"Cold-air intakes" and "high-flow air filter" FAQ

2012a3tdi

Active member
Joined
Jan 11, 2017
Location
Irvine
TDI
Audia3 2012
If intake is mostly for the bling, why are there so many players in the game? Everyone makes an after market filter and boasts of modest to outrageous increases in flow, which translates into power at the wheels.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Probably because people want bling. Also, people buy those magnetic fuel line junk- so plenty of uninformed consumers out there. And lastly, it's an easy mod that any gorilla with a crescent wrench can do and feel proud about. (until they find out they wasted their money)
 

hajes

Active member
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Location
Earth
TDI
Skoda "Hilda" Octavia HR I
If intake is mostly for the bling, why are there so many players in the game? Everyone makes an after market filter and boasts of modest to outrageous increases in flow, which translates into power at the wheels.
it has got more flow if installed properly...but flow and filtration is always a compromise.

it is like marketing hype of outdoor companies. Gore-Tex cannot breathe and be water/wind proof.

You have to pick one that suits your vision.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
If intake is mostly for the bling, why are there so many players in the game? Everyone makes an after market filter and boasts of modest to outrageous increases in flow, which translates into power at the wheels.
Why, because they sell, which makes the company money, which is the goal.

If the stock airbox isn't being used, lets say the air box is rated at 1000 cfm and the engine only uses 500 cfm, then installing a high flow air filter that flows more than 500 cfm, you won't gain squat, unless the system is designed poorly.

Diesels get all the air they need, they need fuel to make power, so if the air/fuel ratio is fine, adding more air won't make any more power.
 

Teddyh

New member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Boston
TDI
07 Golf plus GT 1.9L
I had a K&N cold air intake on my previous vehicle (Ford Focus SVT) no matter how careful I was to oil it lightly I found that the oil always made it to the MAF sensor whichh resulted in diminished performance. I was also haunted by a howling due to air inlet design. It looked cool and made the car sound better but as far as performance if it made any it was not noticable, if anything I remember the lack of performance when it skunked my MAF. It cost me about 300 bucks and I always felt it was the most wasteful mod I ever did. I should also point out that every couple weeks it would pop off my motor because the clamp was either too tight or too loose. The problem was if it was too loose it fell off, too tight and the plastic would collapse so the retention ring wouldn't holdd. Nothing like stalling in rush hour traffic because of a upgrade. Seriously save your money for something better.
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Location
Utah
TDI
2015 Passat
If intake is mostly for the bling, why are there so many players in the game? Everyone makes an after market filter and boasts of modest to outrageous increases in flow, which translates into power at the wheels.
Because bling is the point, for kids.
 

New Mickey

The user formerly known as mickey
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Location
Utah
TDI
2015 Passat
If a "cold air intake" is an intake at the front of the engine compartment designed to breathe cool outside air then my 2015 Passat already has a "cold air intake". Can't see the point of messing with it.

I'd love to see an independent, side-by-side comparison of a stock intake and filter vs. any aftermarket stuff. People I trust have reported none, or at best negligible improvements in dyno power with aftermarket intakes unless they've also boosted the engine's power output to enormous levels.

-mickey

p.s. Been there, done that, back in the day. I never noticed any difference. I tried hard to convince myself I did, having spent silly money, but it doesn't make a difference.
 

kevinstephen

New member
Joined
Jun 21, 2017
Location
Springfield VA
TDI
2015 Volkswagen
Probably because people want bling. Also, people buy those magnetic fuel line junk- so plenty of uninformed consumers out there. And lastly, it's an easy mod that any gorilla with a crescent wrench can do and feel proud about. (until they find out they wasted their money)

I agree with you sir. Aside from that, people nowadays take advantage of there stuff that can be built easily. They try to so the same stuff but on poor quality but sell it on premium prices.
__________________________
Towing Springfield VA
 

Mongler98

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
*magnetic fuel line junk"? People will buy anything lol
I do put a small magnet on my oil filter when i brake in an engine but thats just for when i take the filter apart to inspect the engines health
 

pdq import repair

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
If it were that easy to make power, don't you think the factory would have considered it? A chrome vacuum cleaner tube and a cheap K&N instead of engineering, what's not to love?

Seriously, I have seem many many cars, mostly ricers mind you, that have lots of dust showing in the intake tract, and a bad MAF. In some cases the engines have been dusted bad enough to have compression and misfire issues.

At a Bosch service school once someone brought up K&N, and the instructor commented that as far as MAFs go, it means "kill it now"
 

damac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
bay area,ca
TDI
none
i have an alh mtdi motor in my mk2 golf and right now i have an old jaguar air filter can somebody sold me on here just sitting with its front inlet hole open right behind the headlight on passenger side.

is it possible i am messing with performance and egt's right now?

should i try and mimic the stock alh setup and other cars and somehow make a tube that goes from the filter can to the front of the car in an open area like the intercooler?

i guess i was worried about junk and water ingestion. i once tried this on another car with a level straight open pipe and got enough water in during a rough rain to get past the air filter and bog car down which was scary.
 

Cree182

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Location
Australia
TDI
VW Jetta 103TDI
I was watching mighty car mods and have talked to a few mechanics. They all say that any oil based filter is bad for almost any engine. Even a tuner I was getting a previous car tuned advised against oil based filters.
 

FlipOne513

Active member
Joined
Apr 9, 2019
Location
Tucson
TDI
2012 Jetta Sportwagen
@Macratiators.com your boosting almost 43 PSI? What turbo and supporting mods do you have? Is that on stock internals? Maybe share a link to a build thread.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
No I don’t care about the bling factor, just love the sound of a turbo spooling.
Part of that bling factor is that unnecessary sound/noise. If there was a performance gain I would put up with the noise and enjoy the performance. But sadly no gain just noise.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
No I don’t care about the bling factor, just love the sound of a turbo spooling.
All i hear from that sound is sand destroying my internals, causeing more frequent oil changes and Money flowing out of my pocket for a new MAF.
if you want turbo sound, do a quality exhaust job or go with a bigger turbo. Cheep mods like this are garbage.
 

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
Just like mongler said above. Good exhaust you will hear it just fine.
The problem with a good exhaust is two-fold. Exhaust deletes cost far more money than a silly air filter and are in violation of Federal law\and you can't just open the hood and show off your cool looking intake to impress your friends.
 
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DieselDeeds

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2018
Location
Moved states! : )
TDI
2014 Q5 TDI S-Line + Black Optics Package
I have the stock intake filter on my Q5 TDI. It’s a dpf and egr deleted Malone Stage 2+ with a straight pipe exhaust. I just changed my filter the other day to a new oem filter and have been wondering what the heck this “sleeve” is around the filter.. every video and any pictures I’ve seen of people changing their filter, I’ve never seen this sleeve in any of the photos of videos. I’ve googled “Audi tdi intake sleeve” and don’t get anything and i don’t know what else to google because I don’t know what the heck it is. Anyways, it fits around the entire filter:



When I changed the filter, this “sleeve” was extremely dirty. I soaked it in a sink with warm water and some dawn soap and it came out clean and white. Air dried it and threw it back on the new filter.

-Is it a pre-filter?
-Is it used to silence any intake sounds?
-Does it restrict airflow especially with the mods I have?
-Is it a good idea to keep on to preserve the stock filter?
-Should I keep it on?

Thank you!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
It is the built in snow screen. There may be a hot weather version available, but it really isn't doing anything harmful even if you never drive in driving blizzard conditions.

If you are 100% you'll never need it, you can buy an air filter for the same year SQ5, which has the 3.0L supercharged gas V6. It is the exact same filter without the snow screen. Same VAG part number, just without the end suffix letter D.
 
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turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
No I don’t care about the bling factor, just love the sound of a turbo spooling.
It won't give you more turbo spooling noise, just more intake noise.
 

es7129

Active member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Location
Coram, NY
TDI
2014 JSW DSG
All i hear from that sound is sand destroying my internals, causeing more frequent oil changes and Money flowing out of my pocket for a new MAF.
if you want turbo sound, do a quality exhaust job or go with a bigger turbo. Cheep mods like this are garbage.
How does the Kerma inlet hose allow more sand in? It utilizes the stock box. Thank
 
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