Yet another question as part of my car search.

I have spotted an S plate turbo for sale.

The seller mentions that it has a K&N induction kit which has been in place for a year.

I have been told that by mates that these kits did not keep engines happy on post 98 cars and could damage the MAF sensor.

If the car is showing no signs of damage, could the airbox be reinstalled and an area cleaned to prevent damage, or is that a stupid question?
My other half has told me not to consider the car because of the induction kit.

Should I walk away?

Also can anyone describe what a magnex exhaust sounds like?

This car is 160 miles from me, so I want to know if its worth the visit.

 

yes you could replace the standard airbox.

it is also adviseable to change the MAF sensor - £77 from your nearest and dearest wonderful dealer.

 

if it is a 98 car i think it has the older style MAF sensor which would tolerate the induction kit.

 

So with a new MAF sensor and original airbox, would things be safer or could the engine already have been damaged?

The car is a '98 S plate.

 

Hi nicci right ive got a x plate which is one of the years where the maf sensor is prone to trouble and different people will tell you different things.Ive got a mate at the mo whos car is going in for a rebuild tomorrow yet its got the standard airbox and filter on with just 45k on it(T reg)it had a rebuild under warranty just 2500 miles ago if the dealer doesnt change the maf sensor my mate will when he gets it back as apparently when theyre first starting to act up they dont show a fault code on the diagnostics!!!!!(by the way ive got a green cone filter on mine and never had any trouble,its been on a year)will be getting a bmc cda filter soon to try though,ive got another mate with a golf turbo who swears by it. http://www.bmcairfilters.com/infoCDA.asp

 

Or get a new ecu for it which doesnt use the maf sensor.

 

True you could but pricey!!

 

ON IDLE: <ignition click> brrrrrm chugga chugga chugga chugga chugga
AT REVS: Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm

I have a magnex on my car. It gives the nice scooby flat four burble on idle and comes to life on acceleration. It's more noisy than the standard exhaust (provides a nice distinct burble) but not intrusively noisy like some of the Jap exhausts. It doesn't get on your nerves on the motorway either, you can still hear the cee dee player.

 

Nicci

'98 cars generally have the old style MAFS which are fine with a quality induction kit. The K&N tested well for stopping particulates and general cr@p from entering the engine.

I believe K&N filters requiring oiling every 30K miles or so which is easy to do, most 'wet' filters do.

It is dead easy to replace the original air box, takes about 20 mins to remove the cone and put on back in.

I would not discount the car on this basis alone, a K&N filter is a quality bit of kit.


I had a Magnex b/box on my MY99 and it sounded just great, deep rumble. It again is a quality bit of kit and looks nice IMHO. I had the Magnex b/box and a Pipercross induction kit on my MY99 without any problems in 50K of motoring.
There are various theories about the MAF failures, vibration, contamination, increased airflow are just some.

I would be more concerned about whether the cars has a FSSH or from a reputable dealer and whether it look s like it has been ragged to death or seen track action.

Induction kit and Magnex b/box would not put me off.

Paul

Please pm me if you want more info.

 

These comments don't sound too bad so far.

 

Yeah but depends what future mods people have planned

 

I plan on no mods for the one I get (how boring).

 

I had an ITG panel filter on my STi 5 (MY99) - cos I was scared of MAF Failure - 3k miles after - you guessed it, dodgy idle, and stalling on revs being dropped - MAF was sh@gged) - bought a new MAF, put a PE Bespoke K&N jobbie on, not a problem since!

 

Induction Kits can confuse the MAF due to disturbed airflow. This causes them to run lower on the ignition map and hence cause more advance to be run. This can be a good thing, but only if it doesn't run too much to cause detonation.

Read the article in Jap Performance this month. It describes the benfits or lack of, of fitting a Induction kit to a Scooby.

They are OK in certain circumstances, but really have to be re-mapped to use them properly.

 

isnt the article in the magazine *sponsored* by a shop?
I think you can get whatever result your after in those two magazines with a healthy enough advertising balance.

 

Had my MAF readings rescaled when I put on the induction kit, KL has only ever shown up greens since (has been tested and is working fin - on most sensitivity!)

 

Various tuners have made comments on the advantages and disadvantages of Induction kits on various Jap cars. All they say about the Subaru is that it don't do much, so don't believe all you read about BHP gains.

 

True i didnt notice any benefit other than wicked induction noise when booting it,ha ha but at £105 not cheap for a bit of noise lol.(though u can now change the plugs without moving anything that side of the engine,so saves you a few minutes)He he not all bad.

 

I now have the magazine and I am happy with the comments. I have never liked induction kits anyway.

 

I made this thread to try and sway my other half, but it didn't work. He didn't even get to the bottom of the page.

He said I should not even look at a car with an induction kit