Highlander1010

Hey All,

So after reading lots of reviews and posts, I'm thinking about adding a K&N Typhoon and potentially later a FMIC to my car (AWE or Eurocode). Any reason to do both? Is one better than the other? Do they compete in a way in the car?

And most importantly...

Do they void the engine warranty?

Moviela

I am not sure I believe all the advertising for modified intakes. I suppose Audi would use inferior materials to take ponies away from the wheels? I think they stay up nights working on ways to wrench (pun intended) as much power out of the engine as they can.

I do see a downside to using oiled filters in the car. No one can oil the things properly and the film that forms on the MAF sensor (it is a glass thermocouple that measures the volume of intake air) will cause injection errors. The filters also have a higher flow rate. This is acomplished by using a lower density media in the air path. This allows more JPD (just plain dirt) to enter the intake. This then is blown past the rings and increases the Si (silicon) in the crankcase oil. Circulating sand in the oil circuits is never a good idea.

If you are racing, it can be useful. If you are not planning to rebuild the engine every so many races, it would be best to continue using the paper filter specified.

NickZag

I have the APR/Carbonio intake and while it looks nice, your better off just running a K&N with your factory airbox. All in all, your $$$$ would be better spent on something else. Also, do some research on the Typhoon kit. There are a lot of people that complain about the sound, and if you look at the design I just don't see how they are keeping the engine compartment heat out with that dinky plastic shield.

An FMIC is a great mod, but honestly unless you're already running something like APR stage 2 I would go that route first and then upgrade your FMIC.

Highlander1010

Thanks guys. I did more reading on K&N and based on the number of complaints about noise, I don't think it's a winner. Similarly I'll heed the rest of the advice on the FMIC as I don't think I'll get the newer turbo any time soon. That's likely last on my list of mods and will probably be the Stasis turbo. So maybe Stasis will do a FMIC and filter as well by then.

markinarch

Still interested in hearing other peoples review on the Injen intake and also hearing some sound clips. Doesn't seem like too many people have bought the Injen at this point. I think its a little weird how low the intake and filter sits in the engine bay...

600whpA4

Dont need a larger turbo to need the FMIC, it even helps with the stock turb since it will keep IAT's down and recover quicker during multiple pulls. I have say the Eurocode B8 FMIC looks pretty nice.



Wow I must be really special then, been running K&N oiled filters on my MAF cars for about 20 years and not one blown MAF during that time. lol

need_TQM

They should not compete - they should compliment each other.

The design intention of the intake is to reduce restriction - allow more air into the engine allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. The big question is whether or not the intake can do this without compromising the main purpose - filtering the air. IMO the small gains are not worth the risk.

The FMIC - if more efficient/larger than the stock one would allow better cooling of the charge air after it's been compressed by the turbo - cooler air is denser (more air) and can allow more aggressive ignition timing (more power). One possible drawback to a larger volume FMIC is that volume must be filled by the turbo during ramp-up - possibly slowing boost onset or adding "lag". From what I know this should be an extremely small effect.

Warranty - like any aftermarket part - if the failure can be traced to the part, it's not Audi's responsibility. It's hard to see how a properly operating aftermarket FMIC would cause issues, but it would likely be an extremely steep up-hill struggle if your dealer/audi decides to blame the aftermarket part.

If you are looking for power increases - the best value is an ECU tune - like everything else these have warranty issues. STASIS offers one backed by their own warranty that will step in to cover things Audi won't due to their parts. The have to be installed by a STASIS dealer however and typically run higher in cost due to the warranty vs. other options. I suppose you could consider the cost difference from, for example, APR vs. STASIS as a form of "self insurance".

Hope that helped.

NickZag

A few people did a review at audizine. The unit isn't that impressive, and from the design looks like it has the least amount of heat protection.

markinarch

Yeah I saw those write-ups. I'll probably just end up keeping the stock one...err.

Off topic a bit- How long did it take for that Italia in your picture to catch up to you on the track?

NickZag

I passed him actually I think it was his first time on a track