Air Induction Kits

Hi, I have a 2001 C4 Tiptronic S & am thinking of fitting a K & N Air Induction kit...the info suggests a gain of @ 25bhp....is this realistic. Has anyone tried this kit or are there other options that are more effective & more efficient. I notice the latest Porsche Post has a kit manufactured by V-Flow...has anyone experience of what is the better choice? Thanks Barrowboy

I have no experience with an induction kit on the Porsches but there are lots of threads on this and other forums indicating that the oiled induction kits can play havoc with the Air Mass Sensor which would then cause it to malfunction or work below par causing power levels and fuel economy to drop at best and the the car to run like a pig in the worst cast scenario. I use induction kits on other cars I have and I find I usually get a slightly better throttle response with a great induction roar but little increase in actual power. Some of the perceived power increase is probably due to the louder induction roar fooling the brain into thinking the car is more powerful. A bit like when the 996 was conceived, the road testers found the car less agile and responsive to steering inputs but this was due to the steering wheel being a bit thicker which fooled the brain into thinking it was heavier to drive. They made the wheel thinner and the car was instantly nicer to drive.

Well said. Why do people wish to fiddle with something the factory took a long time to perfect ? Do that with a Ford, not a Porsche. JohnC 993turbo

Thanks Minny, food for thought, I suspect you are correct that ithe induction roar makes people think they have more power.....I was suspicious of the advertised 23BHP increase. Sailor; I asked for considered opinion, not pompous diatribe.......Any car can be improved...even a Porsche! Barrowboy

see, I think along the same lines, but then I also think that Porsche are intelligent enough to leave some things out so when they bring out the next model (or a power pack) which is always slightly more powerful, they don't have to work quite so hard to achieve the new bhp. altough i am sceptical about a 23 bhp increase from an induction kit!

23bhp - very sceptical, would be nice tho, let me know if you get one! Everything can be improved...

I've said this before, but IMO Porsche make an exceptionally good job of fuel mapping, intake and exhaust design, based on years of development of flat-six engines. I consider these claims like 23bhp for an air filter, or 20bhp for an exhaust to be wildly misleading. Porsche make a retrofit Power Kit for the 3.4 996 engine. It consists of: Cylinder Heads Valves Valve Springs Camshafts Pistons Oil Pump and pickup tubes Sump baffles Inlet plenum Additional front radiator Exhaust Manifolds Heat shields DME Remap The cost of the kit, without fitting? £7200. The result? 25bhb Note that there is no mention of an air filter or silencers. So that's why I have no faith that a £200 air filter or £500 exhaust will give you any more than a couple of bhp. And as has been said before, a small amount of over-oiling will fry a £200 MAF in an instant. Just my 2p's worth.

I once had a K&N fitted to my car - a nightmare. Caused many problems - ate two MAFs, had the car running at an extra 10 degrees celsius, and 0-60 times were increased . Doesn't do one bit of what it says on the tin - the dyno result they got is most probably true; however, this would have been with pumping cold air towards and into the filter. In reality it just sucks in the hot air from the engine compartment. Nice sound, but not worth it.

I have a K&N on my current C4 (was there when I bought it) - no MAF problems in 4 1/2 years. Only advantage to me so far I think has been the discount offered for not having to replace the air filter at one of the services. I'm not too aware of the induction roar I guess the sport exhaust drowns it. I also don't believe the 25bhp figure.

Thanks for all your responses, made my mind up...will just leave it as it was designed to be........... Cheers Barrowboy

Good choice - exactly what I was told at Wrightune. "If Porsche didn't think that a paper filter would be perfect for the job, then it wouldn't be there".