One of the most popular bolt-on performance mods you can buy for your car is an induction kit or cold air intake as they are also known. A well designed induction kit
could increase horsepower and torque by as much as 10% - which, in terms of bang-for-buck is pretty good. Another reason induction kits are so popular is that they are generally quite a simple DIY job to fit. They also look pretty cool under the bonnet and add a throaty induction roar that any self respecting petrol head will appreciate. We've just fitted the
Evolution Motorsports V-Flow induction kit to our Project GTi. Here's how fitted it
Generally speaking, an induction kit will have a less restrictive design and freer-flowing air filter which will allow more air into the engine. In simple terms, the more air and fuel you can get into the combustion chamber the more power you can produce.
However, it's not quite as simple as that! A well designed kit that genuinely produces more power will have
been designed using fairly hi-tech CFD or CAD software and extensively tested and tweaked before going into production. In addition, each car/engine combination is different,
some will respond well to a 'ram-air' effect whereas other need the air filter located in a low pressure zone. Another thing to be wary of when looking at induction kits is heat soak. A good kit will attempt to shield the air filter from the heat in the engine bay (colder, denser air produces more power than warm air)
After a lot of research we decided to go for the Evolution Motorsports V-Flow induction kit for our Project GTi. Not only is it extremely well made, it has proven dyno results and comes highly recommended by the guys at
Blackchurch Motors (who
previously dyno'd our car) and have tested loads of MK5 GTI's with various different induction kits fitted. We'll be heading back to Blackchurch fairly soon to test the power claims and to get our car remapped...watch this space!
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