To go ARC Airbox or not?

[godzilla]

Hey all, with all the stuff i have been reading re " Poo Filters " as Damo so delicately put it, and how some people deem them to be ineffieceint without full CAI, as i do myself. I actually have a HKS Poo filter on my 98 Leggy and i was thinking of buying the ARC airbox off Troy that he still has for sale, what i would like to know is will putting this unit in to replace the Pod make any significant difference or should i spend the 250 beens somewhere else?

 

[VR-04-TT]

All the ARC boxes I've seen are just an exposed filter sitting in the engine bay with the intake pipe just pointing at it. Correct me if there are different ones, because I don't see the point in it as it's not any different to a "poo filter" (lol that's a great call).

I'd be inclined to look for, or make, a box that's sealed with a cold air pipe feeding into it. In reality, the stock airbox setup is quite good. Just change the filter to a ralliart one.

 

[godzilla]

So i should spend the 250 Beens trying to get a standard airbox and panel?

 

[Kristian]

Do it for looks, not for a power increase...

 

[godzilla]

I dont really care if it looks good or not, i just want the best setup for my car

 

[naughtika]

save up your money til you can afford to get a proper cold air box made up.. might actually be cheaper than arc

 

[Guest]

A fully enclosed CAI would also keep things legal.

Interestingly, we removed the factory filter altogether on a recent dyno run and found no perceivable difference in power.

 

[Kristian]

It's a pretty nice setup for a factory job - check the snorkel pointing straight out the front of the car.

 

[turboalfa]

Thanks for the upsell guys.

No in all seriousness, the ARC is a good option, but not the only option.

Let me know what you decide.

Thanks,

 

[bradc]

They do look nice, but I doubt they are any better than any other type of filter without a cold air intake. You could perhaps use the box and mount a mouth on it that goes down into the bumper?

 

[pu-11-me]

BONNET VENT!!!!!!!!

Jk

 

[Guest]

brad thats what i was thinking.. if you totaly enclosed the box and had a pipe running to it, it would be worth while..

find out how much a custom box is going to set you back and then weigh your options as the ARC one is half done..

 

[Guest]

When you fully enclose the front of the air box (lol except the cold air intake tube) you will find that the engine will run very rich at idle and low revs (1000-2000). I made a fully inclosed cold intake box but the car struggled to start and idle was up poo creek!!
I then made "gills"in the front face of the air box but facing forward and all was good. Even helped with warming up on cold days and to stay at a decent temp on sub 5 degree days (every winter day around mount crawford). With no impact on the running temp on 40+ days

 

[SiliconAngel]

Interestingly, we removed the factory filter altogether on a recent dyno run and found no perceivable difference in power.

About eight months ago someone posted something similar. Which is exactly why the ONLY time I could ever recommend a replacement air filter is when it improves airflow while retaining at least as good, if not better filtration. There is utterly no point improving airflow at a detriment to filtration, especially when the power gains are near-as-nonexistent.

For some reason the words 'horse, dead & flogging' spring to mind...

 

[Guest]

mine runs fine as mine is sealed but im not talking water tight sealed.. found that my car is more responsive and after i installed the box i tested the car and hit boost cut, once i fixed the cut problem by turning down boost slightly i also noticed that the car held boost better through the rev range.. you can feel the difference.