, if you do major mods like a turbocharger or supercharger, then yes, you're going to exceed the flow rates of the stock filter.

Of course a K&N lets in more particles. There's really no reason to use one unless you've done big, beefy mods to the car. And, if you've done that, you probably aren't as concerned with having the engine make it to 200,000 miles as others might be.

It's a really common modification to do to many other cars, and has verifiable benefits--like on my Eclipse, which came turbocharged, you pretty much have to use an aftermarket air filter of some sort in order to get enough flow once you've swapped out to a bigger turbo.

I see no reason to put one on a Boxster, so by that merit, is it worth risking destroying the MAF sensor?

On that note, I'm surprised our MAFs are that sensitive. My Eclipse has used a K&N filter for over 120,000 miles now and the MAF is fine, along with the engine which doesn't seem to have been perturbed by the extra particles in the least.

[xclusivecar]

When it comes to mods, I think of my car as a 2" water hose split into 3 sections. 1 section is the intake, the 2nd section is the engine, the 3rd the exhaust. Let's say adding an intake (or K&N filter) would make the first section of the hose 3" big and would now flow 3" of water. BUT...sections 2 and 3 are untouched and are still 2". The most you can flow from this car is still 2" of water. In order to truly notice a 3" flow from section 1 through 3 you MUST mod the rest of the car and make each mod complimentary to each other. Not doing so will realize little to NO performance gains.
Hope this makes sense...kinda elementary, I know, but its how I decide on what type of money I should spend on mods that will do NOTHING!

[Jeph]

Man, you guys keep talking about this MAF stuff. Can't you see what just happened here? We got dumped? Am I the only one that hurts? Am I the only one that NOTICES? What's the matter with you guys?!? I thought we were cool -I THOUGHT we were friends. Remember the good times?

[fade to flashback-montage of random posts ending with "" while LeeAnn Rhymes "How do I live without you" plays softly in the background]

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

Actually I think you have been backhandedly condescending, but guess what? you guys can have the whole forum, I'm D- U- N done posting here. Have a good day fellas.

lol....you've got to be kidding me. You've got your panties in a serious twist about this. What a joke.

[TriGem2k]

Originally Posted by Adam

lol....you've got to be kidding me. You've got your panties in a serious twist about this. What a joke.

Hahahha....Couldn't have said it better myself Adam...Its kind of funny how some people get soo worked up about this stuff....Isn't it supposed to just be a discussion?

[TTschwing]

I have built and sold over 500 iintake systems (VTDA and TTDA) for the Audi/VW 1.8T engine based on K%N cone filters. This engine uses basically the same Motronic system as the Boxster (Maf based). I have had no problems with MAF fouling except when an owner, doing his first cleaning and re-oiling, gets a little too aggressive with the oil spray.
MAF's go bad. K&N's don't necessarily accelerate that problem.

[NickCats]

Thanks to all of you for such a great forum...

I was thinking of installing a K&N air filter in my Box and then I thought, "I wonder if anyone else has done this on the forum".

Rather than post another question, I used the great search function available and found this thread.

Needless to say, I will not be going with the K&N.

Also found a great link with step by step instructions for desnorkling :

EVO Chip for 2.5L

If you haven't already, familiarize yourself with the search function.

Great resource !

Nick

[TriGem2k]

And yet you still make a useless post.

hahah JUST KIDDING. I think some (like me at times) are just lazy and don't want to put in the work looking for information.

Good Job.

[NickCats]

TriGem2k,

You know, I was going to mention that :

"Rather than post another question, ( or make another useless post like this one ), I used the great search function available and found this thread."

Looks like you beat me to the punch...

( Wait, I just made ANOTHER useless post now, didn't I ? )

Thanks,

Nick

[Racer-x]

If you absolutely have to have an air filter, BMC tends to be better than K&N from what I know.

Your car is an air pump. Open up the exhaust first, then go to the intake. Not saying a drop-in filter is best, other options are out there waiting for you to search them out. Once you've freed up both ends, you get some extra performance as well as a great new sound.

Everyone stop talking about air filters now.

(lol)

[CJ_Boxster]

Regaurdless of the myth that the k&n is the culprit in damaged MAS, I just removed the oile from the filter and used it like that without issue, I had to replace my MAS about 2 months after but it had 97k miles on it so it was due.....still no issues with the new mas................I know in previous posts I said I was removing the k&n but I never got to it, I know ill get greif for running an unoiled k&n but its no different than using a $350+ intake setup sold by our sponsers.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Racer-x

If you absolutely have to have an air filter, BMC tends to be better than K&N from what I know.

(lol)

I've had my BMC in now for 2.5 yrs with no issues at all. It is about time to either clean it or replace it and to tell you the truth I'm just going to order a brand new one. I'd rather pay $75 for a new one than risk fouling a 300-400 dollar MAF. Hell, even the paper Porsche filters are what 30-40 bucks? I don't mind tossing the filter even though it's resusable.

[Racer-x]

Originally Posted by Adam

I've had my BMC in now for 2.5 yrs with no issues at all. It is about time to either clean it or replace it and to tell you the truth I'm just going to order a brand new one. I'd rather pay $75 for a new one than risk fouling a 300-400 dollar MAF. Hell, even the paper Porsche filters are what 30-40 bucks? I don't mind tossing the filter even though it's resusable.

+1 Adam, I agree... (I would have said just '+1', but the forum says that message is too short).

[edevlin]

Hi have had my BMC air filter that is part of the TTP cold air intake system on my 2.7L 2000 Boxster for about 3 months now. I have cleaned it twice since then, and it is due for another cleaning.

I have been very impressed with how much dirt, dust and such comes off the filter with each cleaning. Its pretty easy to clean, its more of a bother to get at the filter than it is to clean it, yet I would like another filter unit. Then I could just swap them out when needed.

Ed

2000 2.7L Boxster
ttp intake, chip, cat bypass
17" stock wheels

[Adam]

Originally Posted by edevlin

Hi have had my BMC air filter that is part of the TTP cold air intake system on my 2.7L 2000 Boxster for about 3 months now. I have cleaned it twice since then, and it is due for another cleaning.

I have been very impressed with how much dirt, dust and such comes off the filter with each cleaning. Its pretty easy to clean, its more of a bother to get at the filter than it is to clean it, yet I would like another filter unit. Then I could just swap them out when needed.

Ed

2000 2.7L Boxster
ttp intake, chip, cat bypass
17" stock wheels

You've had the intake system and BMC filter on the car for only 3 mo and you've already cleaned it twice?.....And it's due for another cleaning? Do you drive in extremely dusty and poor conditions all day? I might be wrong but I think you may be overdoing the cleaning thing IMO. My BMC filter came with instructions to clean and reoil every 15k miles. This is under normal use of course, but I don't picture many boxster owners driving down gravel roads all day long with would neccesitate the kind of cleaning regiman you are currently on. Just food for thought because the more you monkey with reoiling and cleaning the more likely you are going to foul the MAF.

[edevlin]

The first cleaning I did after the first month was because I did have to drive over several hundred yards of a gravel road daily while they did work on our road. The filter was very dirty.

The second time I cleaned it about a month later was following several long trips, I think I put 3,000+ miles on the car. No gravel road, but again, the filter was very dirty.

I am planning on having a new exhaust system put on next week. I will be getting new oxygen sensors on my 2000 Boxster and I wanted to check the BMC air filter again. I have never tried to clean a traditional air filter to see how much junk gets in it after 1000 miles or so.

But it is impressive how much material it trapped by the BMC filter element. Mostly what I see when I look at the filter is a dark, blackish deposit on the filter. When I hit it with the cleaner and let it sit, then rinse with water, a lot of dark brown material comes off the filter. It appears to be very fine particles.

Part of why I am doing the filter changes is that I just want to mess around with my car and want to see how much material is getting trapped in the filter. I am very careful about not mucking up my MAF with oil if I can help it. I try not to apply too much oil, I wipe off any excess oil, then use compressed air carefully to blow off any loose oil and wipe down the inside of the filter unit before I reinstall it. That process seems to work well so far.

Some folks have said that the BMC oiled filters are not doing that good of a job of getting small particles out of the air stream. It sure seems to be doing a pretty good job to me, have fun,

Ed