pod or panel

[fairmont761]

hey i have an au2 v8 and my mate has a bf xr6 we were wondering what would be better a panel air filter and a pod. and if pod in box pod or just out there??

[BFD83]

Mate your both better off with a panel filter. The only real difference you might notice with a pod filter is a slightly better sound but they really don't help increase power, i have a K&N filter in mine and it does the job pretty well. Also, if you have a pod filter without it being in an air box the cops can defect you...just something to look out for.

[fairmont761]

do u think u mite get more air thu a pod because its got more surface area

[nutter_x]

If the pod can fit in the factory box, chances are it doesn't have a larger surface area.

[st33l3y]

Mate, I recommend a pod in your airbox if you can get one for a decent or heavily discounted price. While your at it, get some 3" piping to the throttle body for better gains than just the filter alone. Otherwise, just go the K & N panel filter.

[b2tf]

unless your engine is fairly modded you are unlikely to notice any difference either way. The only "gain" youll get from a pod is a sucking noise when it brings in air, and if the pod is exposed it'll just suck in hot air anyway which stuffs performance.

buy whichever is cheaper.

[Stav]

Some years ago..me and JonBays ran thousands of hours of testing and recording many many variations of items . Fact is that a pod filter will make your car faster than with the panel filter as per our testing on stock cars. The gains were better in acceleration with more mods. We had back to back gtech timed data to prove it!!
A pod sucking lots of air even if hot will go faster than a restricted cold air intake.Of course though the ultimate would be unrestricted cold air as this resists detonation and you can get more power over an open pod suckinghot air.

[JoesAu]

i was gonna switch to one of those big 9' inch filters willl one of those fit in the factory box?

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Stav

Some years ago..me and JonBays ran thousands of hours of testing and recording many many variations of items .

Do you know 'thousands' of hours is many months, round the clock!
Might be stretching the truth a tad there Stav.

Fact is that a pod filter will make your car faster than with the panel filter as per our testing on stock cars. The gains were better in acceleration with more mods. We had back to back gtech timed data to prove it!!
A pod sucking lots of air even if hot will go faster than a restricted cold air intake.

While I'm here, I may as well disagree with you.
The temperature of intake air has a MUCH greater impact on performance than the volume of air.
I have done similar testing with these buggers myself (10,000 hours +, to be precise : ), and have always found that an 'exposed to the engine bay' air intake always has worse performance once the engine is up to operating temp, which is when under bonnet temps are at the highest.
I have runs at WSID to prove my results, Jonbays was there on the particular day too.

Of course though the ultimate would be unrestricted cold air as this resists detonation and you can get more power over an open pod suckinghot air.

Naturally.
And a pod in the standard air box with a couple of other tricks is about as good as it gets for our beloved 4L donks.

For the original poster though, reality is, a panel will do the job more than plenty good enough up to probably around 150-160rwkw. If you're chasing more than that, look at a pod in the box, or better still a cat in the hat.

Rick.

[XR8 Uterous]

Originally Posted by JoesAu

i was gonna switch to one of those big 9' inch filters willl one of those fit in the factory box?

Assuming your talking about one of the K and N ones, yes they will, its a very, tight fit and requires a bit of work to get it done but it does fit, both me and b2tf have it done in our cars.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by EL XR6

Assuming your talking about one of the K and N ones, yes they will, its a very, tight fit and requires a bit of work to get it done but it does fit, both me and b2tf have it done in our cars.

As above Ive done it to both cars using the same size K&N. Is a 9" pod, I had to cut the corner of the airbox lid to make it fit in mine though because its bolted directly to the MAF.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by Sox

Do you know 'thousands' of hours is many months, round the clock!
Might be stretching the truth a tad there Stav.

Agree that thousands of hours might be stretching the truth!

[EL__Monty]

If going an open pod I have found from a few different setups that you need to mount the pod low and behind the headlight near the thermo fan relays.( straight 3in pipe and a 45 degree bend will work). Pods that are mounted up high near the strut tower or bonnet get affected by more heat.

Heat Shield works ok and if pod is mounted so it collects air straight from the snorkel exit-works alright too.

3in pipe works better than stock( or replace restrictive stock piping), the snorkel also deflects some hot air from the thermo's acting as a partial heat shield.

I have never really had much success with pods enclosed in the factory airbox even with secondary air feeds.....especially noticeable after the BBM kicks into short runner mode at 3800rpm.

Pod filters tests:
http://www.australianauto.com.au/HTM...hoot%20Out.pdf

Cheers............

[Sox]

Originally Posted by EL__Monty

Pod filters tests:
http://www.australianauto.com.au/HTM...hoot%20Out.pdf

Cheers............

Interesting data.

Note the top 4 are all roughly the same design, and flow between just over 600cfm and just under 580cfm. A difference of bugger all.

From memory our engines in roughly standard condition (say 85% VE) only require around 330cfm @ 5500rpm.
At 90% VE, the flow needed is around 380cfm at 6000rpm.
And even if we had 100% VE, and revved to 7000rpm, just a frag under 500cfm is required.

So all of them, bar one, will flow enough to satisfy even the most potent of our humble 6 pots. At least while they are 100% clean anyway.

Rick.

[Stav]

Originally Posted by b2tf

Agree that thousands of hours might be stretching the truth!

Heheh maybe not that long but it was alot...The runs/testing went on for ages.

[WoodysXR6]

I have run a panel k&n filter in my xr8, and i have been so happy with it.
I have also run k&n filters in my past cars, but after i have done some mods on my xr8 ill go for a pod in an airbox setup then i can make a 100% decision.

But for now panel should be good.

[Stav]

You also have to question the quality of those pod filters too. I am not saying that all simot6a filters are the same but mine fell apart from normal underbonnet heat. I have the k&n in there now and it hasnt fallen apart..