Help A Newbie With Filter Choice.

[PobodY]

OK - so I've managed to conince my wife that we should buy a skyline, and while it's waiting for compliance plates I've been looking at things I can do.... first join SAU, next research mods.

Before anyone gets excited with extravigant suggestions, I can't justify to her buying a new exhaust/turbo etc - I can justify buying a few cheaper improvements.

Now, I don't want the noise of a pod and I'm told that the factory CAI on a skyline is fine so my question is this;

If I was going to replace the stock panel filter with a better one, what should I choose?

In the past I've gone with foam, but I'm concerned that the oil might upset the AFM and I don't intend to get too much dust in the engine bay (which would warrant the superior filtration).

Paper? I might just as well stick with the OEM part.

Cotton? Are the K&N filters cotton? What about the Apexi?

Oh and because I'm a newbie, please feel free to point me in the right direction if this is in the wrong spot... and thanks in advance for you advice!

[sinistaGTR]

hey mate, if you do a search next time there will be plenty of filter threads, but yes either a K&N or an apexi etc will be fine just depends on how much you want to spend really.

Edited October 14, 2006 by sinistagtst

[mad082]

if you can't get her to let you buy a full exhaust, just get a bigger cat. that is the biggest restriction in the system. that should give you a little power gain.

[khunjeng]

IMO do the exhaust first. Dispite all the hoo-haa about pod filters etc there are some basic facts to condend with...

flow is inversly proportional to filtration. The K&N style cotton gauze have good flow and low pressure drop when compared to paper...but not as good filtration. Many ppl have K&N styled pods and have no troubles..and many say stick to stock...

The stock paper filters better but restricts flow...and vice versa for th K&N

UOA analysis from various tests have had varied results...most have showed little difference in the test rating of their oil after using K&N.

I use Unifilter...its oiled foam. Some say it will screw the AFM...which is true cos if over oiled it can coat the resistor...but I have had no problems. UOA performed on a number of cars using the Unifilter pods have been exceptional and hence I'm confident it filters really well. Remember its all a trade off.

Also if your not goingt o box its up...its a waste of time IMO.

I'm pretty sure the K&N & Apexi filters are very similar and both cotton gauze hence they will perform similar. I was told u can buy a K&N panel replacement for the stock one...maybe thats a good idea do a search.

[sinistaGTR]

if you can't get her to let you buy a full exhaust, just get a bigger cat. that is the biggest restriction in the system. that should give you a little power gain.

Or if your on a budget just punch out the inside of the cat........works well

[mad082]

Or if your on a budget just punch out the inside of the cat........works well

provided you don't get epa test. then it becomes a VERY expnsive mod.

[MrStabby]

Or if your on a budget just punch out the inside of the cat........works well

It might work well but it's irresponsible, illegal, and could cost you up to $22,000 in fines. If you cant afford the cat then leave it as it is until you can. You probably wont be able to justify polluting the environment to the strife either...

Sinistagtst - do you think its wise (or even legal) to encourage someone to commit a crime?

Kot

[sinistaGTR]

It might work well but it's irresponsible, illegal, and could cost you up to $22,000 in fines. If you cant afford the cat then leave it as it is until you can. You probably wont be able to justify polluting the environment to the strife either...

Sinistagtst - do you think its wise (or even legal) to encourage someone to commit a crime?

Kot

Well geez your not a cop or anything are you then. And most of the modifications that people do on this site is illegal, if you want to play that game why in your sig do you have next upgrade being a power fc thats illegal, it affects your cars air/fuel ratio which also hurts the enviroment....just pull your head in. Im sure everybody that does this knows the ramifications.

[MrStabby]

Well geez your not a cop or anything are you then. And most of the modifications that people do on this site is illegal, if you want to play that game why in your sig do you have next upgrade being a power fc thats illegal, it affects your cars air/fuel ratio which also hurts the enviroment....just pull your head in. Im sure everybody that does this knows the ramifications.

Not a cop. Once my FC is in there I expect it will meet emmissions targets with the right tune and cat, and therefore not hurt the environment (well not any more than a stocker - its all relative). Personally, i'm not that concerned about the legality, as long as it meets emmissions requirements. I will get it engineered if I require it to be formally legal. I will take it for the freebee emmisions check.

The original poster said he was a noob therefore may not realise what's legal and what's not. You at least owe it to the guy to mention it. Look out for a brother.

Kot

(part time tree hugger)

[sinistaGTR]

Fair enough mate each to there own there i respect that, was just a bit annoyed at the crime thing etc, just saying it was illegal and big fines may have been enough. Yep and do agree with you i do give it to the guy for asking. Best bet to is a good cat will cost you a $250+ there are second hand parts ie exhaust on this forum for quite cheap when you have the money, most ppl on here use the for sale section a lot and you do get very good bargains on there just keep your eye out pobody you might be plesantly surprised in thethings you find there.

[rev210]

Piper cross element is very good, K&N is easy enough to find also. There isn't really much improvement at all with the filter upgrade so don't blow lots of money on it.

Exhaust wise, if you live in adelaide, like perth there is no EPA testing of public vehicles last I checked.

Better fuel efficiency is one reason you could give your wife for an exhaust upgrade. Also consider the initial replacement of the dump pipe to a new split design one if the whole exhaust is 'off the table'. The factory cast unit is a shocker and the dump pipe is a cheap first step and much better than nothing to start with.

[Taso84]

I will take it for the freebee emmisions check.

what is this?

[PobodY]

Ah... yes sinistagtst, now that I've registered and had a closer look, I find that you're right - a lot of what I was asking has been covered before. I appologise to you all for that.

I guess the biggest problem with the exhaust is that it has just been replaced/updated (I'm not sure exactly) for RAW compliance so I can't justify immediately changing it again. Maybe it's allready got a better than stock exhaust... I'll ask at the import place exactly what they put in, but I'm sure it's a new cat at the least.

All I was really looking for was something like "while the unifilter gives you better filtration, you don't need it for road driving. You'd be better off we the better flowing K&N." or "the K&N and Apexi pannel are about the same, but the Apexi is much better value." or better yet; "sponsor XXX has those on special - have a look at this thread" - all the deals seem to be 5-months out of date though which means that eBay in the USA is the cheapest source at the moment.

I also now understand that messing with the BOV is pointless if you're still running stock boost, and that the solenoid mod is one of the most simple and effective ones to do.

Please don't misunderstand me though; I really DO appreciate your advice, and the fact that you've taken it easy on me for asking stupid questions and not having done the required back-ground reading first!

I promise that I have been reading the FAQs and how-to guides now. My only excuse is that I'm used to vBuletin forrums and found this one a litte harder to navigate, but I've got it now!

[readyGO]

you DONT want the pod noise??!??!?! Thats my favourite part about the pod when I was stock..

sounds great!

[PobodY]

How's the spitrire panel filter?

Much cheaper, is there a catch?

What about HKS? That at least is a brand I can recognise...

Edited October 16, 2006 by PobodY

[Nozila]

im not a fan of the hks pod. i changed mine for a k & n pod.

[r32matt]

The HKS Foam Pod isnt very good. The foam can break away and it doesnt filter very good. The best Pods to get would be either a K&N or Apexi. I have a K&N and it works really well but ive read that the Apexi Pod has the best air intake and the best filter.

[Beer Baron]

good plan on putting an upgraded panel filter in the stock airbox. I highly recomend a K+N panel filter. They are pretty much the best in the business. having said that I do have apexi pod filters on 2 of my 3 cars, but if they still had stock airboxes K+N panel would be in there no doubt. even the money you will save on replacement filters (K+N ones last a looooong time) it will be worth it.

[Blitz]

K & N and Splitfire are both a good panel filter