Free trial of HP air filters
- Thread starter louis
- Start date
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
haha, if only that were true..... but i'm always happy to share a new discovery with you guys. i don't really make much per filter...better margins being a doctor or polishing cars... this is more of a passion than a means of making ends meet.
TripleM,
thanks for your detailed review. glad you liked your filter and happy to have you as my very first customer!
cheers
Nuke said:
haha, if only that were true..... but i'm always happy to share a new discovery with you guys. i don't really make much per filter...better margins being a doctor or polishing cars... this is more of a passion than a means of making ends meet.
TripleM,
thanks for your detailed review. glad you liked your filter and happy to have you as my very first customer!
cheers
xkrim3
Well-Known Member
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
louis reached my place at 9pm on the dot, as planned, this evening. wowed by his door-step service. hats off to the guy’s professionalism. we went on to install the helene performance filter pronto. here are some pics and the initial review:
installation
1.nothing beats the original airbox. having tried ram-air/cai, open-pod and drop-in, i will select drop-in with original air-box, anytime. period.
2.helene on the left; k&n on the right. notice the wider interleave of the helene filter.
3.helene on the right; k&n on the left. helene is thicker by about 1cm. possibly sealing the airbox better.
4.installation near completion. fixing helene in was a breeze. none of the tightness mentioned by louis. probably because my airbox was still hot.
butt feel
note that the base line is k&n, not stock. i drive in sports mode 100% of the time. so the filter was tested with the sports button on, ‘cos i would have a better feel of the differences, if any:
verdict
if you are already on a high-flow filter, you won’t get much lift. but if you are coming from stock, and importantly, enjoy a more linear torque curve (from butt feel aka organic dyno), you would want helene.
cheers
louis reached my place at 9pm on the dot, as planned, this evening. wowed by his door-step service. hats off to the guy’s professionalism. we went on to install the helene performance filter pronto. here are some pics and the initial review:
installation
1.nothing beats the original airbox. having tried ram-air/cai, open-pod and drop-in, i will select drop-in with original air-box, anytime. period.
2.helene on the left; k&n on the right. notice the wider interleave of the helene filter.
3.helene on the right; k&n on the left. helene is thicker by about 1cm. possibly sealing the airbox better.
4.installation near completion. fixing helene in was a breeze. none of the tightness mentioned by louis. probably because my airbox was still hot.
butt feel
note that the base line is k&n, not stock. i drive in sports mode 100% of the time. so the filter was tested with the sports button on, ‘cos i would have a better feel of the differences, if any:
- aircon on, soft-top up
- aircon off, soft-top down
verdict
if you are already on a high-flow filter, you won’t get much lift. but if you are coming from stock, and importantly, enjoy a more linear torque curve (from butt feel aka organic dyno), you would want helene.
cheers
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
xkrim3,
thanks for the frank review! yes, i did notice louder popping which is accentuated by my ACS exhaust as well....muahaha.
the louder popping is the result of greater airflow through the system, which is in effect a surrogate indicator of the engine breathing a lot better than before....
i was looking forward to TripleM's and your review as both of you were coming from K&N while my review was from OEM to HP.
i'm glad, though not surprised that the Helene Performance filter held its own against an established brand like K&N.
And it does this while preserving 99% of the OEM filter's filtration capacity and being able to trap particles of 1 micron in size during laboratory tests.
the key to this greater air flow whilst preserving filtration capability is larger surface area..... HP has less urethane bleeding onto the filtration medium, as can be clearly seen in the second picture, as well as deeper pleats, all of which increase the effective filtering surface area. Other brands of filters allow increased air flow by increasing the size of the filter pores.... this is not the approach taken by HP, hence accounting for its superior filtration capabilities.
The proprietary oil formulation of HP filters also plays a big part in this too. in fact, some folks on www.z4um.com are purchasing the HP recharge kit to use on their old K&Ns.... as a form of upgrade.
also, you should try it one day with sport button "OFF". i was amazed at the world of difference that produced!! with sport button "ON" the difference is less dramatic but nonetheless still discernible.
we are lucky that the Z4 comes with a sport button... but for the others, fon't fret, you can have approximately 80% of what our sport button does, with respect to throttle response, with this simple and cheap filter replacement.
i think this is my longest post ever..... *bows*
p.s. stock Z4 my @ss bro..... muahaha.
xkrim3,
thanks for the frank review! yes, i did notice louder popping which is accentuated by my ACS exhaust as well....muahaha.
the louder popping is the result of greater airflow through the system, which is in effect a surrogate indicator of the engine breathing a lot better than before....
i was looking forward to TripleM's and your review as both of you were coming from K&N while my review was from OEM to HP.
i'm glad, though not surprised that the Helene Performance filter held its own against an established brand like K&N.
And it does this while preserving 99% of the OEM filter's filtration capacity and being able to trap particles of 1 micron in size during laboratory tests.
the key to this greater air flow whilst preserving filtration capability is larger surface area..... HP has less urethane bleeding onto the filtration medium, as can be clearly seen in the second picture, as well as deeper pleats, all of which increase the effective filtering surface area. Other brands of filters allow increased air flow by increasing the size of the filter pores.... this is not the approach taken by HP, hence accounting for its superior filtration capabilities.
The proprietary oil formulation of HP filters also plays a big part in this too. in fact, some folks on www.z4um.com are purchasing the HP recharge kit to use on their old K&Ns.... as a form of upgrade.
also, you should try it one day with sport button "OFF". i was amazed at the world of difference that produced!! with sport button "ON" the difference is less dramatic but nonetheless still discernible.
we are lucky that the Z4 comes with a sport button... but for the others, fon't fret, you can have approximately 80% of what our sport button does, with respect to throttle response, with this simple and cheap filter replacement.
i think this is my longest post ever..... *bows*
p.s. stock Z4 my @ss bro..... muahaha.
xkrim3
Well-Known Member
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
pak j, you should start a regular performance parts review column in this forum. i am dead serious. the sponsors can then submit their stuff for your 3m certification, if they wish to. nothing beats a non-partisan review in boosting sales.
ryan, you listening? we need to milk triplem for all his intimate knowledge of parts. look at his lactating signature
. slurrp
TripleM said:
pak j, you should start a regular performance parts review column in this forum. i am dead serious. the sponsors can then submit their stuff for your 3m certification, if they wish to. nothing beats a non-partisan review in boosting sales.
ryan, you listening? we need to milk triplem for all his intimate knowledge of parts. look at his lactating signature
. slurrp
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
sawadee krap...
i'm back!
SMYUEN, i've just read your PM about the filter, will text you tmr morning after rounds.
so far only the M and Z models are running the filter...... any 6 cylinder E46 or E39 keen to give it a go?
cheers
sawadee krap...
i'm back!
SMYUEN, i've just read your PM about the filter, will text you tmr morning after rounds.
so far only the M and Z models are running the filter...... any 6 cylinder E46 or E39 keen to give it a go?
cheers
xkrim3
Well-Known Member
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
heh heh... my butt feel about stock box vs cai quite zhoon:
posted by ess today, "We tested 10 of the most common brands of "cold air" induction systems and found that the stock airbox AND filter actually flowed better, trapped more contaminants, utilized the coolest possible air, and provided the best water ingestion protection of any of the aftermarket types."
heh heh... my butt feel about stock box vs cai quite zhoon:
posted by ess today, "We tested 10 of the most common brands of "cold air" induction systems and found that the stock airbox AND filter actually flowed better, trapped more contaminants, utilized the coolest possible air, and provided the best water ingestion protection of any of the aftermarket types."
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
ok im pretty damn interested now...i was actually planning to install simota CAI in a few weeks time when it comes in but triplem and xkrim3 seem convinced that stock box is best...can i please have a little more info regarding CAI vs. louis' filter? thanks very much in advance!
ok im pretty damn interested now...i was actually planning to install simota CAI in a few weeks time when it comes in but triplem and xkrim3 seem convinced that stock box is best...can i please have a little more info regarding CAI vs. louis' filter? thanks very much in advance!
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
Typical CAI if not done properly will likely end up in losing power as opposed to making power it might claim. The reason is mainly because of the HEAT from the engine bay generated and getting sucked into the intake. Loss in low end torque is likely inevitable. High end is good and driving at night makes it feel better. And of course the sound is typically quite roaring which some people like.
Stock airbox is completely sealed. It shields away from heat. The only challenge in the stock airbox is its design and behavior of air flow. While not alot we can do about the box, we hv the choice to play with after market drop-in filter like the S.E filter panel filter above.
The only "CAI" design I really trust is like the GruppeM type ( copied by Simota too).
And that's not it. You hv to ensure the installation is properly done, exposing as much as u can the filter inside to the cold air ( some tubing work maybe needed on some cars )
Having said all that, I still think stock airbox with after mkt panel filter is the best. It's the cheapest mod too one can do. Price range is 100-130 bux tops!
Typical CAI if not done properly will likely end up in losing power as opposed to making power it might claim. The reason is mainly because of the HEAT from the engine bay generated and getting sucked into the intake. Loss in low end torque is likely inevitable. High end is good and driving at night makes it feel better. And of course the sound is typically quite roaring which some people like.
Stock airbox is completely sealed. It shields away from heat. The only challenge in the stock airbox is its design and behavior of air flow. While not alot we can do about the box, we hv the choice to play with after market drop-in filter like the S.E filter panel filter above.
The only "CAI" design I really trust is like the GruppeM type ( copied by Simota too).
And that's not it. You hv to ensure the installation is properly done, exposing as much as u can the filter inside to the cold air ( some tubing work maybe needed on some cars )
Having said all that, I still think stock airbox with after mkt panel filter is the best. It's the cheapest mod too one can do. Price range is 100-130 bux tops!
torque_cog
Member
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
I PM Louis about testing the HP filter on an E46 last week; I thought there should be hordes of fellow forummers already testing if, but apparently there're no E46 on the trial. Louis installed the filter in my E46 320 last Tue (my apologies to Louis for getting some burnt fingers).
The filter is quite a pain to install as it's actually slightly larger the the frame of the air box, apparently it's a design feature to ensure a tight fit. Over the one week I've had the filter, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the performance. The biggest improvement is the hesitation of the 2.2l engine from stand-still to above 2k rpm. I've always felt the engine is going through a fit when you step off. This has gone away since the installation of the filter. The engine seems to also rev faster up the range (not sure if this is psychological). Another thing I like is the throatier sound from the engine as I go through the gears.
Overall, a most satisfactory upgrade, and I'll recommend this to anyone who wants better performance without sacrificing low-end torque, like I do.
I PM Louis about testing the HP filter on an E46 last week; I thought there should be hordes of fellow forummers already testing if, but apparently there're no E46 on the trial. Louis installed the filter in my E46 320 last Tue (my apologies to Louis for getting some burnt fingers).
The filter is quite a pain to install as it's actually slightly larger the the frame of the air box, apparently it's a design feature to ensure a tight fit. Over the one week I've had the filter, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the performance. The biggest improvement is the hesitation of the 2.2l engine from stand-still to above 2k rpm. I've always felt the engine is going through a fit when you step off. This has gone away since the installation of the filter. The engine seems to also rev faster up the range (not sure if this is psychological). Another thing I like is the throatier sound from the engine as I go through the gears.
Overall, a most satisfactory upgrade, and I'll recommend this to anyone who wants better performance without sacrificing low-end torque, like I do.
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
kurqa,
there are no free trials for CAI as far as i know, so i have this to suggest:
i'll let you try the filter first, if you're not satisfied, return it to me at no cost to you. if you're happy like the rest of them are, purchase the filter and save yourself a couple of hundreds on a CAI.
my filter gives you low end and a bit of high end, many CAIs lose you low end torque although the high end gains are probably a bit more than what an ordinary sports filter can give.
torque_cog,
nice review! i think you're not only the first E46, but also the first with the HP filter on a car with steptronic.
very glad to hear that HP has lived up to your expectations. i hope this means you'll be keeping the filter? hehe
kurqa said:
kurqa,
there are no free trials for CAI as far as i know, so i have this to suggest:
i'll let you try the filter first, if you're not satisfied, return it to me at no cost to you. if you're happy like the rest of them are, purchase the filter and save yourself a couple of hundreds on a CAI.
my filter gives you low end and a bit of high end, many CAIs lose you low end torque although the high end gains are probably a bit more than what an ordinary sports filter can give.
torque_cog said:
torque_cog,
nice review! i think you're not only the first E46, but also the first with the HP filter on a car with steptronic.
very glad to hear that HP has lived up to your expectations. i hope this means you'll be keeping the filter? hehe
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
TripleM,
i can only guess that since your car and airbox were hot when you installed the HP filter, the box expanded and allowed the filter to fit in easily. when both airbox and filter are heated up, the fit should provide a tighter seal than either OEM or K&N.
TripleM said:Yeah,
It's meant to be tight. To my surprise, however, It slides in very easily in my air box. David at BVO did it in just a cupla minutes w/o removing the box lid
Glad u are enjoying it dude
TripleM,
i can only guess that since your car and airbox were hot when you installed the HP filter, the box expanded and allowed the filter to fit in easily. when both airbox and filter are heated up, the fit should provide a tighter seal than either OEM or K&N.
torque_cog
Member
Re: Free trial of HP air filters
Yes, I'm enjoying the improved throttle response and sound from the new filter. So I'll have to pay you the rest
Yes, I'm enjoying the improved throttle response and sound from the new filter. So I'll have to pay you the rest
louis said:
