Problems with fabspeed air filter etc

I put on a a performance air filter and fabspeed cold air kit on three weeks ago. Wasn't expecting any performance gain, just a crisper throttle response and a bit more noise - both of which I intially gained. Now this weekend I drove the car and it seems more sluggish, in 2nd and 3rd especially - I've checked the filter etc and all seems fine. Any ideas??

are you getting any heat soak into the air? sometimes this can happen if it is an exposed air filter and no cold air feeds like the std box. worth checking with Fabspeed though I reckon?

It's not really "ramming" air in - all that's changed is that I have put a performance air filter in and a more direct air pipe from the box to the the engine. Doesn't sound or feel like she is running one piston down??

it won't melt a piston surely! is this a common problem with air ramming then?? surely you need to run it rich for ages to do that and you would notice if it was running that rich for sure! I thought you got bore wash as opposed to melted pistons....when it is lean it will melt the piston due to excessive heat soak on the metals? more common in turbo charged cars than NA cars. fuel gauge would be like a whore's drawers!! you might want to get the ECU looked at as it maybe over compensating abit for the additional breathing? I know the mod you have done though JLS and it should not make that much diff? I have a KN panel filter on mine n it has been fine. pulls harder at the top end for sure. get onto the mod provider I reckon.

Where I live, the ambient temperature has risen over the last week or so from low humidity -3C to high humidity +10C. This will make a difference to the performance of any piston engine.

A freer flowing filter definitely doesn't lead to a weak mixture. The Air Mass Meter is there to measure the mass of air entering the engine. It will adjust the amount of fuel injected to achieve the pre-determined lambda value in the Engine Managements map at any load. When at part throttle, the mixture is again checked by the lambda sensors in the exhaust (so-called 'closed loop') and corrected very finely. The Fabspeed Cold Air Intake is quite sensibly designed apart from the bit asking you to remove the flow straightener and replace it with a little carbon ring. Put the flow straightener back in - it's there for a reason! If you use the Fabspeed kit minus silly ring with a paper element (Porsche standard) air cleaner you're fine and will get a much nicer sound (from induction noise liberated by removing the silencer from inside the airbox) and maybe 1-2 BHP from removing the obstruction the silencer represents. Problems potentially arise when using K&N / BMC filters with this kit. Yes they do flow better than a dirty paper filter, but the difference is very small compared to a clean one. Zero BHP clean. 1-2 dirty if you're VERY lucky. The downside is that the oil they're soaked in will kill a surface film Air Mass Meter if it gets on it. If the filter has not been over-oiled you may get away with it. Otherwise you won't! Not worth the risk for the 'performance' increase IMHO. Hope this helps Ian W

Carumba! How could they get something so simple so wrong??? Are these people meant to be tuners or not??? You could also try cleaning the sensor with an electrical contact cleaner aerosol spray....

Thanks guys Should I use this aerosol cleaner myself - does the sensor come straight out?? Which piece is the flow straightner?? Thanks again

The flow straightener is the honeycombed circular bit and it directs air in a controlled manner across the air mass meter so it can measure it correctly. Good idea to leave it in! Aerosol cleaners are another 'not sure'. I have personally destroyed an air mass meter using this stuff - not sure why, but it certainly didn't work afterwards!! Others have reported good results though. Ian W