A question for conical filter users

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Hi there folks,

Just wondering if anyone has experience of the following:

If you've fitted a conical filter and directed the best flow of air you can get towards it, have you suffered any problems as a result of heavy rain causing large amounts of water to get in the filter?

Does it cause deterioration of the filter element?

Have you experienced running problems?

Or even a power boost due to moist air?!!

I am thinking about designing some kind of intake arrangement to feed lots of air directly onto a filter and wondered if anyone has some BTDT thoughts?

Let me know what you think!

__MDC__

[horvathg]

Not with the S2, but with the older coupe in Germany around Nurnberg in the hills one of the heaviest rain I have ever seen came down and my K&N became so wet that I couldn't go faster than 60-70 and finally I had to stop till it had dried out. I became like a sponge. Cotton I think is like that.

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Thanks Gabor!

Anyone else got input on this one?

__MDC__

[dan_b]

I don't seem to get any water ingress in to that area of my engine bay, so I've not noticed any ill effects from rain/ car washing on the cone.

[audiman]

I have driven through heavy rain and not had any problems. I use a K&N filter which is oiled so i guess the water beads off it.

[4WheelDrifter]

I use a K&N filter which is oiled.

LMAO

[Jamo]

I have driven through heavy rain and not had any problems. I use a K&N filter which is oiled so i guess the water beads off it.

Custom Bodge Filter
not enough air filter surface to get wet!

[audiman]

Yes thanks for the air filter insults!!! It will be going soon!

[4WheelDrifter]

Obviously Tom's car would be 550+bhp with a proper filter, but he has to wait 'till he's grown up for that.

[Jamo]

K&N umpa lumpa model!

You getting Marks HKS?

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Some more input!!!

Thing is, as much as I hate bonnet vents, I can see some possible benefit in a split series of vent louvres - one set above the turbo area with exit ducting to extract heat (which will also work as a chimney when the car is sat still), and a reverse set giving ram effect above the filter area to the right of that. Separate the two with a heat shield divider that seals to the bonnet, and Bob's yer uncle!

That's the theory anyway, but the practical problem is my concern about moisture...

I am still thinking about solutions that don't rely on venting the bonnet, but the heat extraction thing is the difficult one.

__MDC__

[S2central.net]

Some more input!!!

Thing is, as much as I hate bonnet vents, I can see some possible benefit in a split series of vent louvres - one set above the turbo area with exit ducting to extract heat (which will also work as a chimney when the car is sat still), and a reverse set giving ram effect above the filter area to the right of that. Separate the two with a heat shield divider that seals to the bonnet, and Bob's yer uncle!

That's the theory anyway, but the practical problem is my concern about moisture...

I am still thinking about solutions that don't rely on venting the bonnet, but the heat extraction thing is the difficult one.

__MDC__

Keeper - we share this view... I definitely think a forward facing vent for increased airflow accompanied by a rearward vent to extract heat from the EM area would be fantastic. SOme instrumentation would be great in order to measure before and after gains... GUess you could temporarily relocate the ambient temp sensor for this.

Paul

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Well it's comforting to know that I am not alone in my mad thoughts!!!

Ambient temp sensor? Not even sure that I have one of those?!! Kitty the Koupe is a tired old 3B 1991, should I expect to know what the temp is outdoors with one of those?!! If I should, someone had better tell me how!!!

I suppose a NACA style vent would work reasonably well, placed quite close to the front of the car (a former colleague of mine insists that they don't work further back on any car so it's fortunate that the location is up front). In theory that's the most efficient way. Or the aforementioned reversed louvres may provide a more positive effect. Nothing wrong with ram feeding the filter, we did it with the racers even though they were also turbocharged.

Cooling the hot spots seems a bit harder - I have seen Hacke's madly louvred bonnet and that's got to be the most effective! I would think that it would become less of a problem with a reversed intake setup. I notice at this time that after a run, the heat soak is tremendous - my intake gets soooooo hot when parked for five minutes. That's what I want to be rid of. Even leaving the bonnet up isn't a total cure, but anything that can help seems sensible.

I'll give this some more thought....

I wonder - if the intake feed is such that the air delivery isn't directly on the filter (but into a boxed area surrounding it), maybe any excessive moisture can be directed behind the intake and will fall harmlessly away from it - seeing as water is rather heavier than the air it is suspended in?

__MDC__

[Bibby]

ITG do custom carbon fibre housings for induction kits.

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Thanks Karlos!

I think I'll worry about the practical side of things (eg louvres, vents, airbox) when I have a better idea of what I really want to do.

Opinion seems to be that conical filters are ok unless they get a complete soaking, yes?

__MDC__