Page 52 - Fast Car (March 2020)

Words: Midge
DIY DAY JOBS & WEEKEND WONDERS THE GEAR

PERFORMANCE AIR Fitting Time:
Less than 30 mins.
Costs:
FILTERS It’s step one in the journey From £40 (panel filter)
From £80 (induction kits)
to tuning glory…
There’s basically two types of filter: ones
designed to fit your car. And ones that aren’t.
I’m not talking about the difference between
a panel filter and an induction kit here – the
good news is that generally both of these
will be engineered for direct fitment. What I
mean is the stacks of universal cone filters
on sale. To be fair, plenty of these items are
decent enough, but they don’t always work
on all modern cars, because there’s often
considerations other than the actual filter;
things like engine breathers and extra sensors.
The first tip then, is to stump up for
a direct-fit item from a leading brand like
K&N (available form your local Euro Car Parts,
naturally). It’s simply the best way to get
a filter (or an intake kit for that matter) that
will bolt on first time.
Then you just need to decide on whether
you’ll be fitting a panel or an induction kit, buy
This month it’s an all-time great in the can also be washed and reused over the one, and you’re good to go.
tuning world and very often the first mod lifetime of the car, so eventually, they pay for
you’ll do on your car yourself. In fact there’s no themselves. Kinda. Specialist Tools:
point in paying someone to do this job for you. Basically though, it’s all about increased Nope. No specialist tools needed for this one.
It’s that simple. airflow this one, so whether you’re choosing Just a screwdriver and a socket set. If you’re
Performance filters are designed to get a cheeky upgrade for a little more power over feeling really flash you can buy a hose clip driver.
more air in your engine, meaning more fuel standard, or something a bit more substantial But that’s about it.
can be dumped in and more horsepowers as a precursor to a whole load of future tuning, www.eurocarparts.co.uk
can be produced. Unlike standard items, they here’s what you need to know…

DO IT!

1 PREPARE YOURSELF
Right, disconnect the battery. Yes OK, I know
you’re probably not going to do this, but my
point is that you’ll be poking around in your
bay with a screwdriver, and often pulling off
electrical plugs. We don’t want any silly emails
saying, ‘Yeah, but you never said to unhook
the battery first’. It’s unlikely you’ll get a jolt of
course. But it can happen.
Second, make sure you take the keys out of
the ignition for the duration of the job. You’d
be surprised at how many people leave the
engine off but the power on, and then wonder
why you’re stuck with some sort of warning
light as soon as you unplug a component like
the Air Flow Meter.
Lastly, do the job somewhere clean and dry.
Filters are there to protect your engine from
sucking in dust and dirt. If you happen to be in
the middle of a sandstorm, you might want to
leave the filter on for a bit.

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