12 replies to this topic

[muller295]

Hi,

I was thinking about buying an open air filter for my '92 SPI, but before I do I would like to know some things.

First, do you have to have the fuel/air mixture tuned or, since it is an injection car, does the ECU do this itself?

And second, what happens with the air sensor attached to the original air box?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Twincam]

I had a pipercross filter on mine, it didn't have anywhere for the sensor so the previous owner unplugged it. Also the vac pipe was now removed.

Pros. Sounds nice and to some looks nice.

Cons. Made it run like a bag of poop at 2.8-3k rpm. I had a huge weak spot that made it horrible to drive.

I recommend standard air Box and a k&n filter element.

[Twincam]

Double post.

Also when I then added a decat it ran even worse. Andy from ML motorsport told me to ditch the pipercross and since then I've never had an issue.

Edited by Twincam, 27 August 2018 - 02:53 PM.

[muller295]

Well that’s a shame. Like the looks and sound but would not want to sacrifice the engine running smoothly. More opinions on the K&N filter element for the standard airbox? I thought the difference of an element is not noticeable.

[viz139]

I bought my '96 with a pipercross filter fitted with the air sensor in the base of it. Too noisy for me so fitted a standard filter and housing with no noticeable change in performance . 

[jamesquintin]

The noise gets very tiresome. I had the pankey K&N one on my MPI and the induction roar was too much in the end. Went back to standard, noticed no power difference 

[Twincam]

I bought my '96 with a pipercross filter fitted with the air sensor in the base of it. Too noisy for me so fitted a standard filter and housing with no noticeable change in performance .

Did yours have a take off for the vac hose too?

Looking at mine if didn't and neither did it have a hole for the sensor...

[muller295]

I know that the noise can be a bit much and that the performance doesn’t improve but as it is I’d like my Mini to be a bit louder. Maybe I’ll buy another (louder) exhaust as that causes a bit less obstacles. Thanks for the opinions everyone!

[MatthewsDad]

A quick vote for the k&n filter. Sensor blanked off on mine. No tuning needed. No noticeable dip or gain in performance, but noise levels acceptable for me.

[viz139]

 

I bought my '96 with a pipercross filter fitted with the air sensor in the base of it. Too noisy for me so fitted a standard filter and housing with no noticeable change in performance .

Did yours have a take off for the vac hose too?

Looking at mine if didn't and neither did it have a hole for the sensor...

 

No vacumn  take off. The vac is there to operate the Hot/Cold air diverter in the standard housing but the open filters just take the air around  it.

[Sprocket]

Lol

"The noise from the air filter is terrible"

 

but

 

"i've got straight cut gears and they sound great"

 

   

[brivinci]

Induction noise is a truly wonderful thing...when designers set about making sure it ends up that way. On most cars, heavy induction noise sounds more like there is something wrong then something racy. With no gains either way, AND the possibility that you will not be running a sensor the car was intended to have, id go with the drop in. I’ve been running one for ages and I can’t see a single downside to it

[viz139]

Music is a truly wonderful thing... hard enough to hear the stereo in standard form. Each to their own, the beauty of mini ownership.