K&N Panel filter and MAF

[probbo]

Anybody ever had any issues with the K&N and the MAF sensor with a VR4?
I know what a hot topic of debate it is from past experience but a lot of this was with Bosch MAF's which were very sensitive and prone to failure.
Any bad reports?

Cheers

[jaimz]

Hey dude,
I've got a K&N panel filter, and have noticed no problems at all.
:happy:

[Axeboy]

My last vr4 had one and never had any issues with it.

[Kenneth]

I believe the issue was more related to the hot wire MAF. Hot wire MAF uses a platinum wire with a heating circuit. The current required to keep the wire at a constant temperature is used to determine the air flow. (more air flowing, the greater the cooling effect on the wire)

With the oils in an oiled filter, there were issues if the oil traveled through the air and landed on the wire. The oil would insulate the wire and cause the reading to be incorrect.

Mitsubishi use a frequency based MAF that uses the Von Karman Vortex principle, this is based around how vortices are formed in air. I believe it uses some form of optical analysis of the air to count the vortices and the frequency is generated from that information.

The downside to this is that it requires the air to be uniform in distribution and flowing straight. This is one of the reasons why cold air intake setups actually cause issues with fueling. The standard airbox setup is designed to ensure the air is as straight as possible when it goes through the MAF.

[djb160]

That would explain why it seems my lurching at high speed has gone away now that I've put the stock induction back in with replaced filter.

[bradc]

Yep that will be right :) Pod filters just don't work well with the MAF.

[djb160]

Sounded s#@t hot though :)

[bradc]

I prefer the sound of a working car :)

[djb160]

Touche (sp)

[Rossco Type-S]

Yep that will be right :) Pod filters just don't work well with the MAF.

Unless the car has an aftermarket ECU, then a good pod gives huge benefits, and makes the car sound awesome.

[bradc]

Yeah if you have the car tuned then it can be ok, or if you are lucky enough to have an ECU to convert the car to MAP then you can do whatever you like.

[probbo]

I believe the issue was more related to the hot wire MAF. Hot wire MAF uses a platinum wire with a heating circuit. The current required to keep the wire at a constant temperature is used to determine the air flow. (more air flowing, the greater the cooling effect on the wire)

With the oils in an oiled filter, there were issues if the oil traveled through the air and landed on the wire. The oil would insulate the wire and cause the reading to be incorrect.

Mitsubishi use a frequency based MAF that uses the Von Karman Vortex principle, this is based around how vortices are formed in air. I believe it uses some form of optical analysis of the air to count the vortices and the frequency is generated from that information.

The downside to this is that it requires the air to be uniform in distribution and flowing straight. This is one of the reasons why cold air intake setups actually cause issues with fueling. The standard airbox setup is designed to ensure the air is as straight as possible when it goes through the MAF.


Thats interesting to know -I didn't know that, cheers.
I use to run a K&N Panel filter on my old remapped Leon Cupra R with no problems. I know that problems can arise when people clean them and re-oil themselves (over oiling).
I put a pod filter on my old Evo 4 and could really notice a drop in power so I took it off - it didn't like it at all.
I think the VR4 air intake is a really good one with actually taking the air from outside so I'll just be sticking with a high flow panel filter.

[Funkstar]

I think the VR4 air intake is a really good one with actually taking the air from outside so I'll just be sticking with a high flow panel filter.

All I have is the panel filter, but have also ran 2 extra feeds with some vacuum cleaner hose to the existing air feed. Much like what SGHOM has done here.

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4600&highlight=air+flow

Can't really say it has made much of a difference, but can't hurt to feed it a little more air. Even though the existing intake is good, it does seem a little small to me.