Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

In fact it might be a really stupid question...

I was speaking to a Webcon rep at the NEC and he was strongly trying to sell me on the airhorn mesh filters: http://www.burtonpower.com/prodpics/large/WEB99217225.jpg

Now my question is if it would be a viable option to have these inside the standard airbox with an open pipe without a filter in the nose? My reasoning being that it'd give me the option to run it without the airbox, or pop it on for longer drives to reduce the noise. Am I being daft?

Thanks!
Adi

I guess no opinions on this? I can't really think of why it shouldn't work, but I can't pretend I know half as much as some of you guys. I suppose no responses probably means I'll be the test subject!

im suprised you havent had anyone able to give you a opinion. maybe you should ring/email the manufacturer and ask them?

regards

Franco

I did speak to the manufacturer rep, but he could only tell me for sure that these filters perform as well as the more conventional K&N ones, and do not need oiling. Webcon also make the conventional filters, which are more expensive, but the rep was adamant that these would do a better job. Which then sparked the thought in my head about being able to use them inside the regular airbox... He however didn't know anything about a Lotus Elan so me describing him the airbox meant nothing... I was mostly just concerned with some unforseen problems having the filters inside the airbox could cause. I can't think of anything myself, hence the question, but I'm assuming noone has tried this before so that's why there are no opinions.

Hi. My opinion is don't touch them with a barge pole. There's not enough surface area to maintain good air flow into the horn with a small enough mesh to stop the small particles from entering the engine. The likes of the K&N have a corrugated surface and oil impregnated mesh to catch particles so do need oiling to maintain filter performance. The things in the pic look like they'll reduce air flow and not filter effectively. If they do maintain air flow that's as good as the existing filter, then I'd be worried that the mesh is too coarse and the engine'll wear out. Consider a quick comparison. Each cylinder sucks air in one at a time, and so each in turn has access to the full surface area of a standard filter. The set up in the picture has a fraction of that surface area, so to maintain the same air flow the mesh has to be a lot coarser, or you lose power.

So you did get an opinion after all Just an opinion of course...

Adi,

Re: the webcons, I think for a road car, they will pass way too much dirt if there is no other filter upstream. They will prevent sucking trumpet washers or nuts from going in (from painful, expensive experience). I don't know how much pressure drop occurrs at WOT and therefore loss of flow...

The K&N filters also pass too much dirt, compared to a quality synthetic fiber OE filter. They flow better, but at a price of reduced efficiency.

Of course, one assumes the airbox, trunking, and air filter enclosure are sealed tight in any case.

Best regards,
Dan Wise

I would not use them due to the stress put on the mesh if they break up it would be a ????? type problem until the bits came out the exhaust .
Neil

I am with Alaric on this one the item in the picture is not an air filter, its a rock catcher.... at best....

There is another post about filters in the +S group, and I'll repeat myself here. I really do like pulling cold air from the front of the car. There was a comment about K&N too that got me to thinking and I'm going to read my David Vizard & take a look in the Weber carb books to make some sense of it all.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the advice. It's helped sway me in the right direction (as in: away from these things). I never considered them before until, as I mentioned, the guy at the NEC talked them up so much. To be fair they are in fact a multi layer sandwich of wire and filter material, not just a single mesh, but I really don't want to be playing games with my freshly rebuilt engine. I have decided to stick with the cold air system, but change the airbox for a better flowing one (and one that actually seals properly...).

Thanks again!
Adi

As I understand it the airbox is there to stop your car going up in flames from a blow back (that could possibly happen with the mesh type air cleaners).
Gordon