:)

Guys, I've had poor feedback in the performace forum. Have you got any comments about whether replacement panel filters actually give extra performance?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Alan
'99.5 A3 1.8T MS Silver

I am sure they do but not as much as some would like / believe and on their own not much.
I seem to remember that AmD ( Oxford ) reckon that when chipped you are looking at 3-4 bhp.Their site (auto-amd.com )gives graphs etc from their rolling road.Take a look .I can recommend their services,I am very fussy and I have used them for about eight years.

Thanks Chris. Yeah, you hear about so many people fitting these filters to their cars, like its just the next step in mod'ing a car. And I just thought - well do they work?

I have visited AMD's site before. So you recommend them? I've been looking into chipping etc., and in the UK it basically boils down to either Superchips, AMD or GTi Engineering. Any experiences with any of those?

Do AMD socket the chips?

Cheers,

Alan
'99.5 A3 1.8T MS Silver

Hi

Very little difference is gained by using a panel filter on the 1.8T engine. In terms of actual power, I guess maybe 3-5% extra, in terms of road performance it is akin to driving with the air conditionition conpressor on or off - I can barely notice the difference.

I have not used the filter on my own car, but we experimented in a collegues A4 - the big difference is that you buy the filter once and then never replace it, certainly in the case of the K&N filter. It needs to be serviced every 50000 miles or so!

Better buy a chip and get 30+ bhp from the info I have read!

David R

I'm not sure about the socket.
I am a very satisfied customer they look after my 1985 80 Sport .
I am hoping to get the A3 seen to once i have put a couple of thousand miles on it
The A4 has done 5 thousand miles and it will easily take a bit more power but as it has the 180 bhp engine i suspect it will only get to about 200bhp The drive by wire engines are also much more expensive to modify
I particularly like the before and after graphs so that you can see exactly what has been achieved
It is also programmed to the actual vehicle rather than an average best of some other suppliers. I do believe that some Superchips dealers now have modems and can hook up to the master computer at the headquarters.
Oxford is a long way for you ----but you would get a fun drive home !

Ah, Oxford is not so bad. :) It's Birmingham & M6 that's the pain of motorway travel in England. I love the M40 though, it's a great motorway.

It would be a fun drive back with 195bhp!

I have read an old Audi Driver article about an AMD A3, and in comparison with the Superchips TT180 chipped (again Audi Driver), the superchips had the better mid-range performance. So...I don't know which I go for actually.

Alan
'99.5 A3 1.8T MS Silver

Thanks David. I figured they wouldn't make much difference in the standard car. It does make sense that a filter & chip combination would produce the best results, as I guess when they do the chip re-map, it would be done to take into account the extra air coming in through the new filter. (?)

Cheers,

Alan
'99.5 A3 1.8T MS Silver

Hi,
I was a bit sceptical at first but I reckoned the replacement had to be better than "the piece of dry paper" manufacurers put in the car.

I can't comment on the replacement air-filter effects on 150bhp car as my A3 was modified new (190bhp). After about 5000km I put in K&N panel and here is what I noticed, in order of significance:
- better acceleration or rather the pulling power at lower (very low) rpm's, also engine breathes better through rpm's, before then I wondered where my 190bhp was, I think it even drives at lower rpm's now;
- about 10-12% better fuel economy, some of which may be attributed to engine loosening up;
- slightly more power, don't know in bhp as I still have take it for a dyno, but perhaps 2-3bhp.

I've had the panel filter on all my cars before, not all of which were fast and I definitely recommend it. It's a cheap way of improving performance and letting your car's engine enjoy more air supply to achieve its peak output.

IJ
99A31.8T

Not sure if they do, for a simple first-step (30-40 bhp) upgrade.

I think they take into account the quality of the fuel available in the given country where modification is undertaken and programm that in.

My car was modified but had a stock filter? It did have a modified exaust/catalyst though.
On some more extreme modifications they include air-filter. They actually redesign air intake pipes as well. Taking it further they change turbo size etc.

IJ
99A31.8T

Thanks for all that information! You've answered questions I've been thinking about for ages.

Cheers,

Alan
'99.5 A3 1.8T MS Silver

Hi,

Well in NZ in 98-99 Audi (or rather Audi dealers) did not sell A3 1.8T Quattro or S3 (out in 99) but they offered what they called A3 1.8T Sport to differentiate between normal A3 1.8T and the faster one. It is a manual Ambition model A3 1.8T costing about 10-15% more than normal A3 1.8T and with the following mods:

- 190bhp/305Nm MTM chip
- 16x7 Tango wheels and 205x55/16 tyres
- sport exaust catalyst and twin pipe muffler
- front/rear/side skirts
- rear hatch spoiler

I hated the wheels which I traded back soon after for A!Avangarde 17x8 with 225x45/17 tyres. You can see my modifications under Registry. When someone lends me scanner I may post picture as its fairly unique.

Yeah, bit unusual to buy brand new A3 modified but New Zealand is an unusual place!

IJ
99A31.8T

Have noticed a slight performance increase and a definate increase in induction noise which isn't too much and sounds quite nice.

I've just been trawling through the archive posts and saw your response. You've obviously been doing the same, reading quite a few and responding! Nice one!

I got the K&N filter in the end, but I've not fitted yet. What with car going in and out of the dealers all the time. :)

Cheers,

Alan.

Come on it's only a couple of philips screws, they don't change the air filter on servicing till 40000 miles, just tell them not to change it when you take it in, I take in my own oil as well!